With our internet habit being blamed for a spike in our stress levels, some techies are putting themselves on a ‘digital diet’. So is it the answer to our problems, asks Daisy Buchanan?
What's the most productive thing you’ve ever done? Reached your desk before 7am? Cleared your inbox in the bath? Joshua Fields Millburn of mindfulness blog The Minimalists says the single best thing is disconnecting the internet at home. ‘I felt I could do more purposeful things with my time,’ he says. ‘I don’t think the internet is evil – it’s not. It changed my life.’
Even though he runs a website, Joshua doesn’t have the service at home. And he’s not alone. The fastest growing trend in tech is to use less of it, with armies of heavy users embarking on ‘digital diets’.
It’s unsurprising when you consider that we’ve created more data in the last two years than we did between 2003 and the dawn of civilisation. Research now suggests that 23% of us come back from holiday feeling more stressed than we did going. There are all sorts of factors – taxis that don’t turn up, shampoo that explodes in your suitcase – but the greatest stress stimulator is FOBO: fear of being offline. Psychologist Dr Larry Rosen, a tech specialist, believes smartphones are taking over. ‘The [phone] is forcing us to make decisions, which means it’s controlling us.’
Deep down, most of us know that we don’t want to live in a dystopian novel, so the aim is to use the internet occasionally and effectively rather than getting stuck in a cycle of screen bingeing and purging.
Now Joshua is forced to leave the house to get online, he has to plan his web use. He says, ‘If I see something I want to research, I write it down and use that list when I have internet access... I’m forced to go to the office, the library, the coffee shop. I’m out of the house so I meet new people.’
His findings are backed up in research by digi detox company Kovert, which found that limited access to smartphones promotes better friendships and short-term memory because you’re more present and focused.
As a writer, I know that being online has huge advantages – but I’m constantly on the brink of a black hole of procrastination and puppy GIFs. I once got so involved in a Twitter debate with someone who didn’t like an article that it stopped my fiancé from proposing. I necked his proffered glass of champagne without looking up and kept typing. So, I tried the digital diet. After three days, my head started to clear. I went for a run and noticed flowers instead of wondering how many steps I’d clocked up on my Fitbit. I worked on my book and wrote for an hour at a time without stopping to check whether Justin Bieber had bought another monkey. It felt like a revolution. In Joshua’s words, ‘Now I use [the internet] in a way that benefits me and my life.’ Amen to that!