[1] I asked people through Yahoo Answers what their experiences were if they have ever done a technology detox. This was my question:
And these were their answers:
[2] I found this story by Joanna Tombrakos. She talks about her seven day detox diet from technology.
The Seven-Day Tech Detox Diet
By: Joanne Tombrakos, 06.22.10, 07:50 PM EDTI'm starting a diet today. Actually it's more like a detox.
The idea started as I was standing on the subway platform, watching a man in a suit, a BlackBerry clutched in one hand and a flip phone held to his ear in the other. He was pacing from the edge of the platform, stepping forward to see if the train was coming, and stepping back near the entrance for Internet access. The expression on his face might make you think he was about to find the cure for cancer, and if the train did not come immediately or he didn't get enough bars, the information he needed would be lost forever.
I found it appalling! What happened to just standing still and waiting? I was even more appalled when moments later I caught myself taking out my iPhone.
I am on technological overload, and it is time to do something about it. For seven days. It is not radical. What I'm going to do is not receive my news via the Internet or television. I will read newspapers. I will not be browsing my social networks and will check my e-mail just four times a day. I will talk to people.
Day 2
I knew I was spending a lot of time wandering cyberspace but didn't realize how much until I told myself I couldn't. The most interesting part for me is the feeling of separation as I limit my cyber intake; I have anxiety that there might be something going on, something important that I need to know.
Then I remember being in my 20s when I had to go out every Friday night and meet my friends. No matter how I felt or whether I wanted to, I went because I thought I might miss something--perhaps the next great love of my life was waiting to meet me. But I never missed anything. And the loves, well, I always seemed to meet them somewhere else.
It makes me wonder if this new obsession we all have to be constantly connected is more of an addiction than anything else. Something that is keeping us from ourselves. As with most addictions, what can be a good thing when consumed in moderation is detrimental to our health when in overdose.
The folks at AA might want to get ready. This could be the new 12-step recovery program for the 21st Century.
Day 3: The Diet Continues
I am still alive and breathing, not to mention feeling much more space in my life. The separation anxiety prevails, but how could it not? Aside from my own personal tethers to our electronically connected world, I am noticing more and more that I am not alone in this addiction.
Yesterday at Equinox there was the short woman with sunglasses, her legs moving quickly on the elliptical machine, clearly trying to keep up with the pace of her thumbs on the pink-covered iPhone she held with both hands. Then there was the woman working with her trainer, who took not a moment to breathe, but a moment in which they could both check their e-mail and rush off a note to someone, somewhere. I didn't ask.
What I am realizing most from this detox is that all of this multi-tasking takes us away from being with ourselves. Doing two or three things at a time is energy draining. We are not present for anything when we stop midstream to answer a cellphone or check an e-mail, as if it might be George Clooney or President Obama himself--and if we don't respond immediately, our chance for a meeting will be lost forever.
Day 4: Life Is Supposed To Be Simple
I've stopped eating breakfast in front of the computer. I hadn't realized I was always browsing cyberspace and chewing in front of my 21.4 inch monitor until I couldn't browse. So for a really creative twist, I've gone back to eating at my dining room table where there's a window with a view that does not require a mouse. What a concept!
The newspapers continue to enthrall me with new information. The New York Times writes of a company that wants to intrude more on my dwindling quiet time with video advertisements in the supermarket right next to the products. I've also learned that Dawn dish detergent is being used to help clean oiled slicked pelicans. One bottle of Dawn for each bucket of water and three buckets of water to wash a single pelican!
I am gaining control. Not quite halfway done this experiment I know for sure that disconnecting completely is impossible. We are all too far into being electronically wired to each other for that to happen. And as one who embraces technology and social networking, I don't want to. But there has to be a balance. If this has become our new addiction, then like food and sex addictions, we cannot eliminate them completely from our lives but we have to discipline ourselves.
Day 5: The Detox Does Not Get Easier
There is that worrisome little voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me I am missing something by not checking my email every five minutes, and that there is something of monumental importance in one of the 500 blogs that sits unopened in my Google ( GOOG - news - people ) Reader, not to mention the 65 newsletters in my inbox. I am starting to wonder what all my Facebook friends and Twitter followers have been up to this week.
But the fact is I am enjoying this pause. All of this obsessing and overusing our technological advances is not only draining the power sources of Con Ed, it's been draining me. Trying to stay on top of my tech plug-ins is an effort by me to control when in fact I am the one being controlled.
But that's starting to shift. Like an alcoholic without her poison, I feel lighter this week. I am up earlier and with a much clearer head, even if my hands are shaking a bit. I notice more and more how epidemic this addiction has become and I am determined to find a balance.
