Are You in Need of a Digital Detox?
At the start of summer, I made the decision to give myself a digital detox. No one wants to admit that they are addicted to their screens, but the reality is, most of us are! For me, I started to notice that I’d open Instagram out of habit and often times, out of boredom. As I’d mindlessly scroll, watch videos (mostly of people I don’t have a real-time relationships with), or get caught up watching curated ads that had me questioning whether I needed said product, I became very aware of an “icky” feeling I’d have inside of me. Is this really how I want to spend my time? So much of this felt FAKE to me. It’s a glimpse into other’s lives, but was it really fulfilling? My answer was resoundingly clear. No. Once I arrived at this answer, I quickly realized, this was not the quality of life I wanted to live. I vowed to myself to take a break from social media, noticing all of its pitfalls, ick-factors, and my own susceptibility to get “sucked in” to things that really didn’t matter to me.
I vowed to pull away from social media and give myself a digital detox. I gave myself one rule, if I absolutely must check Instagram, it would only be from my computer which seemed to be less convenient and more intentional. So here is what happened.
The first few days, I noticed how often I would habitually go to click on the Insta-icon on my phone. I even reorganized my icons to make this particular one less obvious and easy to access. That didn’t seem to stop me though. Each time I’d get to that icon on my phone, I’d say, NOPE and remind myself of the icky feeling I didn’t want to feel anymore. I’d replace time spent on social media with quality time spent with my family or reading a book. The ‘urge’ to see what was going on in the Insta-world took about 2 weeks for it to fully subside and be less of a temptation. I kept my promise to myself through every urge I experienced. With each passing day, it felt a little easier and definitely more fulfilling to not feel the pull of checking this platform. Instead, I dove into reading books, which was a past time that I missed. In fact, I set a goal for myself to read a certain amount of books by year’s end. Update: I have far surpassed my goal!
You might be wondering if I returned to Instagram. The answer is yes, but my relationship with it has changed. I now quickly scroll over and pass advertisements without giving them an ounce of my time. I also spend far less time scrolling because I am more attuned to the time-suck this behavior creates. I have eliminated content that I don’t find uplifting, funny, or personal. As I type this blog article, I am reminding myself of how much better I felt without social media. So guess what? I’m pulling back from it again and re-engaging with activities, people, and spaces around me. Want to join me?
If you’re interested in doing a digital detox, here are tips for how to be successful.
DIGITAL DETOX PLAN
Identify the problem you want to resolve. Are you anxious about keeping up with everyone’s lives? Is social media keeping you up at night instead of getting a great night’s sleep? Are you watching too many videos back to back while losing sense of time? Reflect on any negative feelings you experience when using technology. Better yet, write them down! Maybe you’re like me and feel like you’re not fully engaging with people around you as much as you’d like, or maybe time on technology is not allowing you to be as productive as you’d like at work or at home.
Decide on a goal. What result do you want from your digital detox? Be specific - what do you want to get out of it? Maybe instead of looking at things that don’t matter on social media, you’d like to go to the gym and take care of yourself. Or maybe you’d like to re-engage in a hobby of interest. Use the information you gathered about the problem in the last step to design your goal. It could be a goal based on your emotional state, your relationships, your time, or your behavior.
Select a time frame. Digital detoxes can be short or long term. For me, I needed those first 2 weeks to withdraw and repattern my behavior. After that, it felt so liberating and good, I didn’t want to reintroduce Instagram. I realized that other’s lives go on with or without me and I don’t need to be up-to-speed all the time. You might structure your detox as a 30-day challenge and see how that goes and how you feel. You may come to realize that as you experience withdraw symptoms, you may need a longer time away than you originally thought.
Create an action plan. You know the problem, you know the source, you have a goal, and you know how long you want to digitally detox for. Now it’s time to build your plan. Ask yourself the following questions as you prepare for your experience:
What triggers will you need to be prepared for? (Mine was boredom or ‘down time’)
What devices, apps, platforms, etc. do you need to limit or stop using?
How will you spend your time instead? (Be intentional!)
What can you do to make it easy and enjoyable to do something else?
Who can you talk to about your goals and experience during your detox?
What resources do you need (books, articles, tools)?
Ideally, having a replacement activity will help your transition away from using your screen. For me, it was choosing a book instead OR spending time with my family and providing undivided attention to what we were doing. 5.
Reward yourself. Rewards are great for staying motivated and committed to your digital detox. For me, I didn’t need an external reward, the difference in how I felt internally was all the reward I needed. I felt more in control of my choices and my time. I also loved plowing through books and finding entertainment that way!
Reflect on your progress. Have your own checkpoints along the way. It’s okay if you’re like me and notice yourself looking for the app on your phone (almost always out of habit). Just notice your behavior and redirect it. You can verbally say “no” and then shift your focus onto something else. As you give yourself time to adjust into new behaviors, maintain self-discipline and remind yourself of your “whys”. Why am I doing this? Which behavior will help me reach my goal vs. give in to momentary satisfaction.
Ask for help if you need it. If you’re having difficulty sticking to the shortest or simplest digital detox, talk to your therapist about it. This is a great way to explore what is getting in your way or what subconscious drives might be creating barriers. There is never any shame in asking for support!
So how does this feel? Do you feel ready to change something that hasn’t felt good to you? Again, for some, this might be an easy and welcomed change, but for others, it might take time to reduce feelings of stress, agitation, or urge. Push yourself to get to the other side of the discomfort each time it shows up. You’ve got this and I cannot wait to hear how you feel on the other side of the digital detox!