Why a digital detox could be the answer we've all been waiting for
Image: Lance Asper
This morning, a lovely old man at the bus stop asked me to help him with something on his phone. I couldn’t work it out despite being a smart phone user myself. He then explained to me that he had been very happy with his simple phone, using a tablet to access the internet when needed. He told me that his friends and family had convinced him to get a new phone because ‘everyone’s got one these days’.
This made me think back to the time when on a family bike ride in the Forest of Dean, I foolishly left my jacket pocket unzipped. This ultimately ended in me being one IPhone down. After an eleven-mile re-run of the cycle track and a brief burst of despair, I had somewhat accepted that my gadget was gone.
Granted, I was unprepared for the loss of my phone, but what I was most unprepared for was just how much I enjoyed the period of having no access to a smart phone, that followed. My parents, quite understandably refused to replace my smart phone until my contract had ended. This meant I faced one year with a basic £10 phone – god forbid. Mum took me to the local phone shop and my time with Alcatel began.
One year of no constant notifications. No guilt when I see a message but am too busy or preoccupied to reply. A year of having the choice of when to sit down and check my emails. A whole year free of antagonising over how many likes a photo I have posted has got. One whole year with a simple, functioning phone. A phone that I could put down and really have peace from.
How did I manage I hear you say!? I still had my laptop for emails and social media, but instead of the phone determining my time, I determined how much of my time it used up.
When I went to university, I was using Alcatel again following the loss of another IPhone at a music festival. When a friend offered up the use of an IPhone he had lying around, I gratefully accepted. But with the return of the smart phone came endless notifications, relentless buzzes, ringing, reminders and nudges. One feature that really bothered me, which I had been blissfully unaware of before, was the IPhone’s habit of kindly buzzing again to remind you of a message that you still haven’t had time to read.
I found myself feeling bombarded and quite simply harassed by my own phone.
While these experiences weren’t enough to put me off using a smartphone for life, it definitely made me think differently about the ways I can change how I use it for the sake of my general wellbeing and sanity.
I have now disabled my notifications and muted Facebook conversations. This means that I choose to read my messages when I am ready and have time to respond. I also charge my phone away from my reach at night meaning the only use I have for it in bed is as an alarm.
While I am still very much a smartphone addict, these small changes have helped to create a space between myself and my phone and I would encourage everyone to do the same. If there’s ever an emergency and you don’t see the message, I can guarantee you will also receive a phone call. As the lovely old man put it – ‘the old school way’.