Digital Detox: Why You Need to Unplug From Your Phone - And How to Actually Do It

The Original Digital Detox

At networking events, one of the first things that people learn about me is that I’m a crazy animal lady. I currently have three animals, though we’ve had as many as four at different times. When people ask me what my first animal was, I always say our little yorkie mix, Bailey, who passed away five years ago. 

But I realized today that this isn’t true. Technically, I got my first dog in fifth grade. I remember carrying it in my pocket to Mr. Balnicki’s classroom & showing it to anyone who cared at lunch time. 

No, it wasn’t the world’s tiniest terrier. I’m a millennial, so it was a Tamagotchi. 

Some kids had a GigaPet, NanoPet, Digimon, or some other knockoff from Canal Street. They were all the same: tiny, cheap digital devices designed to distract & enrapture kids. Their primary effect, however, was to drive parents & teachers insane. 

Many a car was turned around because someone forgot their Gigapet at home, and who would feed it over Christmas?! Funerals were held for puppies & kittens whose digital diarrhea went untreated. It wasn’t long before these nuisances were banned from schools & we lost interest pretty quickly. After all, we had Beanie Babies to collect so we could pay for college. 

Looking back, digi pets feel like ominous foreshadowing out of a Stephen King novel. Thinking about my Tamagotchi, I can’t help but picture Fred Gwynne telling me that sometimes dead is better. 

Even more so than the original Zack Morris & Fox Mulder cell phones, digi pets forecast the rise of the toxin that nearly all adults & millions of kids carry in their pockets: smartphones.

Why You Need to Unplug

17th-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal had no idea how prescient he was when he said, "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." For many of us today, being alone with our thoughts, with ourselves, is more terrifying than death. People have always found ways to distract themselves, numb out, or escape their realities - drugs, alcohol, and sex being the most common. But smartphones have eclipsed all the distractions since 2007, in part because they can also be used to procure drugs, alcohol, and sex.

And as the equally great philosopher Ian Malcolm would say, engineers were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. Because one could argue they’ve done a lot more harm than good.

Have you ever emerged from an hour or two of scrolling on your phone & felt GOOD? Good about yourself, good in your mind, good in your body? Probably not, because it’s virtually impossible. 

Smartphones aren’t designed to make you feel good. They’re designed to keep you using smartphones.

They do that by manipulating our brains through sound, color, notifications, rewards, algorithms, and gamification. To be fair, there’s plenty of overlap with social media, which accounts for a significant percentage of smartphone addiction. The dependency goes hand in hand. 

The data on the negative effects of excessive smartphones is damning & overwhelming. Smartphone addiction has effects similar to alcoholism.

You don’t need the stats & studies though, not really. Because you know it, you feel it in your mind & body. But you’re either too afraid of sitting with yourself or conflict with kids or setting boundaries at work. Or you’re so far down the rabbit hole you can’t find your way out. 

The emotional issues around smartphone addiction fill many books. I recommend you read or listen to a few. And if you think you don’t have time, consider how much time you’re wasting scrolling Instagram or playing Candy Crush and make a swap.

That’s the hard part of digital detox. It requires sitting quietly in that room with yourself & getting uncomfortable. But there’s good news: there are many simple, practical things you can also do to reclaim power over your smartphone & your life.

Simple Tips for Digital Detox

People have different levels of smartphone dependency (myself included - I do love my notes app & podcasts). So this list includes both minor adjustments & nuclear options.

Get a “dumb” flip phone. 

This is the atomic bomb of digital detox options, for those who want to completely break free of smartphone dependency.

Go grayscale. 

There’s a shortcut that will quickly allow you to change your display to grayscale. Removing color triggers calms the brain, which is especially helpful in the few hours before you go to sleep.

Leave your phone out of the bedroom. 

Speaking of sleep, your phone is sabotaging it. Don’t use it in bed, keep it in a different room at night, & get a cheap analog alarm clock instead. Yes, they still exist.

Treat apps like junk or clutter.

If you haven’t used an app in at least six months, get rid of it.

Get vibing.

If you keep your phone in your pocket, put it on vibrate. Your nervous system will thank you for silencing the pings & rings.

Set boundaries. 

Use Do Not Disturb to prevent interruptions when you need to focus, sleep, or exercise. If there’s any number that must be able to reach you in case of emergency (i.e., a kid’s school), you can allow that number to override the DND. 

Get intentional with email.

One of the most freeing things you can do for yourself is deleting email apps from your phone. No more notifications & the burning pressure to check your inbox. No more forcing your brain to constantly switch between tasks. Deleting email apps will force you to be much more intentional about checking & sending emails. You’ll be much more productive setting aside a block or two of time each day to deal with email as a focused task. And in a pinch, you can still access email on your phone through a browser.

Make apps harder to get to.

If there are apps you need but want to cut your usage, put them on the last screen of your phone. Just a little obstacle of having to swipe a few more times can reduce your use. 

Restrict your access. 

There are lots of focus & productivity apps designed to restrict your overall screen time or use of certain apps at certain times. Find the one that’s right for your needs if you need help with discipline. 

Delete games & social media altogether. 

You can’t use them if they’re not there. And if you use social media in your business, utilize scheduling apps for posting your content. Like with email, get intentional & strategic about your use of social media.

Replace your phone time. 

There are lots of things you can do instead of scrolling on your phone. Find some books, get some exercise, meet other humans, get into crafting, start painting, play music, etc. 

Say no to notifications.

Not everything is important. Turn off notifications on any apps for which they’re not essential, especially social media. This alone will give your brain a much needed rest.

Institute no-phone quality time. 

True quality time with loved ones means no distractions. So if you’re having a Netflix & chill night with your significant other, or a game night with your kids, have everyone put their phones in another room. 

Change your wi-fi password.

If your kids have smartphones & you want to reduce their daily phone use, change the wi-fi password every morning and don’t share the new one until the kids hit a non-screen benchmark, i.e. chores, homework, reading, hobbies, exercise, etc. Just make sure you also adjust your parental control settings so the kids can’t cheat with data. 

If you’re in Anne Arundel County & want personalized support for digital detoxing & other lifestyle changes, call me at 240-594-8267 to schedule an In-Home Wellness Assessment.