Taking a break from your phone can lead to improved sleep, better posture, healthier relationships, improved brain function and being more productive. Photo / File
In a world saturated with technology it has become increasingly difficult to switch off. Reporter Jenny Ling hit the refresh button with a two-week digital detox.
It was a bit of an addiction, I can see that now.
My smartphone had become an extension of my hand.
Emails, social media posts, messages and keeping up with the news had me reaching for it every spare minute and scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.
It was increasingly difficult to switch off.
With all the research that's been done on this topic, I'm far from alone.
Constantly checking our phones has been shown to increase anxiety and stress, and interfere with our ability to focus.
It can cause feelings of loneliness and depression and diminish the ability to think deeply and creatively.
Having 24/7 access to news and social media, with all those juicy comments, has given rise to endless opportunities for outrage.
Why are there so many stories about this woman in Dunedin not cutting her grass berm? I was asked recently.
Because everyone will have an opinion on it and people will be outraged.
So, when my editor suggested doing a digital detox and writing about it, I jumped on board.
Research shows there are benefits to switching off the constant noise.
These include improved sleep, better posture, healthier relationships, improved brain function and being more productive and calmer.
Who wouldn't want all that?
So, I unplugged from technology.
For two weeks from January 18 to February 1, I decided to drastically cut down on my screen time.
I couldn't cut it out entirely, as I needed to use my phone, email and the internet for my job.
I also still had to text and use Facebook Messenger, because there are a growing number of people who don't answer their mobile phones anymore, insisting on their voicemail message that you text or message them instead.
But I vowed to stop all other social media at work, and after hours I'd ban every screen in the house; the TV, two phones with scores of apps, and a laptop.
I actually deleted the Facebook app over a year ago.
It was part of my 2020 new year's resolutions in an attempt to claw back time, because I was constantly reaching for my phone and scrolling like a zombie on autopilot.
Around that time, I also cancelled my Netflix subscription, to stop obsessively searching and saving movies and TV shows I planned to watch.
This was followed by the obligatory binge-watching of series that I'd get to the end of and realise they were only, very mildly, entertaining. [Apart from Killing Eve which was utterly amazing.]
Still, there was plenty to work with.
Not watching television in the evenings meant switching off my current addiction to Million Dollar Listing New York, whose real estate brokers Fredrick, Ryan, Luis, and Steve bedazzled me every weeknight.
To stop checking emails after work, I'd leave the phone in my office, which also stopped me from checking slack messages, a direct communications platform we use here at NZME.
There was the Trade Me app I also had to delete, to prevent hours wasted daydreaming about owning a horse or a new car.
As for news apps, they all had to go; The Herald, Stuff, The Guardian and Flipboard, along with TVNZ On Demand and Messenger.
And sorry Jamie Oliver, I'm not going to scroll through your website for recipes and save them on my phone for a while.
I will revert to your cookbooks instead.
Same goes for you Pinterest.
Even though I recently reinstated this app in an attempt to find 'tips and haircuts for women with thick frizzy hair' [which have not, by the way, worked] I have to delete you too.
It was clear I needed to detox my over stimulated brain.
But it begged the question - what would I do instead?
I had to make a plan.
There would be reading books, and baking and talking to my husband, that's if I could drag him away from his own phone.
It's still daylight savings, so I could get out in the garden and throw the frisbee for the dog.
The evening of the first day I made a Tuscan rice pudding from Jamie Cooks Italy cookbook.
However, the detox was instantly derailed as I reached for the phone to start the timer.
Over the ensuing evenings, instead of reaching for the remote, I'd grab my reading glasses and a book.
I started reading properly, as nature intended, whole chapters at a time.
I finished the books and felt quietly proud.
My reading tastes expanded too, from reading one novel at a time, to flicking through essays and poetry collections I haven't picked up since my university days.
However, at work, while sitting at my laptop, things didn't go quite so well.
I'd find myself automatically opening a new tab and would inadvertently start scrolling through Facebook.
But I'm on the lookout for news stories, said the devil perched on my shoulder.
Oh yeah? How many have you found then? said the angel.
True enough, though I'd spotted a couple of potential items, most of the time spent scrolling was pointless.
My detox completely collapsed for a few days from January 24 when my husband mentioned the new community case of Covid-19 in Northland.
Then it was all on, as I rushed to the telly.
Doing a digital detox is harder than you think.
Dr Lena Waizenegger is a senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology's Business School, who specialises in digital wellbeing.
She agreed that too much phone use impacts negatively on personal wellbeing, relationships and productivity.
As well as increasing anxiety and affecting sleep quality, being constantly bombarded with notifications is distracting and affects our cognitive ability to complete tasks.
This in turn, reduces productivity.
"We need to create a strategy as to how we can use our phones more mindfully," Dr Waizenegger said.
"There's no need to get rid of phones completely, but think about how you use your phones, find out how much time you spend on them.
"When you're scrolling through the bottomless news feed of Facebook or Instagram, ask yourself is this helping me or wasting my time?"
Dr Waizenegger was involved in recent research which surveyed a group of tourists who switched off from technology before they travelled to various countries.
Turning it off: Emotions in Digital-Free Travel was published in the Journal of Travel Research last year.
The findings showed the tourists initially experienced withdrawal symptoms including anxiety and frustration, but these feelings soon changed to acceptance, enjoyment and liberation.
They also regained social, navigation and information-gathering skills.
Dr Waizenegger said it's really important to think about our digital wellbeing.
Depending on individual circumstances, she recommends disconnecting from technology for several days every year - or at the very least one whole weekend once in a while.
It's all about creating a healthy balance between connection and disconnection, she said.
"Even big tech companies like Google now offer digital welling tools so users can reduce their screen time.
"Refraining from using electronic devises is a great opportunity to reduce stress and focus on social interaction in our physical world.
"We live in an all-you-can-eat data society, we're surrounded by technology all the time.
"Like a full body detox is used to rejuvenate your body, I see digital detoxes as a great way to cleanse your mind, and reconnect to people and nature."
By the end of my two-week detox, I had read more books, tried new recipes, and the vegetable garden was thriving.
My mind felt less cluttered and decisions seemed easier to make.
My husband noticed, commenting about half way through, that I was less stressed this year.
Though there were a few hiccups, I learned a lot and will definitely repeat the process - hopefully more successfully - in future.
American author Anne Lammott summed it up nicely when she said: "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."
* Put away your phone after work.
* If you do pick it up, ask yourself what you hope to achieve.
* Turn off notifications.
* Delete tempting apps.
* Ask family, friends and work colleagues for support.
* Leave your phone in another room while spending time with loved ones.
* If you rely on your phone to wake you in the morning, buy an alarm clock.
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