Here’s a question: What is the first thing that you touch or pick up when you wake up in the morning? Chances are, it is your mobile phone. Or your tablet, or any other gadget, but we wager you, like most of us, pick up an electronic device even before we have had our first cup of coffee or tea.
Slowly but steadily, the digital world that we live in is taking its toll on our daily lives. From computer screens to mobile phones to televisions, we are glued to one or the other screen all day long. Granted, these new age devices have ushered in an era of comfort and convenience – and has even helped humans connect – but somewhere, somehow, our reliance on them are taking on the form of an addiction of sorts.
It doesn’t take too far to see the effects. Go to any coffee parlor or any other hangout favored by the young and the hip in your area, and you will find almost everyone huddled over their mobile phones, checking their messages, catching up on social media, and generally broadcasting every aspect of their life online.
The perils of digital addiction has become so widespread that there are now detox centres for people who really need to get a grip on their life and scale down on their online activities. Unfortunately, these centres cost quite a pretty penny, not to mention the fact that you need to set aside a good amount of time for it. Not everyone has that luxury anymore.
Here, we show you how you can digitally detox your life in the comfort of your own home. All you need is the willpower to accept that you need a break from your online shenainigans, and that you will benefit from it.
There are a few precautions you have to take before you prepare for a digital detox. With phone calls relegated to a distant second place for our daily interactions, there are possibly quite a few people in your life who you are habituated to talking with daily. Let them know beforehand that you are taking a detox, and tell them for how long you will be unavailable to respond on messages and emails. That will save a few apologies, explanations and even professional hiccups later on.
All set? Here we go:
- Sign out, unsubscribe and log off services you don’t really need: This is the first step of your detox routine. Sign out of Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, and all other social media accounts you have. If you can’t sign out of any one, turn off notifications or silence its app temporarily.
- Create a no electronics zone. Make it a rule to have no electronics near your bed or on your dining table. Or take it further and pledge not to have your mobile phone around when your friends and family are visiting and are with you.
- Take a trip. Maybe a short one even. It will be hard to pass time when you don’t have your mobile phone, tablet or game console nearby. Call up an old friend and go see a place that you have been meaning to visit for some time. Visit that new restaurant in the neighboring city that you have been reading about. At the very least, take it as an opportunity to spend some quality time with friends and family.
- Read a book. If taking a trip is out of the question, this is the perfect time to catch up on some reading. Crack open that long novel you have always wanted to finish, and don’t stop until you have read it cover to cover. An engrossing book is the best way to spend some time alone. Just remember to go back to the good old paper-bound books and not make your efforts come undone by reading something on your iPad or Kindle.
- Rekindle a hobby. Growing up, we had time and passions for hobbies, and this something that we no longer have now. Use this time to rekindle your passion for them, and who knows, you might enjoy it so much that you decide to continue with it for the rest of your future. Or do something new that you have always wanted to do but have been putting off till now.
End note: A digital detox isn’t just a one-time thing. Don’t go so all out on your first detox that it leaves you with a bad aftertaste and you don’t feel like taking it again for the rest of your life. Plan to do it ideally three or four times every year or even more frequently if you can.