Digital Detox: How Necessary is it?

For many with 24/7 access to tech devices, it can be difficult to take well needed breaks from the internet. I am one of the many who have this access, and with unlimited availability to the internet and social media, it is hard not to check my phone constantly. To be honest and vulnerable, I do think it is likely that I have a social media addiction, mostly because I do check it so often and I am usually unconsciously doing it. I definitely rely on technology and the internet for a number of things, ranging from setting an alarm to wake myself up on time in the mornings, to checking snapchat to see what my friends are doing every 5 minutes. I have experienced stress and anxiety from being overly “connected” because it can become very unhealthy when I am checking my phone every few minutes to see if someone responded to me or to see Instagram models on my page everyday.

I think that being strategic with your online time is important when establishing a healthy relationship with the internet and for creating healthy habits. What I mean by this is not simply picking up my phone every few minutes to check if someone snapchatted me, but rather saving time to check for notifications after finishing a task. Being strategic with your online time should mean using the internet strategically (like connecting with friends or reading something), rather than to pass time. It also means setting limits for yourself on how much time a day you should be using for social media. You can do this yourself, or if that is too hard, if you have an iPhone, the Screen Time feature allows you to limit how much time you spend on each app (Ghaffary, 2019). You’ll receive a warning 5 minutes before, and once your limit is up you’ll be stopped from using the app. This is a strategic way that I have now learned that can help with decreasing social media use and negative distractions. Additionally, I think taking a day every now and then that is social media free is really beneficial for the mind as it eases it a lot from outside stresses and allows you to focus in.