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Digital Detox: Unplug and recharge yourself

Male and female college friends looking up from cell phones and smiling
Photo: © Hemant Mehta / 123RF Stock Photo

“I finally realized it. People are prisoners of their phones; that’s why they are called cell phones!”

We are hearing more often nowadays that most of the youth are so connected to digital devices, that it is difficult for them to switch them off for even a minute.

Dr Nicholas Kardaras, a specialist in addiction treatment in a well-known rehabilitation centre in New York, says that the addiction to screens is way more difficult to treat than any other substance addiction. Addiction to gadgets is responsible for:

  • Academic deterioration
  • Poor interpersonal relationships
  • Mental and physical health hazards
  • Impaired social intelligence.

Digital detox

We are past envisioning an existence without computers or mobile phones. So it would not be exceptionally adept to take the ‘Zero Minutes Online’ battle when we have a smarter solution — ‘The Digital Detox’ programme.
Digital detoxification can be applied to people of all ages, but the best results have been seen in adolescents, who are arguably the worst victims of this addiction.

Digital detox isn’t about separating ourselves from our beloved gadgets and social platforms. It is more about utilizing them smartly with the end goal that we can spare ourselves from any adverse effects. It encourages us to refrain from the constant use of gadgets and gives us the chance to get rid of the stress, nervousness, and online networking weight that our minds carry every day.

Why the youth?

Youngsters are among the heaviest users of technology and gadgets. Chatting online, posting photos, and scrolling through the wall of social networks are few of the many things that keep them ever engaged with their phones and/or computers. And this is why digital detox is exceedingly prescribed for adolescents. It doesn’t just make them aware of the dangers of technology, it additionally shows them how to balance between what they want and what they should. The benefits of digital detox include, but are not limited to:

  • Helping us to make good choices online.
  • Allowing us to be aware of how much time we devote to our devices and track our own progress.
  • Making us healthier, both physically and mentally.
  • Reducing stress and anxiety cropping out from constant use of technical devices.
  • Improving academic achievements, emotional problems, relationships with parents and siblings.

The 5 Steps

1. Go offline: The first step of your digital detox is to get rid of the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Many teenagers fall prey to digital addiction as they find it hard focusing elsewhere with the steady anxiety that they are missing out on something fascinating.

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Rajat Soni is a teen life coach and motivational speaker, helping teenagers channelize their energy in the positive direction. He has assisted his clients in overcoming shyness and social anxiety, self-esteem concerns, depression, and in enabling the strategic goal-setting process for them.

Rajat Soni

Rajat Soni is a teen life coach and motivational speaker, helping teenagers channelize their energy in the positive direction. He has assisted his clients in overcoming shyness and social anxiety, self-esteem concerns, depression, and in enabling the strategic goal-setting process for them.