Digital Detoxing
What is digital detoxing? It is usually classified as when a person takes some time away from electronic devices and social media, which then provides an opportunity for a person to focus on social relationships and reduce stress. I know how much any social-media platform can affect someone within all aspects of their lives. Social media puts immense pressure on people, because they start comparing their lives, jobs, looks, and relationships to the “perfect” ones that influencers get paid to post.
Digital detoxing has wonderful benefits. Not only does it reduce stress, but it also can improve mental health. It also helps people regroup and focus on themselves and their lives. Some other benefits include things like increased productivity, better sleep, mood boosts, and even better physical health. Digital detoxing has also been known to reduce brain fog, boost creativity, and sharpen our attention span.
You can detox for as little or as long as you would like. The average time for a detox to be effective is 72 hours electronics-free; it is also recommended that you spend these hours in nature. If you want to feel max benefits and effects, the minimum amount of time for this would be the 72 hours. You may be thinking, “Well, how do I keep myself off my electronics?” Some suggestions would be to go out in nature where you would not have service or internet, get a lock box to put your phone and chargers for your electronics in it, or leave your phone out of your bedroom when going to sleep and invest in an alarm clock. Setting time limits on your streaming services, social media sites, or your work apps is recommended after your initial digital detox. Another way to digital detox without completely cutting out electronics is setting the “do not disturb” feature on your devices when doing work or going to sleep.
The word detox can make this sound like some big thing, but it truly is very simple. There are many resources out there to help you make your digital detoxing experience beneficial to you. The things that were discussed above are aimed to help you know how beneficial to yourself a digital detox could be. Digital detoxing will help you transform your relationship with your electronic devices and not rely on them so much.
—Cheyenne Schreiner, Self-Care Editor