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New year is always a perfect time to try and improve your life and healthy habits. We’re seeing if 2020 could be the year of the digital detox? Join us in a challenge to see how we can all whittle down the hours we spend staring into screens.
With technology dominating the way we live our lives more and more, it’s not hard to see how people are unable to go hours without using their phone or tablet.
The 2010s were a peak decade for social media and technology with an estimated 5 billion people owning phones, and nearly 3 billion using social media by the end.
A digital detox is a way to stop being so dependent on technology, taking steps to cut out how often you check your phone or use it. We’ve put together some key ways to cleanse yourself from your tech.
Turn off push notifications
Turning off the push notifications on your phone is a popular first step to a digital detox. This encourages people to not check their phone as often, as they won’t be receiving notifications from apps. Cutting out some parts of social media at the start of the cleanse can be crucial later, when you only allow yourself certain times to check the sites.
Invest in an alarm clock
Another simple step that speaks for itself. Majority of people use their mobile phone as their morning alarm, meaning their phone is in the bedroom with them every night. How many times do you check your phone through the night? Scrolling through Instagram at 3am rather than getting 40 winks, is surely not not the best way to spend the early hours of the morning.
Delete social media apps
Uninstall the apps that you frequent most, and only check them from another device, or in a web browser. Make a plan of timings that suit you, and stick to these timings to cut down on how often you use them.
Social media is a large part of why people are so dependent on their mobile phones. Some have coined the term ‘social media addict’ to refer to people who cannot go long without logging into their accounts.
Sites purposely use blues in their logos and app design because of the connotations of the colour, communication and trust. Although, the blue light emitted from your phone screen can have some negative effects. Blue light is important during the day to boost attention and moods, but at night they can lead to lack of sleep, and even bad skin (can you believe it?!). This leads on to our next tip…
Make your phone screen grayscale
Many phones give you the choice to have a colour screen or not, which can be great for your detox. Colours can make you more likely to check apps and look at your phone, as simple as it sounds, black and white can stop you using it so often!
Designate phone-free times during the day
Start with one hour a day, at meal time or before bed, leave your device somewhere instead of carrying it around, or turn it off. The more time you spend away from your device, the more likely it is that you will stop depending on it. There are simple ways around not using your phone for tasks like checking the time.