Digitial Detox: Why (and how) to take time away from our devices.
slienceblack on What is “Digitial Detox”? According to Wikipedia, “Digitial Detox” refers to “a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic connecting devices such as smartphones and computers. It is regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress, focus more on social interaction and connection with nature in the physical world. Claimed benefits include increased mindfulness, lowered anxiety, and an overall better appreciation of one’s environment.”
To me, simply speaking, the objective of digital detox is to put aside all the digital devices for a period of times and explore more in the physical world to balance our real life.
The reason for having digital detox is that, our health becomes worse and our real life becomes imbalance when we keep using the devices without control and addict to it.
Initially, the devices are the new technology being invented for people to improve the communication and productivity, as well as better information gathering method. Later, many different computer games, instant messaging, online games and mobile apps are available to be used, people are gradually attracted by these items and start spending more and more times to focus on the devices for relax.
Eventually, people keep focusing on the devices for long hours, they may become stressful and emotional when they are being told to stop using the devices as their temper are being affected by using the devices for so long time and do not want to give it up. Then, they may have more and more agurments with their family due to their bad tempers. Besides, they even become unhealthy since lack of exercise and irregular dietary after spending most of the time for using the devices.
Moreover, when people, especially teenagers, feel unhappy in real life like frustration in family, friendship, study and work, they start rely on and addicting to use the devices to escape from real life and seek for more relaxing feeling in digital world. Even some of them gradually refuse to explore to physical world anymore, and treat the digital world as their whole world, they are so called “Hidden Youths”.
It’s time to try to take away from our devices for a period of times once you realize that you start to lose your temper and become unhealthy when focus too much on the devices.
But how?
Everything starts with a small step, although the first small step is the most painful step mentally.
First, give up using the devices in some small timeslots in the beginning, for example, breakfast time, lunch time, tea time and dinner time. After giving up using the devices when we are having meals successfully, move on a small step.
Next, give up using the devices in longer timeslots, for example, stop using the devices overnight or at midnight there is no urgent jobs need to be completed with the devices, sleep earlier instead. Sleep early, get up early, then can get good health early.
After giving up using the devices overnight or at midnight successfully, move on a bigger step — — give up using the devices very often when being with family and friends, face-to-face chat with family and friends instead.
After giving up using the devices very often when being with family and friends successfully, move on a more bigger step — — try to join or organize social activities in real life to replace the activity of using the devices for leisure. For example, go hiking with family or friends at weekends rather than using the devices all day in weekends.
The reason is simple, spending time on face-to-face meetings with important people like family and friends are more important and valuable than spending times using the devices.
If you can move on all the steps above, you can use the devices with control and so your digitial detox process is successful and you can have a more balanced real life.
To conclude, technology and devices seems like a knife. Using them properly with control can help people a lot, but using them improperly and without control can harm people a lot.