We’re all guilty of spending too much time on social media, but how much is too much?
Excessive use often creeps up on us, making it difficult to recognise the tipping point between casual browsing and fixation. From the dopamine rush we get from notifications to the endless scroll of content tailored to our interests, there’s no wonder we find ourselves scrolling morning, noon and night. If, like us, your ‘downtime’ is often done with phone in hand, it’s likely it’s a habit you don’t realise you have.
Here’s where the ‘digital detox’ comes in. The idea behind this wellness hack is to reset the brains reward system, which can become overstimulated with frequent use of social media and digital devices. This overstimulation can lead to reduced sensitivity to dopamine, making non-digital activities that we’d normally find enjoyable, like taking walks, reading a book or engaging in a hobby far less rewarding.
Last week, the DV team decided to jump in feet first and put aside all things digital for one evening. Not only our phones, but our TV’s, computers and even our favourite podcasts. Here’s how Amy’s digital detox went.
Amy
I got home from work at 5:15pm and then pottered around the flat ticking off various chores on my to do list. This took a couple of hours, when I then cooked dinner with my partner before sitting down to eat. So far, so good. Admittedly, we occasionally indulge in a meal on the sofa in front of the TV, but they’re few and far between, and by the time it got to 8pm, I hadn’t noticed much of a difference in my usual routine.
At this point we’d normally put a TV show on so instead I took advantage of the late evening light and went out for a walk. It was only a short stroll around my neighbourhood, but with no music or phone to distract me I was able to catch a very pretty sunset. By 10pm I was in bed, replacing a couple of episodes of our current favourite TV show and at least an hours phone time, with an early night.
What followed was a long and uninterrupted sleep, and a clear head when my alarm woke me up the following morning. Was the detox hard? More than I thought it would be. Would I do it again? Absolutely.
The Results
Across the DV team there was also an evening of uninterrupted pampering, a sunset walk, the final chapters of a book completed, some serious bedroom organising and a long list of ‘to-do’s’ finally ticked off the list. We’d call that a resounding success.
Whether you only try it once, or it becomes a weekly occurrence, we would definitely recommend. Like us, you may not realise you need it until you’ve done it.
