Digital 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 or focus on social interaction in the physical world.
After reading this definition, I think we all could benefit from a digital detox. We check our smartphones about 81,500 times each year, or once every 4.3 minutes of our waking lives. According to a recent report, the majority of people would rather go without food and other daily staples than be without their mobile devices.
Technology is an amazing tool that serves us, but if we don’t find a healthy balance, we will end up serving it. Taking a digital detox will help us find some balance between FaceTime and face-to-face time. First Corinthians 6:12 says, “‘Everything is permissible for me’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible for me’—but I will not be mastered by anything.”
It’s been said that whatever we can’t fast from owns us. If you think technology owns you, consider doing a digital detox. Let’s look at some reasons why we would need one.
- Our overuse of technology is rewiring our brains for distraction and addiction.
- Looking down at screens lowers our empathy and interpersonal skills.
- Multitasking on screens reduces our attention span.
- Our vision is being negatively affected.
- Sitting as we look at screens all day is making us overweight.
- We need to protect our relationship with God.
Here are some of the benefits that come from doing a digital detox:
- Reconnect with people you love.
- Get to know yourself again.
- Renew your love relationship with God.
- Receive the benefits of getting into nature: improved mood and sleep.
- Experience the world around you without the desire to document it.
- Gain confidence to do mini-digital detox moments during the week.
- Thrive in your real life and relationships.
Studies show that the majority of the people who try to do a digital detox will not be successful which reveals how addicted we have become to our devices. Successful digital detox requires you to have a plan.
The Digital Detox Plan:
- Do the detox for an hour, a day, or a week.
- Disable your notifications so you don’t hear the dings and pings.
- Set your phone to airplane mode.
- Make a “phone motel” out of a small box and place your phone in it during your digital detox.
- Reconnect: have plenty of face-to-face conversations.
- Get outside in nature: take a walk or hike, breathe fresh air.
- Use an alarm clock, so you are not tempted to look at your phone in bed.
- Tell friends and co-workers about your digital detox plan for accountability.
- Pray about your relationship with technology that it would be honoring to God.
You may want to try to do a digital detox for a day, a week, or a weekend. Or try mini-digital detoxes. These mini-detoxes are something I have started incorporating into my day.
Don’t check your phone the first thing in the morning; instead, wait until you get to work. When you go to the bathroom, leave your phone at your desk. When you have lunch with a friend, keep your phone in your purse. These are simple ways you can detox from your devices and create some space.
Doing a digital detox gives us space and allows us to think. It allows us to be present with those around us and helps us reconnect with ourselves and with God. From time to time, we all need to detox from technology.
