Media Moment: Doing a Digital Detox as a way to reconnect and feel rejuvenated in life

Do you feel connected to your digital devices round the clock (including checking your phone in the bathroom)?

Do you feel that you need a break from your hectic corporate/school/day-to-day life?

Yes, these are some of the issues which most of our “always on” modern society faces, including me.

After a hectic period at my corporate job, I finally had a 4 day holiday around November (Diwali/Indian festive holidays) in 2018. I wanted to “digitally disconnect” so that I could connect with my family and the beautiful nature around me. Therefore, I, along with my family, went for a holiday to Sariska (Rajasthan, India) from 8th November to 11th November 2018. But this time, I went without any digital devices (Yes – no phone! No laptop! Absolutely, no devices!). Instead, I took a real book titled “Ikigai” to catch up on my reading. The 4 days without technology was quite a good change for me. In fact, my brief digital detox made me realize how much my near constant connection to digital devices had affected me physically, socially and mentally.

After disconnecting, I could feel that I had higher levels of focus, good quality sleep, and connection with nature and my family. Even 2 weeks after the holiday break was over, I could feel higher levels of motivation, positivity, and control over my devices.

In this digitally connected world, I was quite hesitant about doing a technology-free holiday. I thought that I’d miss out on urgent work or important calls (“Fear of Missing Out” or “FOMO”). But I realized that my mental wellbeing should always be a priority over my work, and I let go of this anxiety, thereby allowing myself to experience the “Joy of Missing Out” or “JOMO”. I also believed that the digital detox would help me perform better in my work, which proved to be true in the coming months.

Most importantly, I want to encourage others to start digital detoxing by taking micro-steps like scheduling a monthly “digital detox”: sleeping without phones in the night, making use of an analog clock, not checking screens first thing in the morning or last thing in the night, making “no tech zones” in the home, and minimizing device use on holiday vacations.

For me, my family holiday to Sariska was definitely one of the most memorable holidays I’ve ever had in my life, and I feel compelled to share my experience with others. My hope is that everyone reading will be inspired and will themselves go for a technology-free/minimal-technology holiday. Believe me, it will be a transformative journey and an experience that will definitely rejuvenate, provide a new sense of drive, and help in surviving (and thriving) in the round the clock digitally-connected economy.

– Rijul Arora, Digital Wellness Speaker and Advocate
– Edited by Kristelle Lavallee Collins