Digital Detox: Is it really helpful?
Are you too addicted to your mobile phone, the likes on social media or have you been told that you are too attached to your smartphone? Then you’ve probably heard of the term “digital detox”. But what does it really do? We’ll tell you.
Many of us know the term “detoxing” from the health sector. Entire industries have dedicated themselves to so called Detox and sell completely overpriced food supplements, everyday items and preparations. But the companies behind them are less interested in your health than in your money. Detox products promise to detoxify and purify the body. But the companies cannot prove how they do this. Although the effectiveness of these products is not proven, the manufacturers advertise with all kinds of healing promises, sometimes bordering on illegality. However, your body already has two organs, the liver and the kidneys, which render toxic substances that we ingest harmless and excrete them through the urine. Detox products are therefore a waste of money.
So what is Digital Detox?
Digital Detox now transfers this concept to the digital, fortunately without expensive products – it’s free. Just as normal detoxing aims to pull toxins out of our bodies, digital detoxing assumes that we are exposed to permanent overstimulation, that we are addicted to our smartphones and the internet, that we are victims of our own dopamine kicks and that by “fasting”, i.e. “switching off”, we become more stress-free again and thus healthier. There is a lot of truth behind this, but Digital Detox is not the cure that other media regularly make it out to be. We’ll explain why below. But first we need to talk about the types of Digital Detox.
Forms of Digital Detox
There is no uniform definition of Digital Detox. Depending on who you ask, you will get different answers. Some people understand it as a break from social media, others as a smartphone break and a small minority even understand it as a complete withdrawal from the digital world. Time to shed some light on the subject.
Social media detox
The easiest thing to do might be to take a social media break. Whether you deactivate your profile or only stop your activities temporarily is up to you.
Smartphone Detox
The smartphone detox is more difficult: here you do without your smartphone completely. Since quite a few of us have to be reachable by phone, we need an alternative. A simple, “dumb” mobile phone can be the solution.
Full Digital Detox
The hardest thing is to completely detach oneself from the digital: That means leaving behind the computer, the games console, the networked TV, the smart home. This is only possible with an expensive change of location, where you can completely isolate yourself.
Dopamine Detox
The Dopamine Detox has its origins in Silicon Valley. Here, people try to avoid everything that could release dopamine. In the most extreme form, one even stops everything that could somehow release dopamine – even eye contact, conversations or even eating! However, the body always produces dopamine, even without external stimuli. The term “dopamine detox” is therefore controversial. You can find out why in the following section.
The problems with Digital Detox
Not everyone can afford to simply “switch off”.
Have you ever noticed that most articles about Digital Detox experiences are about personalities like company bosses, celebrities or influencers? That’s right, these are people who have secretaries, assistants and managers around them and who can afford to take digital time off. The only thing is that a detox holiday away from civilization is expensive and not practical for the vast majority of us.
Dopamine fasting is not like normal fasting
The idea that dopamine accumulates in our bodies indefinitely is false (note the analogy with the toxins mentioned above), but it is repeatedly reported in the media. While too much dopamine in the body leads to manic and schizophrenic states, conversely, too low dopamine levels increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, and as such it is also quickly broken down again.
Important: The happiness hormone is not only released by likes and shares, but also when you eat unhealthily or reach for a cigarette or alcohol. It is also released when you do other good things, such as smelling the cake in the oven, having sex, exercising or meeting your friends. That’s why the term dopamine fasting is wrong in itself. Dopamine is not addictive or dependent, it is the activity it triggers that is. If it were addictive, why do we continue to reach for the bottle or cigarette instead of straight to a dopamine shot?
