Digital Detox – Ways to combat Digital Addiction a few hours a day
Digital Detox - Easing that addiction to smartphones, tablet, computer usage.
The point about being addicted to anything is that you must first admit that you are indeed addicted. Do you have a problem. Can you abstain from that item or past time which you enjoy so much.
With smart phones, tablets etc being so small and so powerful as perhaps a laptop was a few years ago it's perhaps easy to say you are doing know harm. Think about it though, you are sitting on the couch with your partner of an evening, can you stop playing with your electronic device all night. Can you do it for a few hours, or even an hour. If you can't then surely you must have a problem. A lot of us, myself included use the same apps time and time again and the info we are actually taking in is not really important. If it was junkmail a lot of it would be classed as spam.
We read a lot of the info very quickly, we quickly skim through it deciding instantly whether it's relevant or not. Indeed it's a lot like viewing a potential partner on Tinder, more often than not it's a pass.
Can you go an evening without sitting with your partner watching a movie or even a programme without tweeting or looking on Facebook. If you are single can you do the same, can you sit back on your couch and not think you have to interact with the outside world? Can you goto work and not use your device on way to work, at work , during breaks? Just think about it, if there was a serious emergency would n't a contact, call you or call your employer if necessary.
The tips below are not to abstain completely but to lessen your use for a while and if you wish to take if further then you can abstain completely.
Notifications - Digital Detox stop those pings and alerts
Turn all your notifications off. Relax chill out, turn off Facebook notifications, new Tweets, Whatsapp notifications. Simply turning off notifications, sounds going off can make you not have to rush for your device every second. You don't need to rush for your device instantly, you can catch up. There are things going on in the real world and you don't need to be a slave to your device. Turning your notifications off is a massive help in digital detoxing.
Use your smartphone as a phone
As above turn off all your notifications and use your smartphone simply as a phone. So if there is an emergency and you don't have a phone then someone will ring you. There are those who will read that and say but ... Then are n't you just making an excuse to justify your use of using your smart phone to use apps? This is not to abstain its just for a while to lessen your use of your digital device.
Set times when you can use your digital device. Digital Detox go off grid.
Think about saying to yourself I'll just use my device for one hour one day. Think of that as a game, a challenge. Can you challenge yourself to just use your device for one hour a day. Can you just use it for a few mins in the morning. Can you eat your lunch and not use your device til after you have ate your lunch. When you come home can you put your phone in a cupboard, or on top of a cupboard and not use it til an hour before bed for 30 mins. Challenge yourself for a day, or see even if you can do it a week. As I say if you can abstain thats great but can you even just do an hour?
Don't take your device to work or when you are out socialising or meeting friends.
Don't have a panic attack reading that, don't start shuddering. Think about it, do you need your device at work? You are there to work. If you are out socialising, try just the lost art of talking with your mates. If you have the chance of getting a date, go old skool, take a little black book., you never know your date might think thats quaint and cool. Obviously not if your black book is full. Simply going out and not taking a phone with you one afternoon or evening is no bad thing. Not having anything bar a digital watch should help with digital detoxing for a few hours. Yes perhaps you could argue you need it for security but simply trying it a few times, going out without a phone could do you good. Alternatively if you wanted to go out with a phone what about a simple basic mobile phone that no one needs to see.
Turn off your home wifi.
This might be close to abstaining without abstaining but for one evening try turning your WIFI at home off. It might have a few implications for info for digital guide etc Some signals are still fed though your aerial. Turning off your wifi and just simply enjoying life, getting out there and doing things, being creative, relaxing and conversing without a digital device might be hard, but it's not impossible.
Abstain & How long??
If you can simply use your smart phone as a phone then that would be refreshing for you even just for a few days. If you can try the challenge above of using a digital device for simply one hour and seeing how you get on then that might be a challenge to say you have achieved. Digital detoxing does n't need to be total abstention to begin with, just a few days of less digital use can make you appreciate life more. Don't worry your device will still work if it's not been touched for a day. Think of it this way, it will last a day longer ! 🙂
Personal Experience??
A few years ago I went away camping on a 90 mile walk over four days in Scotlands Highland's. My phone died after day 1. Being out in the wilds there was not a lot I could do. Yes you go through that stage of turning off your phone and hoping that some electricity will be there when you turn it back on. Sadly that does n't work long. So you relatively quickly adapt. What annoyed me most was when my digital camera lost power as it ment I missed taking some great picture. Yes, picture's I was going to put online when I got home 🙁