Day 6: Cheating
Yes, it's true. I cheated. I did not revert to my obsessive habit of checking my email every 15 minutes but I did check more than four times in 24 hours. I think I was getting a little edgy from my withdrawal.
I've decided reading two newspapers cover to cover every day can become burdensome too. The theme is repetitive with all roads leading back to money and politics. I find it fascinating that references to the blogosphere run rampant in the papers, substantiating that bloggers have influence and blogging is not a passing fad. I continue to be appalled at the astonishing number of people who walk the streets oblivious to everything but their phone conversation, including a car who has the right of way, the person walking next to it and, in more than one rather distressing scene, the child they were pushing in the stroller. And let's not get into the texting. You have no idea how many people bump into me texting and look at me like I am the one who is rude!
Day 7: Father's Day
Today I am wondering what my dad, who left this world in 1986, would have to say about this plugged-in, 24/7 world we live in.
Dad was fascinated by progress. I imagine he would be sitting wide-eyed and with a great big smile in front of the computer my mother refuses to own if he was still here. He would have enjoyed keeping up with every member of our big fat Greek family through pictures on Facebook. I think he would have embraced cable, and I imagine be a History Channel fan.
But Dad was also a socializer. He would worry about communicating more electronically than in-person. He also believed in his quiet time. While not very Zen, his morning ritual consisted of coffee and a cigarette in silence. He would get up early so he could take some time to sit at the kitchen table quietly in his own thoughts.
In honor of Dad, I will conduct my own version of his morning ritual. It will not include a cigarette, but there will be coffee and silence and lots of thinking. Mostly about him.
SOURCE: http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/22/technology-detox-diet-forbes-woman-time-internet_2.htm
[3] This is an article about Technology Detox and talks about if we can turn off all of our technology dependencies for 24 hours.
A Technoloy Detox: Can You Turn Off Your Gadgets for 24 Hours?
March 30, 2011 ByWhy detox? Simply put… we need to lessen the burden on our body because we were not designed to come into contact with the level of toxins or low-level stresses that we do today.
"Modern technology overload"
Think about the our modern life… fast food, cell phones, food dyes, diet drinks, wireless games, wireless internet, computers, TV, constant communication, social media, 24 hour news, synthetic cosmetics with weird ingredients… where is the down time, peace, purity and relaxation?
"We are the guinea pigs"
Cell phones have been around for a relatively short time yet we have adopted them as safe and use them incessantly! Many now have phones that sit by their bed at night and that is their first activity in the morning…
Can you imagine leaving home without your cell phone? No? Could cell phones be the new cigarettes?
Why not try a cell phone-free day? Mobile phones can be addictive… still wonder why you get free minutes and texts?
It is a case of weaning yourself off your mobile telephone, it is possible. I managed it and it is truly liberating. Honest! I find I have more attention to really connect with friends rather than thinking ‘oh will my phone ring.’
The reason I stopped using my cell phone.. I met a neurosurgeon back in 2005 and during the course of our conversation he said that he was seeing mouth and cheek cancers as well as brain tumours in far greater frequency than in years past, that was reason enough for me to un-plug.
I am not disputing a cell phones usefulness in an emergency. I do have a mobile but it is rarely on and I often find I end up meeting the person long before I receive their message!
I make general day to day chit chat on a corded land-line telephone, they need no recharging & work in winter power cuts!
The science is out there
I am not alone in my dislike of mobile phones and, whilst it may seem old fashioned to use a corded phone, many scientists, including Magda Havas, who I met recently, feel that we are the guinea pigs and with regards to cell phones the prognosis is disturbing. The video below has some food for thought. I have not been a fan of cell phones for years.
Detox, here’s a good place to start:
- Lessen the time you chat on a cell phone, is the call vital? Our brains are very precious, so let’s keep them that way. Consider returning to ethernet cable internet, it is faster & less stress on your body! Read the book “Disconnect” by Devra Davies, it might open your eyes with regards to cell phones!
- Turn your cell phone off at night, you may find you sleep better.
- Prioritise phone calls.. can it wait until you are on a corded land-line? If so then wait, we have become very good at being in constant contact but I find that unplugging is really liberating.
Could you live without a mobile phone?
Do you long for the latest phone?
Do you think we even need to be cautious about mobile phone use?
[4] Here is somebody's experience after going through a technology detox.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Results: Technology Detox Diet
I waited for the trembling to start, the anxiety to build. It didn't. As I sat in my comfy black desk chair tapping a rolled magazine on my knee I thought, this isn't so hard. Shrugging, I hopped up and started my weekend away from the techno world.
How did I do?