Many of the alternatives to apps cost money and produce rubbish
Many guides on Digital Detox advise people to make apps and functions such as the flashlight, calendar, music player or notes analogue and to get appropriate devices. But well meant is not well thought. Not only is this tip totally impractical (who still has a flashlight or a radio these days, and who wants to carry such things around with them all of the time?), it also causes unnecessary costs and environmental pollution. Because with the end of digital detoxing at the latest, we’ll be using digital apps and built-in features again anyway. The calendar gets hidden in the drawer, the radio gathers dust and the alarm clock leads a sad, lonely life on the bedside table. That doesn’t have to be.
Sensory overload does not only take place in digital life
It’s true that Instagram and co. keep us on the platform with nasty tricks. But we are not only flooded with stimuli there. The advertising on TV, in newspapers, on monitors in buses and trains, on digital billboards, on building facades and supermarkets are also known for flooding us with stimuli and encouraging us to buy. We can’t hide from these either.
Online banking, but how?
As we wrote in our article on smartphone stress, it is not only social media that triggers stress in us. A glance at our account can also make us happy or unhappy. But no one is calling for less online banking because of this. How are you supposed to manage your finances if you do Digital Detox and aren’t allowed to use a smartphone with your banking app? Driving to the branch to make transfers takes time. Time that very few of us have.
As you can see, a digital detox is easier said than done. If you want to take a digital break, you need to think about these points beforehand. Otherwise you just end up making excuses to use your smartphone again.
The study situation on Digital Detox
Fortunately, there is solid research on this topic already. A meta-study from 2021 analysed 21 published studies and came to a mixed conclusion:
Cognitive performance and impulse control were almost unchanged
- Three of the studies examined cognitive performance after a Digital Detox and found no evidence of improvement.
- While one study found no effect on impulse control, another study showed an improvement in impulse control in mildly depressed people and people with anxiety disorders.
Sleep and quality of life: inconsistent results
- The same study also examined sleep quality and found an improvement in sleep in these people. Another study, however, could not find any significant effects.
- In terms of quality of life, four studies found a slight improvement after a Digital Detox, while two other studies could not demonstrate any improvement. Two of the studies examined even showed a deterioration in quality of life.
- Two studies demonstrated slight improvements in psychological well-being with a Facebook and Instagram break, although one of these studies only examined the effects on women.
- Participants in a study felt more bored during a seven-day digital abstinence.
- Another study could not prove any significant effects on the mood of the test persons.
Anxiety & feeling of loneliness rather worse
- Three out of four studies did not find a reduction in anxiety.
- Two out of four studies could not find an effect on loneliness. One study demonstrated a positive effect, while the other even observed an opposite effect. A digital detox led to an increase in the feeling of loneliness in these study participants.
Improvement only for stress and depression
Clearly positive effects could only be demonstrated in the areas of stress and depression.
- Three out of five studies showed a significant reduction in stress levels. People with extremely high social media use could benefit more from a Digital Detox than users who have normal social media use.
- All three studies that examined the influence of a Digital Detox on the psyche were able to demonstrate significant improvements in mental well-being.
Why is the study situation so inconsistent?
As you can see, the studies are very inconsistent. Just as everyone understands the term “digital detox” differently, the results of the 21 studies examined are to be interpreted in the same way: On the one hand, some of the studies used models that were developed long before the smartphone era. On the other hand, the study period varied: from 24 hours to three days to several weeks. The apps that the participants were allowed to use (or not use) also varied from study to study. The consequences of TikTok abstinence, for example, were not investigated. The authors of the meta-study came to the following conclusion:
“The included studies suggest that digital detox has some promising effects on [digital, note] use itself and on depressive symptoms. However, the inconsistent results prevent a recommendation on whether digital detox interventions should be encouraged or discarded, as positive and counterproductive consequences still need to be further investigated.”
If you want to read more about the meta-study and the results, you can do so here.
How to recognise serious studies
- Do not rely solely on news portals for information on this topic, but look directly for the sources (primary sources). Media is known to abbreviate, distort or misrepresent the results of studies.
- The study period should be sufficiently long (at least 1 week), the number of subjects sufficiently high (from n=1000).
- See what the study looked at: A time-out from a specific social media app, or a digital time-out in general?
