It's Time for a Phone Detox

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DETOX Phones are a huge part of our lives in today’s world, but this doesn’t mean that they come without annoyances. It’s time for a phone detox!

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ith 1.9 billion active mobile social media users globally according to Statista, it is fair to say that we are a world revolving around phones and social media. Smart phones have progressively got more advanced, allowing its users to do more using just one piece of technology. But it isn’t all sunshine when it comes to smart phones and social media. According to Anxiety.Org, 60% of teens and 37% of adults admit that they consider themselves as addicted to their phones.

Problems stemmed from phone usage and social media are becoming more common and it’s time for a technology detox! After all, our physical life is more important that our virtual one. I spoke to three women about their own problems relating to their phone habits and prescribed them specific detox remedies to cure their phone ailments, and hopefully it will inspire you to do the same!

THE PROBLEM Most of us have

those nights where you get in bed and intend on having a ‘quick look’ on your phone before going to sleep. The next minute, you look at the time and it’s been three hours, it’s one in the morning and you have to be up at six.

my phone until at least one or two in the morning and I have to get up at six for work!”

Sleep was Rose’s main problem, so I suggested that she tried reading a book and switching her phone off an hour before bed. After Rose gave it a go, we met up for a coffee to see how the challenge went. She THE REMEDY Why not try seemed excited to switching off all talk about the book of your electronic that she chose to devices one hour read and said “I before you want forgot how much to fall asleep? By “ I forgot how I love reading”. I having everything asked her if it much I love switched off it helped her fall will remove that reading” asleep and wake up temptation of easier and she said scrolling down your “I feel loads better, newsfeed aimlessly its weird waking up for hours instead and actually feeling of getting that alllike I’ve had enough sleep”. important beauty sleep!

I get it; not all people can close their eyes and fall asleep, but why not try unwind with a book rather than watching cat videos on YouTube!

THE TRIAL Rose is a 22-year-old

support worker, who works over 40 hours a week. When I spoke to her she was feeling tired and run down due to lack of sleep.

“I had to use my mums phone as an alarm, its prehistoric so I couldn’t be tempted to go on that thing”. She said giggling. We forget how much we rely on our phones for even the simple things like the time. She admitted that she “struggled to break the habit of wanting to nosey through social media”. She powered through “Whatever’s on my phone will still be there in the morning”.

THE PROBLEM There is nothing

No matter how late she falls asleep; she still has to wake up at the crack of dawn to get to work. Her phone doesn’t do her any favours in the sleeping department either. “I’m on

more annoying than trying to speak to your partner, only to be replied with ‘What did you say?’ because they were too engulfed in their phone screen rather than listening to what you are trying to talk to them about. Clearly this is a problem that a lot of people are experiencing since over 30% of 18 to 34 year olds in the UK have had arguments with their partners over mobile phone usage, according to Deloitte. Silence isn’t always golden!

THE REMEDY A good oldfashioned date never hurt anybody,

no, by compliment I do not mean comment on someone’s profile picture, I mean face-to-face, it will make that persons day, I assure you.

An Instagram de-clutter is never a bad thing. Un-follow any accounts related to women flaunting their naked bodies and replace them with body positive accounts, which promote female empowerment and body confidence.

THE TRIAL “I just feel fat”. Beth, aged 19, is a make up artistry student. She is a size 10, she is not fat in the slightest.

and when I say old-fashioned, I mean old-fashioned; ditch your phones, leave them at home and just enjoy each others company.

You never know, you might learn something new about your partner.

If you live together, why not dedicate an hour a day to switch phones, tablets and laptops off and catch up with each other. Ask them about their day, instead of texting them from the next room.

THE TRIAL Dana is a 20-year-old

occupational therapy student; she and her boyfriend have had loads of arguments over him being on his phone all the time.

When speaking to me, she was fed

up of always having Being a poor to repeat herself student, obviously because he wasn’t the two couldn’t go listening. out for tea every She was excited “We had a laugh night of the week, so when I told her I asked Dana if she and spoke about and her boyfriend about the idea moving out” of ditching the did anything else phones and just with no phones. enjoying each “We had a board other’s company. “I game night, he is love going out for so competitive” meals… we went to she giggled. It is Zizzi’s and left our phones at home”. so important to take the time to I asked her if her boyfriend was communicate with your partner, happy to leave his phone at home, and maybe this remedy can she scoffed “I had to beg him to improve a relationship if done do it, he was having none of it at regularly. first”. She felt like they both had lots to talk about but they never got THE PROBLEM With the amount of insanely beautiful around to actually speaking about women uploading daily photos it. of themselves on Instagram, it’s I asked her if they managed to have impossible not to compare them with your own body. But when it the chats that she’s been wanting stops being a kick up the bum to go to have for a while. “We had a to the gym and starts making you laugh and spoke about moving in loathe your own body, it’s time to together… I’ve been dying to sort take action! this out for ages but never knew how to bring it up”. She was smiling THE REMEDY People forget the as she told me this; clearly the result of the conversation went well. power of the compliment! And

feeling, she said, “I still feel like I can make myself look better… but I know I will never look like that”.

Obviously deleting social media isn’t going to change how you feel about yourself completely, but it could give you the realisation that the types of bodies on there aren’t realistic for normal women.

I told my family that for the next three times that I came over, we were implementing this ‘no phone rule’ and if anyone broke “I’m bored of it they had to put THE PROBLEM a pound in our feeling crap Ever sat at the dinner phone jar. about myself” table with your family My brother, who and not one person is sixteen, ended is looking at their up having to put food or each other? a fiver in the jar Mealtime is supposed because he is to be the chattiest clearly a phone part of the day, with everybody addict! My Dad and his Girlfriend catching up and enjoying each put £7 in the jar between them over other’s company. Not spilling food the course of the test. down your top because you were too busy snap chatting.

I can honestly say that we haven’t

THE REMEDY To get those

Comparing herself to super toned, stick thin women on Instagram has left her clearly feeling negative about her body image.

I asked Beth to go through her Instagram and un-follow any accounts that make her feel unworthy and negative about herself. She was happy to give it a go. I met up with her again after a week to see how things went. She said “I un-followed loads of accounts but I still looked for people when I was bored”.

She decided to delete Instagram altogether. “I’m bored of feeling crap about myself so I just got rid of it”.

She seemed to be less negative in the words that she was using when talking about her feelings after deleting Instagram. I asked her if it made a difference to how she was

some ‘family time’ and my Dad, his Girlfriend and my Brother have all had their eyes glued to their phone screens.

conversations flowing again, get a phone jar. Anyone who looks at or uses their phones during meal times or designated family time has to put a pound in the phone jar! Not only does it stop people using their phones, it also helps save money for family meals or activities!

THE TRIAL I had to try this remedy for myself.

After moving out of my Dad’s house there have been so many times where I’ve gone over to have

laughed and chatted as much as we did over the course of this challenge! We went for a walk, had a take away and just sat around together, it was so good to enjoy their company and undivided attention for once and it definitely made me feel closer to them.

THE FINAL WORD

By trying these little ideas, it isn’t going to change your life dramatically; you aren’t magically going to be a different person.

But they are little steps towards unplugging from the virtual world even if just for an hour, to sit back and take stock of your wonderful real life.

The world relies on phones and social media too much; seeking validation through likes and comments instead of compliments and conversation. Maybe this technology detox can change the way you view your phone and think of it more as a leisure rather than a lifestyle.