How To Start a Digital Detox, The Biggest Wellness Trend for 2024!
- Chantal Jurdi
- Feb 23, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 29, 2024
Did you know? Digital detox is THE wellness trend for 2024! As people worldwide have started hopping on the well-being train, the amount of time we spend on our digital devices and our phone addiction was bound to be tackled sooner or later, and that time is now.
Digital Detox is infiltrating all areas of our lives - from the way we travel to how we socialize including, ironically, our digital world!
And that is no wonder! According to Exploding Trends: “The average screen time worldwide is around 6 hours and 58 minutes of screen time per day”(1), which is around nine years of the average person’s life.
That is a tad much, don’t you think? Given the nature of our jobs, most of us spend our days glued to our screens. But then, without noticing, our phones and digital devices have become more than a means to do our work. They have also become how we entertain ourselves, learn, socialize, make new friends, order food, and even find love!
While digital connectivity made our lives easier, it also came with its fair share of downsides and has induced in some of us, a plethora of symptoms at least, such as anxiety, addiction, and FOMO, not to mention the strain on our eyes, back, neck, shoulders, and more (2).
With our lives so dependent on these little screens, isn’t it high time for us to take back charge of our little stolen moments, and most importantly, our health?
If you, like me, have found yourself in a whirlwind phone addiction since the new year, and are in desperate need of recharging, then you have come to the right place! I am sharing with you below five tips on how to disconnect, start a much-needed digital detox, and let 2024 be our year of digital wellness:
Start small: the goal is to do something nice for ourselves without making it feel like a punishment. Keeping in mind that our addiction to our phones is very similar to other types of addictions, and may induce a few difficult withdrawal symptoms at first(3), our mental health and bodies will eventually thank us for our efforts. And while some of us may prefer to go cold turkey, and completely cut off all their unnecessary screen time at once, I found that this method rarely works for me. I prefer instead to set realistic goals for myself. I start each day by determining my ideal screen time, considering the nature of my work (where almost 85% of it requires me to use my screen), and then adding a bit of much-needed leisure time. But instead of spending mindless hours scrolling through content (guilty), my phone alerts me whenever I hit the limit. This allows me to focus on other activities such as grabbing a coffee with a friend, exercising, or reading a book.
Set a screen-free day: That day is Saturday for me when I take a complete break from my phone that I turn off (oh, the freedom!) though I am guilty of watching some TV ( a girl’s got to entertain herself somehow, right?). I make sure though not to spend more than a couple of hours watching my favorite series, then spend the day more mindfully. Whether it is sitting on my balcony by myself for hours, with a view that never ceases to amaze me, or journaling, Saturdays are a great way for me to rejuvenate and replenish my energy for the week to come.
When socializing, I make sure to put my phone in silent mode: and place it facing down on the table. I find that there is nothing more annoying than having the person in front of me check their phone every few minutes while trying to make conversation! That is why, whenever I am meeting with someone, whether it’s a client or a friend, I make sure to put my phone on silent. (unless I am waiting for urgent news - which is rarely the case). I have found that most matters can usually wait an hour or two!
Silent mode - my savior: speaking of which, my phone is almost always in silent mode. Why? Because I HATE the sound of a notification and the compulsive urge I get to interrupt what I am doing and check my phone. Silent mode is a hassle when I lose my phone, but that is a price worth paying for my sanity! And that brings me to my next point.
Get rid of the urge of always being connected and available: and protect your peace at all times! We are living in a society that expects us to answer the minute we receive the message, and if we don’t, we are perceived as rude! WhatsApp and other apps even let us see who has seen our message and chosen not to answer, when where they last connected, and a whole other bunch of information we could go without! The solution? Remove all that. I have turned off the settings that allow me to know this about others and vice versa. I got rid of these tiny little particles of information that unnecessarily clutter my brain and gave myself and others, the space and time to answer whenever we are ready, and not the instant we receive the message.
In conclusion:
Taking a full digital detox day every once in a while, or a small mini-digital detox every few hours has been extremely helpful for me and has helped me maintain control over my time to spend it more mindfully.
While sometimes, I must admit, that I fall off the wagon and go back to scrolling mindlessly whenever I am stressed or down, I am aware that it is just a phase. At times like these, giving myself what I need at that moment is more important than checking off some self-imposed list. I know that eventually, I will go back to practicing a mindful digital detox to counter my phone addiction, which helps me live my life in all its entity, instead of virtually.
Have you ever tried to do a digital detox? If yes, how did it go? Share with me your experiences!
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