I did another digital detox today, though not total - until 10, I was working on a project that I needed internet access for. Then at noon, I switched everything off.
For me, that means disabling network access on my laptop (powershell, then Disable-NetAdapter -Name "Wi-Fi" -confirm:$false), and turning on a limited minimalist launcher app called Slim Launcher on my phone, with just just texting, phone, and a few other apps.
What a relief it is. I've been reading a lot recently (mostly on Substack) about the society-wide addiction to the dopamine hits of constant access to information. It's not just social media (though that's huge). It's also just the knowledge that within less than a second you can get access to all kinds of potentially valuable information (the weather forecast, price of bitcoin, local events, etc). That knowledge makes your brain twitchy and agitated, unable to really hold on to ideas, to focus, plan, and do the things that make life worth living. That's how it is for me, anyway.
This constant attachment to screens feels like it might be reaching some kind of tipping point. So many people willingly admit that there's a problem with their screen usage, but don't have the knowledge or the imagination to figure out what to do.
And honestly (and I'm sure, deliberately) so many apps that have a huge addictive component are also extremely useful - sometimes critical - for day to day life.
For instance, in my area, if you want to sell anything at all, you need to be on Facebook Marketplace. Nothing else has anywhere close to the reach. And there's no separate app for the marketplace. To get to Facebook Marketplace you need to go to Facebook, then click on the marketplace (after you tear your eye off the feed, where they shove in your face sensationalized stories from your "friends").
This concern with the addictiveness of screens has become more immediate because...my son just got a smart phone. He's going to to move out and be on his own soon, he was okay with a flip phone for 3 years, and now he's decided he needs a smart phone, and that's happened. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
He's pretty wary about the addictive component, true. But he hasn't built up the tips and tricks and tools that I know about, for trying to tame the crazy beast that is constantly being connected on a screen. I've tried to introduce him to what I do, but it's an uphill battle at his age. And ALL his friends are constantly on their phones.
Also one more tip if you want to do a regular digital detox - have a tiny little notebook and pen handy the whole time, ideally the size of your phone, and in the same place your phone normally goes.
Then if a thought pops up, and you're thinking, "Dang, I really need to look this up online!", you just write it down on your handy notebook, and look it up when your detox is over. No fomo, no missing out--just a little trivial delay, nothing to worry about.
One last thing...it honestly feels a little crazy to be writing a post on this, reporting as though I had some massive adventure, or did something really special. But no, it's just the story of how I...wasn't connected to the internet most of the day.
It's absolutely nuts, and yet--it actually IS so out of the realm of our life nowadays that I DO talk and write about it. People find it interesting, some people I talk to say (crazy?) things like, "You must be really disciplined, I really wish I could do that". About something that, 20 years ago, would have been an average day.
Thoughts? Anyone else experimenting with digital detox?