What is a Digital Detox and Why Should you Do It?

Detoxing is what it’s all about. If 2014 taught us anything, it’s that the concept of the detox is here to stay. People are all kinds of into this form of dieting and ‘cleansing’ and it goes by many names all cleverly disguised so that it looks significantly different no matter where you are. But, like William Shakespeare once said, “A rose by any other name is still a rose,” and all that. The same goes for a detox. Call it what you will, but it’s nothing more than the removal of something from your life you feel is weighing you down and making you less healthy, or not your best self. And while many assume that a detox is something we do in terms of our weight and our bodily health, it can be something very different. Have you heard of a digital detox? It’s the newest rage in the detox family, and it’s something worth looking into.

What is the Digital Detox?

The digital detox is the removal of all or some electronic devices from your life. For example, if you want to spend more time with your family, you might do so by removing all digital items in your life for a certain amount of time. Perhaps you resolve not to use your cell phones at home or your tablets on the weekends. Perhaps you make the choice not to use your electronics for anything but emergency purposes for one solid month (this includes work since so many of us rely on our digital devices for our work purposes). A digital detox is a great way to re-enter the life you once led.

It’s a way to live your life free of things such as Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and everything in between. It’s a way to reconnect with the people in your life and actually be present in the life that you are living. Some people might wonder how it’s even possible to do this. Some people might wonder how to go without electronics. And we’re not saying you have to; you can make your digital detox one that doesn’t affect your work life. You can make it something that only involves social media or using your digital devices for any other reason but work. It’s up to you since there are no hard and fast rules associated with this kind of detox. Make it something you do after 5pm each night. Make it something you do on the weekends. Make it something you do only when it affects your family. Make it whatever you want. If you’re not convinced that there is any reason you should digitally detox, let us help remind you that there are many reasons why disconnecting and unplugging is a great idea for all of us.

Time to Reconnect with Our Families

Reconnecting with our families is a great idea, and it’s necessary. How many of us are guilty of sitting around the dinner table, phone in hand browsing the internet, checking social media accounts and online shopping instead of asking the kids and our spouses how their days were? How many of us ignore our spouses after the kids go to bed because we are too busy texting, shopping or socializing on our phones from the opposite end of the couch? It’s time to give our families are full attention, and this is the best way to do it.

Time to Enjoy the Little Things

A long walk at the end of the day seems like the perfect way to unwind, but it’s not unwinding if your phone is beeping the entire time and you’re responding to emails and texts, checking Facebook and taking the ‘perfect’ sunset photo to post online. We can’t enjoy the littlest, simplest things in life when we are so busy with technology these moments pass us by.

Less Stress

It’s stressful to do anything when digital anything is right there. We can lower our stress levels by unplugging and disconnecting. For example, how much sleep do you lose wondering if you should reach over and check what you know is a text that just came through at midnight? You probably spend a great deal of time wondering this before you finally get up and check it, and before you then distract yourself for the rest of the night. It’s stressful to get ready in the morning when you keep checking emails, texts and social media notifications. It’s so much easier to get places on time when you aren’t distracted by the phone. It’s going to equate to far less stress in your life; believe me.

Less Comparison

How often do you check Instagram and think to yourself that you are not pretty enough, successful enough or fortunate enough? How often do you check on people’s statuses and think that your life is not worth it because you’re not doing this or driving that or having this? Remember that you tend to compare your entire story to someone else’s best moments (I got that from Pinterest people). Think about the fact that you never post your bad hair days or your ugly moments online because they’re not good enough. Think about how many photos it took to get just the right one. You can’t compare yourself to anyone else, and that’s what social media does to us. It makes us crazy wishing we were doing something else, more successful or more whatever. Don’t; stop it. I’m not going to say that I don’t occasionally get that feeling when I see someone doing something I can’t do or whatever, but I can say that I know my life is more amazing that I could ever have hoped. And sometimes it helps me to remember that by staying offline. It gives me a chance to remember that I do have it all, and that while I may not always have it all together, I do have it all. Taking that time away from social media, the internet and being so connected all the time makes me take note of all the little things, enjoy my life as it is and really see what’s so good about me and mine. Do yourself a favor and do the same. It will change your life.

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