Social Detox

In the morning the alarm clock rings and numerous new messages are already visible. Before I leave I read all my new messages and before bed I check the latest updates on instagram & co.

Almost one in two Millennials (48%) look at their smartphone more than 50 times a day, which is three times as often as Baby Boomers (16%) do. One in four Millennials even look at their smartphone more than 100 times a day - corresponsing to less than one-tenth of Baby Boomers [1]. The flood of information that our brains have to take in every day continues to rise. And it is no secret that this negatively impacts our health [2]. Too much unproductive time on social media has a negative effect on our eating and sleeping habits and can even cause depression [3,4]. Apps like Facebook are designes to encourage users to spend a lot of their time on these platforms, e.g. to escape everyday life, to relieve one's boredom, to stay up to date [1,5].

Many of you have probably tried a digital detox before: withdrawing from social media for one or more weeks, but is that really useful in the long run?

In the short term, a digital detox might help you to relax, focus on other things and maybe you will feel better or even realize that you miss social media too much.

But a longterm digital detox is actually not helpful so a practical and appropriate usage is essential [6].

An experiment with a group of business consultants showed that taking regular and planned breaks from digital devices leads to greater efficiency and collaboration, higher job satisfaction, and a better work-life balance [7].

So why not give the following tips a try to spend less time on your phone longterm while staying up to date?

1. get a real alarm clock

2. use a wrist watch

3. ask other people for directions more often

4. turn off push notifications

5. delete unnecessary apps

6. put your phone on silent

7. chekc screen usage

8. break habits

9. schedule fixed times for social media

10. choose times or spaces where you do not use you phone

11. do small stretches in the morning instead of checking Instagram and Facebook

12. purposefully disconnect from media devices

13. turn off your cell phone more often

For more facts, you can request B2X's "Smartphone and IoT Costumer Trends 2017" study for free by using this link: https://resources.b2x.com/registration-study-smartphone-and-iot-consumer-trends

Back to health tips

Sources:

[[1] Koppitz, R., Prof. Dr. Hess, T., Prof. Dr. Meyer, A. 2017. Smartphone and IoT Customer Trends 2017. B2X-The Costumer Care Company

[2] Al Abdulwahab, SS, Kachanathu, SJ, Al Motairi, MS. Smartphone use addiction can cause neck disability. Musculoskeletal Care 2017. 5: 10–12. https://doiorg.eaccess.ub.tum.de/10.1002/msc.1170.

[3] Lin, LY, Sidani, JE, Shensa, A Association between social media use and depression among U.S. young adults. Depression Anxiety 2016; 33: 323–331.

[4] Harris T. How technology hijacks people’s minds –from a magician and Google’s design ethicist. 2016. https://journal.thriveglobal.com/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3.

[5] Guedes, E, Sancassiani, F, Carta, MG Internet addiction and excessive social networks use: What about Facebook? Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health 2016; 12: 43–48.

[6] Handa, M. and Ahuja, P. (2020), "Disconnect to detox: a study of smartphone addiction among young adults in India", Young Consumers, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 273-287. https://doi-org.eaccess.ub.tum.de/10.1108/YC-12-2019-1077

[7] Perlow L. Sleeping with your smartphone: How to break the 24/7 habit and change the way you work. Harvard Business Review Press, Brighton Watertown, Massachusetts, 2012. ISBN: 9781422144046.