User:Gracebex/Digital detox
A digital detox is a deliberate break from digital devices to mitigate screen overuse and promote offline activities. Emerging in response to increasing technology use, the practice addresses concerns about screen addiction’s impact on health and mental well-being. Detox approaches range from setting limits on device usage to complete abstinence, sometimes supported by dedicated retreats or travel packages. Though digital detoxes have shown positive effects on focus, relationships, and overall well-being, they may also raise social pressures and fear of missing out (FOMO). [1]
Background
[edit]Definition
[edit]A digital detox is a period of time when a person voluntarily refrains from using digital devices such as smartphones, computers, and social media platforms. It encourages awareness of technology use and is aimed at mitigating digital dependency and promoting offline engagement. Subsets of a digital detox include varying levels of decreased electronic use, messaging, social media, and applications. [1]
History
[edit]Since 2015, discussion and research on the implications of a digital detox have increased. [2] The areas of research can be broken into five main categories: communication, education, tourism, well-being and health, and work environments. The increase in technological advancements has led to a growing demand for research on digital detoxes. The use of video conferencing during COVID-19 has increased the stress-related depletion of physiological resources, leading to negative effects on health. [3]
Celebrities and influencers have promoted the concept of a digital detox. Ed Sheeran and Kendall Jenner have undergone a social media detox and influenced others to do one as well. Comedian Ari Shaffir gained attention for refusing to use a smartphone after concerns about spending too much time on it, especially on social media.
Motivation
[edit]A digital detox aims to counteract the negative impacts of excessive screen and technology use, which can lead to both physical and mental health issues.
Physical Effects
[edit]Physical effects of technology addiction include illness caused by germs on a phone, eye strain, wrist strain, and neck problems.[4] Neck problems, sometimes called ‘tech neck’, result from leaning the head forward for extended periods to look at a phone. This can lead to chronic pain and deformities such as hunchback. Neck and back pain from excessive phone use can also lead to extreme migraines. [5]
The brain, especially grey matter and the cerebral cortex is also impacted by screen time. Adults with a diagnosed smartphone addiction have lower gray matter volume and a thinner cerebral cortex compared to those of adults without smartphone addictions. Gray matter is responsible for movement, memory, and emotions. The cerebral cortex is responsible for memory, decision-making, and problem-solving.[6]
Sleep habits are also impacted by smartphone use, as blue light from screens can disrupt sleep patterns through the suppression of the hormone melatonin. This hormone imbalance from diminished melatonin disrupts the REM sleep cycle which is essential for storing memories in the brain.[7]
Mental Health and Behavioral Changes
[edit]Technology reprograms people to feel more anxious when they are not in its presence. Additionally, having a phone close to a person’s face can trigger a fight or flight response, setting an anxious tone for the day [6]. Screen time’s effect on mental health can also be demonstrated through a positive correlation between depression and screen time. Screen time, specifically in the form of social media, has been found to harm self-esteem. [4]
Screen addiction shares some characteristics with other addictions including alcohol dependence and gambling. Reward-style games, such as some downloadable on smartphones, have been found to lead to obsessive behaviors [7]. Additionally, screen addiction can affect children's ability to learn and focus.[4]
Process
[edit]The process of a digital detox can vary widely depending on an individual’s goals, motivations, and lifestyle. [8] Methods include deleting media platforms, muting notifications, and abstaining entirely from digital media. [9] There are three different variables in a digital detox: time frame, the extent of intervention, and the amount of outside assistance. [10] Generally, digital detoxification can be split into two categories: moderate and complete.
Moderate Detox:
[edit]A moderate digital detox involves limiting device and social media usage. Common executions in a moderate detox center on setting boundaries. Examples of boundaries include limiting social media usage to specific times of day or implementing screen-free periods, especially in the morning or evening. [8] One way of curbing the overuse of digital devices is to reallocate the use of a smartphone to that of non-digital means. In 2019 Google announced a "paper phone" that can contain daily agendas, directions, and other uses so that people rely less on their smartphones. Another key element of a moderate detox is controlling the frequency of notifications and alerts. [11] This can alleviate the temptation to check devices continuously throughout the day.
Complete Detox:
[edit]A complete detox is an absolute break from digital devices for a set period. This form of detox can be conducted for various periods, the most common ranging between a week and a month. During a complete detox, individuals delete or log out of all social media and messaging apps. Many disable their devices entirely. [8] Some individuals implement this form of detox during a vacation or a period when there are no work or social obligations that would require their online presence. The tourism industry has found a niche market for 'digital detox travel packages' where tourists are disconnected from their information and communications technology by traveling to remote areas. Digital detox retreats increase accountability among individuals and prevent the temptation to check devices or engage in habitual online activities.