I'd give myself a B if I were being
graded. I did cheat, a little. I spent the weekend with my husband and
friends in a large, rustic Adirondack camp. Broadband, digital cable and
cell phone service hadn't found a home there so in a way it was a
forced shutdown. Okay, okay. Maybe I cheated a lot, but there were still
challenges.
Someone did bring an I-Pad, which was used for emergency questions like, "What's the name of that ski resort in Northern Maine?" and "Can you freeze quiche?" I didn't peek when the I-Pad was pulled out, but once, after two glasses of wine, I almost asked to borrow it so I could check my e-mail.
Another challenge came when I returned Sunday afternoon and felt like making a mad dash to my laptop. Instead, I unpacked, read and organized my writing materials. My biggest cheat was the Superbowl. I watched Kelly Clarkson nail the national anthem, Madonna rock it out at halftime (Is she really somewhere in her fifties?) and the last quarter of the game (couldn't believe that I really don't want this touchdown play at the end). I dealt with my guilt by pretending I was at the game and not watching it on TV. It sort of worked.
The bottom line is I stayed on my technology diet about 90% of the time. Not bad.
What were the results?
I loved the free feeling that came with being wireless. My favorite part was not having the beep beep of my cell interrupt activities, conversations and thoughts. Second, had to be exercising without my I-Pod. Although I love music, moving with only the sounds of the world to keep me company was magical. While I was cross country skiing, I heard the whisper of a gentle breeze, birds caw, twigs brush against my coat in the forest and a crunchy splash when my boot found a thin spot on a frozen brook. With it came a welcome feeling of tranquility.
Someone did bring an I-Pad, which was used for emergency questions like, "What's the name of that ski resort in Northern Maine?" and "Can you freeze quiche?" I didn't peek when the I-Pad was pulled out, but once, after two glasses of wine, I almost asked to borrow it so I could check my e-mail.
Another challenge came when I returned Sunday afternoon and felt like making a mad dash to my laptop. Instead, I unpacked, read and organized my writing materials. My biggest cheat was the Superbowl. I watched Kelly Clarkson nail the national anthem, Madonna rock it out at halftime (Is she really somewhere in her fifties?) and the last quarter of the game (couldn't believe that I really don't want this touchdown play at the end). I dealt with my guilt by pretending I was at the game and not watching it on TV. It sort of worked.
The bottom line is I stayed on my technology diet about 90% of the time. Not bad.
What were the results?
I loved the free feeling that came with being wireless. My favorite part was not having the beep beep of my cell interrupt activities, conversations and thoughts. Second, had to be exercising without my I-Pod. Although I love music, moving with only the sounds of the world to keep me company was magical. While I was cross country skiing, I heard the whisper of a gentle breeze, birds caw, twigs brush against my coat in the forest and a crunchy splash when my boot found a thin spot on a frozen brook. With it came a welcome feeling of tranquility.
It is nearly impossible to avoid technology altogether in the contemporary world, but that's not such a bad thing. These modern inventions are fun, useful and necessary. The key is to find balance. So here are my goals to manage my technology use in the future:
- Silence my cell phone in restaurants and during meals.
- Ignore the beep of my cell phone if I'm in the middle of a conversation or something else important.
- Limit the amount of times I check personal e-mail and other electronic messages in a day.
- Take at least one walk per week without my I-pod.
(Here are the pictures she took)-->
[5] I found this story by a user that goes by the name AustralianMissionary. He talks about his week of technology detox.
My Week of Technology Detox
January 30, 2012 ByI love technology and actually take it as a compliment when someone calls me a Geek so its easy to overlook just how important things like wi-fi, cable television, smart phones, and laptops are in my life until they are taken away. It’s these periods of “technology detox” that help me realize these amazing tools while making life much simpler can actually be lived without.
Last week I attended a conference in Dunedin New Zealand with other missionaries from American, Papua New Guinea, and the Northern Island of New Zealand. This was a great time of fellowship along with teaching from God’s Word which not only encouraged my heart but also gave me a fresh burden to reach and teach the unsaved of Melbourne Australia. Along with those blessings however there was the challenge since at no time during the week did we have free wi-fi access.
The motel where I stayed did have Internet but it cost about ten cents per megabyte so an hour would cost around $5.00. This meant a quick two-minute check of my emails in the morning was the extent of my web surfing for the day. For most people this probably wouldn’t be a problem but for an internet junkie like me this led experiencing withdraw symptoms which involved among other things walking around with my iPod touch looking for any free Internet (my smart phone was left at home which only added to the frustration). After a few days of breaking out into cold sweats over unread tweets I actually got used to not having Internet, mobile phone, or only having four channels on the tv with rabbit ears instead of the digital cable back home (only ended up watching it a few minutes in the morning).
