I bet a huge portion of your day is spent on your phone. Mine is too. We live in a world where being “plugged in” is the norm. Everyone brings their phone everywhere and it’s like it’s just glued to your hand. It’s almost like a new part of humans. Whether it’s through social media, work, streaming movies or music, calls, texts, or emails our digital lives have now become seamlessly integrated into daily life. But a concept that can be a bit off putting, yet at the same time completely refreshing, is the concept of a digital detox. But although that break and disconnect does sound nice, a question that I always keep coming back to is “is that even possible these days?”

This digital age that you are in is really a blessing and a curse. The internet has really given us unlimited knowledge and the unlimited ability to stay connected from literally anywhere. From being able to call a loved one from across the world, questions you may have answered in an instant, and entertainment right at your fingertips, the digital world is pretty amazing. But with all this ability to connect I think the ability to be able to disconnect has gotten a lot harder. I also think that all this information that you can access in just seconds can be incredibly overwhelming, it is great to know everything and anything right in that moment, but I think it can get to a point where it’s all just too much. 

With social media and the overall internet on a constant rise and evolving daily, a term that also has been on the rise and tossed around more frequently is the term “digital detox”. It’s just been encouraging people to take a break, get off the screens, and be present in the world right in front of them, not just through their phone. Some people do it for a mental clarity break, some people do it to be more productive, and some people do it to hop on the bandwagon trend, but to be honest I think for any one that tries it, no matter the reason, it can be like a huge weight lifted off your shoulders. Social media especially gives you the idea that you always have to be “on”, responding to messages, liking and commenting on posts, posting your life, it can be exhausting and feeling as if you have to live up to certain social expectations can be overwhelming too, this is where the need for a digital detox to come in. time to just step away and simply just be. No need to be constantly on and connected, just your time to get your head in the real world. 

Digital detoxes are usually pretty short lived, but for a valid reason I guess. With remote work growing and the lines between work/life balance blurring, having a phone on 24/7 for work is kinda becoming a norm in itself. So a lot of people really aren’t able to truly detox and step away. But with just a short break, many  people return from these breaks only to find themselves back in their old habits within days, checking notifications, responding to messages, and endlessly scrolling through TikTok or Instagram, but social media is just as addicting as anything else. It’s instant gratification. 

Sometimes it can sound kinda silly. Really? A digital detox? It can’t be that hard. But it is. It can be super difficult to put down your device and live in the moment. Every time we get a like, a notification, or a new message, our brain releases a small amount of dopamine, it’s literally just a happy chemical, no reason my screen time is insane on social media apps. 

It’s also hard to disconnect when everyone is connected. I mean it’s not like the good days where you could step outside your house, walk over to your neighbours and hang out with friends. It’s all just so different now. My friends and I all live pretty far apart and our schedules are so busy that if we didn’t have our phones to communicate we would literally never see each other! I also find that if I’m off my phone for a while, like at work or in class, I miss so much. There’s always something going on, whether it’s a group call or chat it’s hard to not always want to keep checking in. 

I also rely on my phone for so much, my work app to clock in is on my phone, I use maps everyday to get where I need to be, the weather app to see if I need to bring my umbrella, there’s just so much important information on my phone where if I did do a digital detox, I’d have to really plan out my life days before, but then again, that was the norm for my mother and her mother, so if they could do it, I guess I could  figure it out too. 

But I think everyone should take time out to try a digital detox at one point or another, even if it’s just a day. Any little bit to turn off a device and tune into the world will do you more good than you would imagine. I mean I just know in the times where I’m off my phone my anxiety levels are a lot lower and I really feel present in life. So what do you think? Are you all for the digital detoxes and breaks from being constantly online? Or do you feel as if your phone has just become a vital part of your daily life?