7-Day Digital Detox: What Happened When I Locked Away My Phone.
After a particularly difficult night of sleep the week before last, I woke up and later that day decided I would stop looking at social media for a week to see how it affected my anxiety, dopamine, and overall wellness. A few hours later, on the same day, I remembered that my watch is cellular and so I can receive calls and texts to it without needing the phone. I can check my emails and work from my laptop as well as receiving texts and WhatsApp messages. And, if anything is truly urgent, the person will call me. Nothing of paramount importance happens via text. So, I put my phone in a drawer and decided to do without it for the week. Here's what happened:
Day One, Saturday:
Woke up, first thing I thought about was checking my phone. Made a coffee, played with my kid and tried to have a normal morning. But, I felt agitated, annoyed and slightly off. I almost felt a malaise of sorts, tinted with exhaustion. I set out to meet friends in the park for a picnic with our families and enjoy the sunshine that New York was treated to that lovely afternoon. At one point I found myself grabbing my pocket to reach for the phone out of habit, it was strange to be aware of the behaviour.
Day Two, Sunday:
Woke up, this time I lay in bed for a while, did some breathing and thinking. I noticed a cloud through the window which grabbed my attention, it's simple beauty took me by surprise.
Later on I wanted to watch an FA Cup match which was streaming on ESPN plus. I didn't have the password with me, which belongs to a family member, and the only way to get this to work was to beam it from the phone to the TV. So, I did. As soon as I got it to beam to the TV I locked it away again. Perhaps, this was a lesson in preparation next time, as I did this on a whim. If I plan to do this again I need to spend some time setting things up that won't allow me to fail. Including adding my bank cards to the Apple Pay function on my watch which I later found out the hard way.
Generally, though, my agitation and desire to grab the phone went down.
Day Three, Monday:
Today felt slightly easier than the last two days. I noticed just how much everyone around me is glued to their phones. Truly, habitual mind-numbing that is out of their control. I'm strongly considering ditching my phone for something less time-consuming.
Modern technology is killing our time and time is the most precious resource we have.
I find myself googling dumb phones, smartphone alternatives.
This one catches my attention.
7:50pm Finding myself looking for distraction. Opening email on my laptop. Trying to escape reality with a quick digital dopamine hit.
I discover that Christopher Nolan doesn't use a smartphone because "I do a lot of my best thinking in those kind of in-between moments that people now fill with online activity, so it benefits me,"
Day Four, Tuesday:
Uncomfortable feelings are hard to avoid. What I mean by this is I think our default mode might be to avoid discomfort by burying ourselves in screen time. I've had a few things come up today that I think I would typically avoid without even realizing, by using my phone. Instead, I've sat in these feelings, thought about them, tried to work on them or write about them. This is progress of some sort. If our usual coping mechanism is to escape these feelings with dopamine, alcohol, or any other sort of unhealthy addiction, are we ever really going to grow? Fast forward fifty years, the blink of an eye—if we've been distracting ourselves or avoiding ourselves, and life is closer to the end than the start, have we really lived a life?
A positive discovery in this unexpected experiment is observing just how much time I was wasting scrolling before. A couple of years ago, I quit social media for six months and it felt great, and to be honest, I never quite went back to it in terms of my use the same until I started sharing last year under JamieLivesWell.
Day Five, Wednesday:
Calmer, less anxious. More present. I still found myself often going through the mental motion of needing to get my phone to do basic tasks such as checking my bank balance, using Apple Wallet to pay for something instead of a bank card. This has made me aware of just how much we rely on these devices for everyday tasks, a lot of which can be done in an analog fashion, rather than digitally.
Day Six, Thursday:
Calm start to the day. I have found myself randomly checking my email on my laptop at times when I feel the need to get a dopamine hit. Having the presence to be aware of this and stepping back, closing the laptop, and doing other things has been great.
I also notice time appears to be going by much slower.
Day Seven, Friday:
Much more present. Again, time feels slower.
Didn't wake up and crave my phone.
Slept well.
I like this feeling.
I start writing a list of my new rules for phone use, including any social media as well as when I leave the house whether or not I need to take my phone with me. I look, again, at a list of dumbphones because I want to make the switch.
Final Thoughts
This has been a really interesting experiment for me, and probably the first time since the late 2000s that I've not used my phone for a full week.
I'm going to buy a dumb phone and try to use that combined with my Apple Watch moving forward. If I need to upload content I will do my best to do so via the browser on my laptop.
I’ll try not to google things on the fly just because I can. A phone should not be used in place of a computer, and the more we randomly look things up just because we can the more habitual that becomes. The deeper the neurological groove gets. During this week, I was out and wanted to know if acupuncture could help with a shoulder impingement, so I wrote it down in my notebook and when I was next working on my laptop I did a quick google search. Simple, done. No need to look at a phone.
The only times it was inconvenient not to have my phone on me during the week were when I needed to quickly check my bank balance, when I wanted to use Apple Pay, and when I wanted to quickly google something but had to wait.
Overall, I feel my creativity is better. My mental health has improved, I'm certainly less anxious and I have a much calmer mind. And when I go sleep at night I read a book until I get sleepy and then drift off, no more racing thoughts.
Have you ever considered a digital detox or experimented with reducing your smartphone usage? I'd love to hear about your experiences or any thoughts this post may have sparked. Share your stories or tips in the comments below to inspire and support others on their journey to a more mindful relationship with technology.
While I haven't done a full-on detox, I pretty regularly leave my phone in another room. I've also removed all social media apps from my phone and the only notifications that come through are for texts and calls - even emails are verboten - I need to open up the app or browser to see if I've received any. It's made me a lot more present, way less anxious, and less likely to get sucked into a noisy parallel reality (which is what the internet feels like tat this point). That being said... sometimes you want to look at a solid memes or watch the latest breakdown of the Drake vs Kendrick feud while on the subway. But ultimately, a phone should only be a tool, not an appendage. I find life without phone in hand to be way more interesting and creative.
Wowww that Christopher Nolan quote is so powerful (as is your experience — particularly dealing with difficult emotions vs numbing them). This has given me pause that I might build up to this in the next few weeks.