In a hyperconnected digital age where our daily routines depend on the billions of highly reliable devices, it’s easy to get caught up in constant pings, notifications, and endless scrolling. There are 5.52 billion internet users worldwide (67.5% of the global population); 94.1% access the internet via smartphones, with some adult users spending more than 10 hours online, daily. This kind of digital addiction can often lead to burnout, stress, and disconnection from other important aspects of life, like spending quality time with friends and family. Thanks to digital detox, you can make a world of difference. Learn about the benefits of fasting from the internet and tips for achieving the best results.
What Is Digital Detox
Sometimes referred to as digital fasting, digital detox means taking a break from the internet or certain sites and apps. Since ancient times, people have fasted for religious reasons; now it’s mostly practiced to achieve weight loss. This is exactly how digital detox operates; reducing screen time so your brain doesn’t consume a lot of information. Abstaining from using your smartphone, tablet, or laptop for a set period will allow you to find focus, enhance productivity, and gain presence and attention that’s often lost when you are always scrolling. By preventing mindless scrolling, you can properly unwind and reconnect with yourself and others, promoting a healthier lifestyle.
Benefits Of Fasting From The Internet
Digital detox enhances mental health
Practicing digital detox can have tremendous benefits for your mental health. Detaching from the digital world, even for short time limits, has been proven to enhance sleep and reduce stress and anxiety. According to a recent study, stepping away from screens minimizes the chances of suffering the stressors that come with online interactions, like cyberbullying, which could reduce depressive symptoms in adults.
Improves Relationships
By refraining from constant scrolling, you can reconnect with your family and friends, and build more meaningful relationships. Although social media has its fair share of advantages, like ensuring continuous connection among couples in long-distance relationships, excessive use can potentially damage relationships beyond repair – usually by promoting feelings of jealousy, creating unrealistic expectations, and limiting face-to-face interactions. By unplugging, you can engage in meaningful conversations with your family and friends, which means increased presence in the everyday lives of your loved ones.
Leads to Better Focus and Increased Levels of Productivity
When constantly distracted by digital devices, it’s hard to concentrate on the task at hand and complete it as expected. While it’s nearly impossible to disconnect completely from these devices, setting tech-free periods allows your mind to rest and reset, significantly improving focus and creativity, and enhancing productivity in the long run.
Tips for Digital Detox: Strategies for Success
With the many negative impacts of excessive internet on our relationships, productivity, mental health, and overall well-being, it’s best to employ appropriate measures to successfully unplug from the digital world. Here are tips for best practices:
Set Clear And Realistic Digital Detox Goals
Digital detox promotes a healthier and more balanced lifestyle, yes, but getting there can be challenging. Planning to incorporate this method into your lifestyle? It’s important to be clear and realistic in your goals. You can start by making small adjustments, like avoiding looking at your device for half an hour, then probably an hour the next day. If you go to work, you can decide to stay away from the internet for half a day or 24 hours every week. Ultimately, it depends on what can work best for you, but be realistic when setting digital detox goals!
Set Reasonable Time Limits for Unplugging
Digital fasting generally lasts 24 or 48 hours, which gives you enough time to reconnect with yourself and others or do some of the things you feel like you’ve been missing out on. However, two days or even a whole day may not work for people with plenty of obligations. And, for many younger internet users, it’s impossible to completely refrain from all digital platforms. At the end of the day, people need to stay connected for many reasons, including educational and employment reasons. So, set reasonable time limits for unplugging, based on your work or learning schedule.
Digital Tools Can Help You Make a Difference
People addicted to their screens will always find it the hardest to cope with this lifestyle. To make things easier, make use of digital tools to help you achieve your goals. DigitalZen is a screen time desktop app that effortlessly lets you control your productivity story. You can entirely disconnect your websites or desktop apps or set time limits. Its Focus Mode lets you block everything and only allow what you need. The app is very user-friendly and engaging, allowing you to have fun as you go into and out of Zen mode. Download DigitalZen and let us know your honest opinion.
How To Motivate Yourself To Do A Digital Detox
Deciding to do a digital detox can be challenging, especially if you are addicted to the digital world. Follow these steps to stay motivated so you can reap the benefits of digital fasting:
- List all the things you want to do when you unplug; it could be working on your kitchen garden, purchasing a book at a store and reading it, or cooking full meals. Have you tried coloring books? It’s a perfect mindless way to unplug and relieve stress. You could also organize your closet or try a new hobby. This will shift your attention from your phone to learning something new that doesn’t involve screens.
- Instead of worrying about the things you will miss out on, think about the potential benefits of logging off and detaching from your digital devices.
- Think about how much information you let your mind consume when you are constantly scrolling and the opportunity to break free from that kind of addiction.
Whether you decide to start small or incorporate long-term changes into your lifestyle, digital detox can help you live a healthier life. From improving sleep, mental health, relationships, and overall health and well-being, there are many benefits of fasting on the internet.