Time for a digital detox?

When 23-year-old Abhijit Bhavsar wouldn’t wean off his habit of streaming videos on YouTube for over five hours a day, he knew there was something seriously amiss with his daily routine. Between constant check-ins, status updates, tweets and uploads on various social media platforms Abhijit realised that a major chunk of his day was spent staying abreast with the virtual world. After his binging stint online, he decided to go on a complete digital detox to touch base with the ‘real world’ and shut off from all the social media platforms.

Digital detox is no surprise in today’s time, when one seems to be invested in too many apps and platforms. While people going offline after an active phase is far too common, psychologist Dr Kashissh Chhabaria emphasises on the importance of maintaining a balance, “ It becomes extremely overwhelming to create a balance between virtual and real world once the person is addicted and it requires a lot of efforts to wean people off their habit, it’s a nuisance and I’d also say that it is a silent killer,” she asserts.

While it isn’t always possible to power down and zone out completely a short stint away from the digital world is their mantra. Abhijit, for instance, decided to limit his data consumption. “I deactivated Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat for a month and was only partially active on Instagram. I was getting aggressive with my usage and realised soon that this had to stop. I gave myself 100 MB data to be used in a month and had deactivated my Wifi connection as well. Though I had this constant urge to check my notifications and reply to messages I had to control. I invested that time in buying a soft board and planning my business module,” says the photographer.

For some it is an urge to consciously stay away from the medium. 27-year-old Amol Marwaha has been off Facebook for over four years now. “I feel I’m leading a very happy and peaceful life without Facebook. My feed was full of mundane crap, of random people sipping coffee with someone somewhere and I just wouldn’t take it anymore. There is much more to do in life than just stare at the screen. I’m also not one of those who’d encourage small talk. Some people are surprised when I tell them I don’t have a Facebook account but if friends have to call or stay in touch I’m just a call away,” he adds.

While city-dwellers are bound to experience an information overload it is always beneficial to set a time limit. Post his detox phase Abhijit decided to analyse his habits and set a time frame, “I also bought an analogue clock and now every time I’m on social media I set a time limit for myself and move on to the next task once the time is up. Though I have reactivated all the accounts now I know how to use them without being completely dependent on them,” he emphasises.

Do’s and Don’ts
1. It’s best to keep the phone away and invest in a low data plan
2. Switch the wifi off and have a deadline
3. Keep your device away – Don’t touch it for an hour before sleeping and an hour after waking up
4. Meditate and exercise while away from the gadget
5. If the person is being stubborn hiding their phones is the best away till they break the habit
Dr Kashissh Chhabaria