Impact
[edit]Relationships
[edit]Digital detoxes have been found to have a positive impact on relationships from a refocus on offline social interactions. People can build stronger social bonds when they do not check their phones as frequently. [12] Despite this positive impact, studies have found negative effects of digital detoxes on social relationships and interactions. Digital detoxes have also been shown to cause a higher social pressure on participants during social media abstinence compared to pre-intervention social pressure measurements. Furthermore, some research indicates that digital detoxes can result in the fear of missing out (FOMO) on social activities. [1]
Health
[edit]Digital detoxes have been found to have positive effects on physical health, such as reducing eye strain, dry eyes, and blurry vision. Additionally, a digital detox can address neck pain caused by being in a hunched position from looking at a phone. [12] Furthermore, detoxing has been shown to improve time perception in participants. [1]
Digital detoxes have also been found to have a positive impact on mental health. Studies have found that digital detoxes can reduce stress and anxiety caused by the overuse of technology, along with reducing depressive symptoms. Researchers have also found that detoxes can improve feelings of well-being. Overall happiness and life satisfaction were also found to increase with reduced daily social media use. [13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Radtke, Theda; Apel, Theresa; Schenkel, Konstantin; Keller, Jan; von Lindern, Eike (June 2022). "Digital detox: An effective solution in the smartphone era? A systematic literature review". Mobile Media & Communication. 10 (2): 190–215. doi:10.1177/20501579211028647. ISSN 2050-1579 – via Sage Journals.
- ^ Mirbabaie, Milad; Stieglitz, Stefan; Marx, Julian (2022-04-01). "Digital Detox". Business & Information Systems Engineering. 64 (2): 239–246. doi:10.1007/s12599-022-00747-x. ISSN 1867-0202. PMC 8862700.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) - ^ Hager, Nina; Stangl, Fabian; Riedl, René (September 2023). "Digital Detox Research: An Analysis of Applied Methods and Implications for Future Studies". 18th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik – via Research Gate.
- ^ a b c Singh, Ranjit (July 2024). "Perils of Screen Addiction". Akgec International Journal of Technology. 13 (1): 5 – via Research Gate.
- ^ Rick, Thiesse (April 5, 2024). "Tech neck is a pain in more than just the neck". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Shetty, Maya (2024-05-30). "What Excessive Screen Time Does to the Adult Brain | Cognitive Enhancement". Lifestyle Medicine. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
- ^ a b Ruder, Debra (June 19, 2019). "Screen Time and the Brain". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
- ^ a b c Anandpara, Gaurang; Kharadi, Ashish; Vidja, Prakash; Chauhan, Yashkumar; Mahajan, Swati; Patel, Jitendra (2024-04-22). "A Comprehensive Review on Digital Detox: A Newer Health and Wellness Trend in the Current Era". Cureus. doi:10.7759/cureus.58719. ISSN 2168-8184. PMC 11109987. PMID 38779255.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Syvertsen, Trine (July 2023). "Framing digital disconnection: Problem definitions, values, and actions among digital detox organisers". Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 29 (3): 658–674. doi:10.1177/13548565221122910. ISSN 1354-8565.
- ^ Mirbabaie, Milad; Stieglitz, Stefan; Marx, Julian (2022-04-01). "Digital Detox". Business & Information Systems Engineering. 64 (2): 239–246. doi:10.1007/s12599-022-00747-x. ISSN 1867-0202. PMC 8862700.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) - ^ Purohit, Aditya Kumar; Barclay, Louis; Holzer, Adrian (2020-04-25). "Designing for Digital Detox: Making Social Media Less Addictive with Digital Nudges". CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM: 1–9. doi:10.1145/3334480.3382810. ISBN 978-1-4503-6819-3 – via Research Gate.
- ^ a b Blessy, T; Arun Raj, T (2024). "Digital Detox for Mental Wellness". ohn Foundation Journal of EduSpark. 6 (2): 20–25.
- ^ Ansari, Sameer; Iqbal, Naved; Azeem, Ahmad; Danyal, Kainaat (2024-09-30). "Improving Well-Being Through Digital Detoxification Among Social Media Users: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. doi:10.1089/cyber.2023.0742. ISSN 2152-2715.