Digital detox tips that actually help
If you’re at this point and still want to take some time off, here are some really helpful tips.
Tip: You can find many more helpful tips and tricks in our article on smartphone stress.
Use the browser instead of the app
Sometimes it doesn’t have to be a complete social media time-out. It’s enough to just make the user experience a little worse. If you use Instagram and the like with the browser instead of the app, everything is a little slower, rougher, different. In addition, the medium is then one tab of many in the browser, and the app is not the first place to go when you wake up.
Use app limits
iOS and Google have a nice feature where you can limit your time in the app. You can do this in the settings, where you can set a time or access limit for each app. When you reach the limit, the app or page is blocked.
If you don’t want to go cold turkey from one day to the next, we recommend that you gradually reduce the time available. Initially, set a limit of 30 minutes of app time per day, which you gradually reduce.
Raise the stakes
Detoxing together with friends creates motivation and spurs you on. Excessive smartphone use is considered rude, especially at meetings and outings. How about a smartphone bet instead? Whoever reaches for their smartphone first has to pay the entire restaurant bill. Alternatively, you can have all the mobile phones collected at the beginning so that no one can access them for the duration of the restaurant visit. Other bets are also possible – be creative! 😁
Use Flight Mode, Do-Not-Disturb Mode or Focus Modes
If you are constantly distracted by notifications, we recommend flight mode, do-not-disturb mode or focus modes. While flight mode completely disconnects your mobile phone from the internet, focus modes are suitable for separating private and professional messages. Once properly set and activated, you will only receive work-related notifications at a certain time of day, such as messages and calls from colleagues, chat messages from Slack, Teams or others, and work-related emails. With a “private” focus mode, you can then mute work messages and colleagues. To do this, simply look in the settings under “Focus”.
“Mindfulness you must practise”
Another alternative is mindfulness. Mindfulness means that you bring an activity, such as opening a social media app, from the unconscious to the conscious. The easiest way to do this is to write it down, for example in a bullet journal or habit tracker. For example, when did you open Instagram? How often? Was there a post that made you unhappy? Or inspired you? At the moment of writing it down, you consciously think about this activity. With a little practice, you will eventually manage to question these unconscious actions more often – that is mindfulness.
Create a Content Calendar
Social media is work for many of us. You take dozens of shots, edit the best shot with filters and image editing apps, upload it and add captions. If you don’t want to do a complete social media abstinence right away, how about focusing your social media activity on two days a week? Many creators, especially on YouTube, work according to this model and only publish videos on certain days. Maybe that would be something for you too? A content calendar also allows you to work ahead on posts. This way you have more free time on other days and still don’t miss anything important (FOMO – Fear of Missing Out).
Reward yourself for your perseverance
A digital detox is hard work, and many people fail at it. In this respect, digital detox is no different from alcohol or cigarettes. But the problem is that we only ever see the negative aspects. So when we do start hanging out on TikTok again, even though we actually wanted to get away from it, it makes us feel bad.
Also focus on positivity, both in your social media feed (by unfollowing negative people and pages and following more positive pages) and in real life: Reward yourself when you reach the goal you set for yourself!
If your goal is not to use Instagram for a week, you deserve a reward when you achieve it. This could be a cosy wellness evening in the bathtub with a nice glass of wine and an exciting book, a crochet, photography or painting class, or a trip to your favourite spa. The clue: During all these activities, you automatically reduce your time with the smartphone.
Conclusion: Digital Detox is not a fix for everything
Why do so many diets fail? Quite simply: because we quickly fall back into old patterns. If we log back on to Instagram after the time out and continue exactly where we left off, not much is gained. A digital detox does nothing to solve the fundamental problems. If it took you an hour with your TikTok video before, it will take you another hour to get the post out into the world after the break – you’re right back where you left off. Instead of completely banning social media or your smartphone, it’s better to learn how to use these things more consciously.
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