This is What I learned from my Enforced Digital Detox

It’s vacation time.

A time for family and friends to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company. A time to relax and recuperate. Time to socialize away from incessant phone calls and the internet.

We live in a fast-paced world and work almost always gets in the way of relaxation and family time.

Taking a time out of our busy schedule is one thing, but have you relaxed at all this summer without a screen?

How many of you have taken your cell phones and iPad with you on vacation?

I’m guilty, and I bet all of you bring your digital devices with you wherever you go.

We check our emails and keep tabs on sports and the news. We never truly disengage from the digital world.

I’ve been traveling recently and staying in a place without a WIFI signal. Even my digital watch died after day two, so I couldn’t tell the time. The experience was not what I expected it to be.

Being off the grid and off-line in our technology fueled society is unusual and it felt wrong somehow.

It made me think how much we rely on technology.

I’m like everyone in this world, and I have a cell phone and an Ipad with an internet connection. I rely on the internet for work, college, my writing and everything else I can think of. My every need is covered by a few pushes of buttons or keys.

As a writer, I’ve had to make do with the old-fashioned pen and paper method during the past few days. It wasn’t the same experience than using a keyboard.

I’ve had an enforced digital detox, and it was not easy.

I can write thousands of words in a day if I’m in the right mood. It’s easy to type fast and edit later.

Using a pen and paper is not the same. After a while, my hand started aching from holding the pen. We don’t use pen and paper as our go to writing implements. We type onto screens.

How would you feel if you had no internet?

Our society was totally different 30 years ago in the age before the internet became a normal part of life. It was a time before everyone owned cell phones and we had to physically go to the library to look up information.

I can barely remember those days and my kids have grown up in a digital world.

The past few days surrounded by nature made me realize that nothing could have prepared me for the meaning of total rest.

No internet. No cell phones. No TV. No digital devices at all.

No electricity.

This is what I learned…

I’ve experienced deep-belly laughter during outdoor activities.

Canoeing, kayaking, tubing.

Climbing, rifle shooting, STEM activities like shooting air rockets, making robots and paper models.

Pioneering activities like bridge building and problem solving.

Cooking popcorn and S’mores on a camp fire.

Making new friends along the way.

I’ve laid on my back watching the constellations at night with our friends and watched the sunrise.

I relaxed in a way I didn’t know I could, and I’ve returned with a healthy glow and renewed energy.

Maybe you could try it too before the new academic year starts and we are all plunged back to reality of school runs and full work schedules.

Are you ready for a digital detox?

My name is Lizzy, and I’m a mom, teacher, author and mental health blogger. I write for those who don’t always feel that they have a voice. For more about me, my books and articles check out my website: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com

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