What is a digital detox, and why so many times it simply doesn’t work?
Digital detox is a concept of switching off technology and screens to rest and regain a healthy balance of good digital wellbeing. The term is mainly related to planned more extended periods of time; however, for people actively working today, running businesses or staying in touch with their support networks during physical isolation, a long time offline might mean a lot of stress and anxiety.
Here are my top three tips for a successful digital detox. Digital wellbeing is a process. If a digital detox is a good start for this journey for you, do it. I would love to hear more about how digital detoxes work for you.
One most significant skill to learn for good digital wellbeing is managing transitions to and from online activities. Learning to negotiate our online and offline identities, connections and behaviours can be incredibly helpful but is frequently overlooked. I still see many articles about digital wellbeing and online safety assuming a clear cut line between the two worlds. That’s simply not the case.
So here is the summary of what I think digital wellbeing is. It stands for many things…
So many aspects of our digital activities generate guilt these days. Someone said to me: shame is our internal critic, guilt comes from outside. So where does this digital guilt come from? Why do we feel so bad about every single email, Facebook message or tweet? Why do we cringe when sitting down at our laptop to work?
Oftentimes when I introduce myself and start talking about the positive impact of digital on our wellbeing people call me (aka class or label me – which I do not like) as an optimist. When in actual fact I am not a digital wellbeing optimist at all. I am an optimistic sceptic if you ask me.
Apologies for the hard to read font, but I did this on purpose. See how when presented on the red the font is bolder and on the yellow light. This is so symbolic for me, especially when it comes to the conversations around online gaming.
So let’s start to think about how to manage and nurture our digital wellbeing. The first thing I do with my clients is to ask them to make a list of the benefits of using digital technologies.