Unless you have, rather ironically, been disconnected from technology of late, the term digital detox is now one with which you will be familiar. But what is digital detox? Why do we need it? And how do we do it?
The Digital Detox Perspective
Im of a certain vintage; younger than a ‘Baby Boomer’, but older than a ‘Millennial’. I’m what sociologists refer to as a ‘Baby Buster’. As a 1972 baby, I’m right in the middle of the busters; part hippie and part hipster. Maybe this spanning of the generations gives us seventies babies dual perspective. We feel for the oldies, who as adults had to grab on to the runaway train that was the internet and all of it’s connected devices, for fear of being left behind. But we can also identify with the younger crew who see ‘LOW BATTERY’ and ‘SEARCHING FOR NETWORK’ notifications as signs of an imminent apocalypse.
Regardless of whether we clumsily transitioned or seamlessly entered, we are all caught up in the digital age. Which is great. Except, scientists are now starting to notice that all of this modern, cool, sophisticated gadgetry is having an adverse affect on how we live. Cell phone and internet addiction is now being linked with anxiety, behavioral problems, depression and even digital dementia.
Digital Detox Generation
Somehow, within just two decades of initial smartphone evolution, we are now so entangled in the mobile digital web, that we shudder to think what it would be like to actually break free. When the first iPhone arrived in 2007, we entered a fast-track to ‘always-on always-connected’ media. Back then, this baby buster was taking a Masters in Computing and Design at University of Ulster, focusing on Human Computer Interaction. I wasn’t impressed by where the shift towards pervasive computing was taking us. I wrote some essays outlining what I felt was a lack of social consciousness when it comes to technological design, and gradually alienated myself academically in the process. Having studied cognitive science, and the connections being used to merge neural circuits with “smart” devices, I like to think I saw a problem emerging with direct people to people communication, and a tampering with our natural evolution.
What we need to understand s that it is no coincidence that we feel a compulsion to constantly check our cell phone for social media updates. Platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram tap into the same neural circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine, to keep us hooked. This has led to former Vice-President of User Growth at Facebook, Chamath Palihapitiya to make a startling confession. “I feel tremendous guilt”, he told students at a Stanford University digital consumer behavior talk. “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created, are destroying how society works.”
This baby buster, who has since traded a life in computing for a life in self development through meditation, thought he would be long gone before the social and behavioral problems associated with excessive smartphone use became abundantly clear. But thankfully, a new trend is emerging. Digital detox is a thing these days. Many people are getting in on the act – possibly just in time. We are now entering the age of digital moderation and digital detox, and it might just be our best advancement yet. Merging self-awareness and meditation with our smartphone and internet use could greatly change our lives for the better.
Why Digital Detox?
We could make a case for digital detox on a number of levels. Let’s start with safety. Texting while driving, walking on a street without looking up, loosing vital spatial awareness skills, not to mention the strain on our eyes and brains. The list could go on, but you get the point.
Digital detox is also beneficial (some would say vital) from a behavioral standpoint. How often do we lose interest in conversation with close friends or family, by responding to a notification, which then triggers a spell of related cell phone use? Here’s the scary part: there doesn’t even need to be a notification. Phantom calls, texts, updates or notifications pull our attention away from relationships, non digital skills and even our study and work. The statistics for the number of times the average person checks their cell phone daily is going up ad infinitum. Our behavior, which is bordering on addiction, is changing the way we think, concentrate, communicate and feel about ourselves.
It will get worse. Machine learning and smaller, smarter sensor-based devices are bringing more digital information into our everyday lives. Social media has actually endangered more friendships and relationships than it has nurtured or preserved. We crave validation, then reject it when it arrives. We are disappointed when others do not immediately respond to us, which is making us very impatient and poor listeners. This is especially so when we can see that the other person is online, or that they have read our message but have not responded. This media business isn’t very social after all, is it?
The fundamental message here is that technology, the internet and social media are not necessarily bad things. These technical innovations have deeply enriched our lives. But there is a tipping point; the place at which enjoyment and convenience becomes a stressful burden. Our ability to find calm uninterrupted space for ourselves is diminishing. Face to face communications is failing. Attention spans are declining. In fact, the entire cognitive process is being shoehorned into a pressurized digital environment, where stress prevails. Digital detox affords us a way out. It offers an opportunity to disconnect; to enjoy our own company, to smell the flowers and feel the sun on our faces. Digital detox allows us to appreciate our families and experience life with a greater sense of awareness. When we eventually come back to our digital world, we do so feeling refreshed and ready to use the power of technology for it’s true intended purpose.
How to Digital Detox
There is little point in disconnecting from our devices if we do not also disconnect our niggling feeling of attachment to them. Learning to calm the seemingly incontrollable urge to reach for our device is the key to a fruitful digital detox. This is where mindfulness and meditation enter the equation. To successfully digital detox, we should:
- Accept that this moment is the only moment that matters.
- Accept that no call, message, notification or alert could improve this very moment.
- Embrace the uninterupted silence. This is like turning our minds onto Airplane Mode.
- Come to realize that we do not need anyone’s approval to be happy and calm.
- Become aware of the stretching of time. We have so much more time to do things than we would if we were checking our phones.
- Reconnect with the natural world. Breath the air, feel the immediately positive benefits of the sun’s rays. Imagine a reconnection with the natural rhythm of the world. The pace of life is much more relaxed than what we imagined it was.
- The most enjoyable aspect is the realization that freedom from network connectivity, battery charging points etc, offers us a sense of freedom.
Need Help with Digital Detox?
in8 Motivation offers Digital Detox and Mindfulness seminars/workshops in New York City and Ireland. Corporate and individual packages are available, as are specially discounted rates for schools, veterans, and non-profit charitable organizations.