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The expression “Digital Detox” found its way to the Oxford Dictionary Online back in August last year.
The dictionary states: “Digital detox (n): A period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones or computers, regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress or focus on social interaction in the physical world: Break free of your devices and go on a digital detox.”
With the rapid change we are all going through in the way we entertain, connect, and educate because of the Internet, came a movement that is advocating a “back for reality” approach; let’s meet and interact with real people of flesh and blood, not only bios, avatars, feeds, and timelines.
The repeated calls for such digital detoxing in the form of “unplugging” campaigns opened the door for an interesting debate; do we really need to digital detox?
Those in favor of the “unplugging” do have a lot of researches and studies on their side. Some of these studies have been discussed in here, on this very page. These studies confirm that we are more mentally and physically drained these days because of our constant attachment to our phones and tablets.
We are exhausted from being expected to be online whenever needed; to take that phone call and respond to that e-mail. We are feeling more lonely, less likely to participate in real social engagements, we are getting used to our “virtual” circle of friends. The dim lights of our screens are disrupting our sleeping patterns.
And those against the idea of digital detoxing do have some valid arguments as well. They are seeing that the decision to disconnect from the digital world is nothing but an escape from modern life itself. So it is a paradox; while claiming that by detoxing, you are getting back to the “real” world, you are actually escaping it. The real world, they claim, is the online world; it is where we do business, meet and interact with friends, learn, and be productive.
“And yet the ‘real’ world, like the ‘real’ America, is an insidious idea,” wrote Casey N. Cep in The New Yorker, criticizing “The National Day of Unplugging”, which took place last month.
“It suggests that the selves we are online aren’t authentic, and that the relationships that we forge in digital spaces aren’t meaningful. This is odd, because some of our closest friends and most significant professional connections are people we’ve only ever met on the Internet,” she continued.
While realizing the consequences of being overly attached to our digital devices, I find myself inclined to the argument of those seeing digital detoxing as a bit overrated. It should not be considered as a total disconnect from the world of technology. It is all about how we organize our lives, how we want to live them. It is all about being moderate and able to give each and every aspect of our life the attention and focus it needs.
Technology is not the monster, but we definitely could grow one out of it.

@ smaldosari