My Breakup Story | Digital detox
Dear Readers,
“ A decade ago, during my schooling some of us were chosen for an educational exchange program which was being held in another state. As usual I was super excited to visit new places, encounter new faces, experience new culture and so on. This was when I was introduced to a new friend and we grew to be close buddies. We used to seldom meet at a coffee or lunch and happily spend quality time together. I was so mesmerized in this relationship that I loved spending a lot of time together which had become my first priority then. We used to have meals together, take a stroll together, and work together and so on. But my inner self kept saying that this is not gonna work and soon in a couple of days, things started rotting. I noticed that I was being taken for granted! I realized the relationship was growing toxic! I could not concentrate on my chores. All day I was being haunted. I would say my brains almost stopped working. This was when I decided to break up.. Break the toxic relation with my phone.
When something becomes too demanding to such an extent that it starts manipulating you, you need to stay away from It. Right? That’s why I decided to go for a digital detox. I decided to disconnect to gather the me in me.”
Though this was my cooked up story(which is not very magically spun), I am sure many of you would have had similar experiences. Today, the digital technology is magically attracting everyone towards its use. It does sound cool to call out for “Alexa” for playing your favorite music and making your shopping lists. It makes you feels like a wizard to amuse your 3 yr old with a 4D tiger sitting beside him. It makes you feel connected amidst a pandemic to watch a match with your circle. You feel thrice happier to win cash prizes in MPL gaming platform. Certainly, mobile phones and digital devices are a chum for a kid, teen, youth and even golden agers and we need to be grateful for enjoying the perks.
But ..
But just like a kite without a string is ought to fall, a horse without a rein is ought to go erratic, you and I are ought to fail if we don’t keep a check on our screen time. Today it stays with us as we sit, walk, eat, dance, bath or to be precise 24/7!
I would say, today technology is becoming disruptive and it is time we come to a halt and “Think”. I believe mobile phone is a feather-bed but we are too much into it. Just like smoking, drinking or taking drugs, screens have become a behavioral addiction to many of us. This addiction has targeted not just teens but the people of all ages from gen X,Y,Z to even baby bloomers. People bowing down their head and scrolling their screens is a common scene in restaurants and bus stops today. People forget to even look at the person who he/she is conversing to. You might have seen funny videos of people getting hit as they refrain to look up even as they walk. We had started our relation with our mobiles with a purpose; to talk, text, ease our work. Then it started offering us entertainment. And now it is literally killing our time.
This calls for a detox; A digital detox.
What is a Digital detox?
It basically refers to a process where a person avoids using tech devices such as smart phones, televisions, computers, tablets, and social media sites for a period of time. This is not about living in woods denying all the bounties but about taking a break to live your life on your own terms.
It is all about setting limits to your screen time to protect your emotional and physical health. It is about avoiding your pointless surfing on screens killing your time. It is about “doing” something in your life rather than swiping and scrolling till you die worthless. It is about looking up and around you. It is about letting your creative brains restart. It is about having an understanding of when and how much do you actually need to entertain yourself. Screens can always help you relax but you should not end up craving for it.
Not everyone need a detox. Many of you might already have a grip on your screen-time. Let’s find out.
signs you need a digital detox
- You feel depressed, anxious or angry after spending time on social media, which means you have a Fear of Missing out (FOMO). It is your anxious feeling about others having a good time without you often aroused due to a post on any social platform. It might sow the seeds of envy in your subconscious mind. This can end you up in social comparison which can be a thief of joy. This negatively affects your mental and emotional health.
- You feel stressed if you don’t find your phone immediately .
- You aren’t able to concentrate on anything and you keep checking your phone.
- You are preoccupied with the like, comment or share counts on the social media. (For a you tuber or any influencer, it is a part of your job to follow up the reviews but if you are falling a prey to it, you need to tune your mind)
- The first thing you do as you wake up is a stretch not for loosening your body, but to find your phone.
How to do digital detox?
As you start the process, first thing you need to do is to have integrity. Be true to yourself :). Rules are tougher to follow if Mr. X makes them for you. Hence, make your own rules, keep it simple and give yourself enough time.
- May be you can start simple: No devices during your meals. Most of us take not more than 20 minutes (I believe) to finish our food and giving your screens this cooling time is not that hard. May be you can start with no phones and only TV first and then take your next step with no devices at all. (You can always be good to yourself).
- Another simple rule is no devices just before and after your bed time. So to make it simple, you can decide not to use them on bed. This way, you would stop unnecessary browsing and scrolling and concentrate on your own self as you fall asleep. You can do a bit of yoga here and take care of your only body.
- This one is a little tricky. In times when a person works for more than 8 hours a day with his laptop and kids already are into E-education, how can you stay away from screens? To solve this you may always ask why, each time you pull out your device. There are situations when we might start officially to get our jobs done but later have ourselves scrolling our Instagram or WhatsApp accounts (happens to me frequently). It is not mandatory to check your social media engagements every now and then. Just like you schedule your dinner and lunch, fix your screen time. Clearing my point here: Say, an artist creates few paintings and uploads it in a social platform and luckily becomes an influencer. The problem starts when she spends more time on reviewing the likes and comments on her posts rather than on the efforts to steer her career. Please understand that you can always have your me time with your screen. It is just that you should have control on it. You should not get trapped in “the maze”.
- You may hide the notifications from different apps in your phone so that the beep sound doesn’t prompt you to pick your phone every now and then.
As you begin, it might be hard to keep your phone away (I mention “phone” because I believe it the actual culprit when set side by side to other devices). You may experience a void. This is the time to restart your old passion or try your hands on playing an instrument or talk to your granny or maybe you could cook or even sleep. Who knows this extra time can let you think big and do big! Stop spending so much of your life on your screen venting on social media. Instead work on your inner self. Let us “Disconnect to Reconnect”.
These are my teeny bits of suggestions. Please feel free to type in yours as well.
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