God used my week in Dunedin to remind me how dependent I was on technology, but also revealed its possible to live without it, which is something our culture doesn’t want us to know. Instead society feeds us the exact opposite message “you have to get the latest phone, computer, high-speed Internet, software etc.” I feel things such as the Internet or mobile phones are necessary for daily life in this age of technology but that doesn’t mean we must have the latest or best one. Nor does it mean we should be tethered or connected to our technology in a way where we can never be away from Internet or email. And in the case when we don’t have access to these things we shouldn’t immediately start panicking.
[6] I found this story by LD Thompson. He talks about technology detox.
High Tech Detox
Posted: 05/ 2/2012 6:28 amAre you addicted to technology? Can you go a week without the Internet, or even a day? The degree to which we find ourselves hungrily tapped into the constant flow of electrically-charged information gathering can be tested. Simply unplug. Then, note your responses.
I recently returned home after being gone for several months and discovered that I had no cell phone charger with me. And my iPhone was dead. My cable was turned off, so I had no access to the Internet.
Naturally, I set about trying to rectify the situation but, living on an island, I couldn't just go out and buy a phone charger, and as it was a Friday night of a holiday weekend, no one could be dispatched to solve the cable issue for several days.
After some grumbling frustration I decided to let it go, made myself a simple dinner and savored a fine Cabernet. I picked up the book I had been wanting to read, but never had time, and read till I fell asleep.
Waking the next morning I made the most wonderful discovery: I could not connect with the outside world. Time stretched before me... long, languorous time, like I used to experience on Sundays before there was email and smart phones and YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. What a revelation. In place of the constant relationship to electronics and especially connectivity devices, I was in relationship to my surroundings, to the day, to the natural rhythms of my body. It felt like my whole internal rhythm slowed down because I couldn't connect.
I felt suddenly as though there were more hours in the day, and my thought process seemed less cluttered, more creative. I felt soothed by the refreshment of the absence of connectivity.
It reminded me of my time in the early '90s, when I had a cabin on San Juan Island in Washington state. It had no electricity and no running water. Being there was one of the most delicious experiences I can recall. With no electrical wiring surrounding me, my sleep felt deeper and my dreams richer. My body felt calmed and soothed, especially in comparison to how it felt in my busy life back in Seattle.
Another thing I remember about that time is conversations with friends, long, meandering conversations that were tremendously nurturing, both from the standpoint of deepening into intimacy, but also because of what I revealed to myself about myself -- all because I had the time to explore my thoughts and feelings.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no neo-Luddite. I love high-tech gadgets. I had one of the first cell phones -- the kind that looked like a military field phone. But lately I have begun to question the cost of the constancy of so much availability of information, connectivity and entertainment.
I have a client who, when I ask her how she is, invariably replies, "I'm exhausted." This is a healthy woman in her early 40s with no children and a trust fund. So, we always start there. "Why are you exhausted?" I ask. Then, the litany begins, "my cell phone this and my computer that." Sometimes, she'll describe an imbroglio on Facebook with people whom she wouldn't otherwise be "friends." Other very powerful tools make the list sometimes -- Constant Contact, Photoshop. After that there are the "garden variety" stressors: car, traffic, aches and pains, relationships issues. But what's noticeable is that the tools that are supposed to be making her life easier and more efficient are the elements at the top of the list of stressors.
Let's face it, we aren't likely to go back to a world without computers, cell phones, and texting unless, of course, the prediction of a massive solar blast wiping out the electric grid comes to pass. I'm not even sure I would want that. Although I sometimes long for the days when I had a travel agent and someone "live" who was my cashier at the grocery and the hardware store.
I know a woman who flees to France at every opportunity to get away from her children -- who cannot be compelled to a family dinner without major conflict -- and her husband's constant monitoring of his email and texts for his business. The resultant disaffection has left her starving for what she refers to as "cocooning" -- the experience of friends gathering at lunch or dinner and sitting for hours sharing a meal, conversation and laughter.
I believe this yearning is native and extremely healthy. Conversely, I have a deep conviction that the growing relationship to electronic devices as a means of connection is in actuality creating a sense of disconnectedness for us as human beings.
How many times have you seen someone at a gathering, large or small, pull out their smart phone and begin relating to it rather than the people -- living, breathing people -- in the room? How often do you do it yourself? What's happening there?
So far, research has shown that receiving an email or a text or a "like" on your latest Facebook comment gives the brain a little squirt of dopamine. Therefore an addiction is what we're looking at. Pure and simple.
Psychologist Susan Weinschenk has this to say:
"The latest research shows that dopamine causes seeking behavior. Dopamine causes us to want, desire, seek out, and search.
"It's not just about physical needs such as food, or sex but also about abstract concepts. Dopamine makes us curious about ideas and fuels our searching for information.
Dopamine starts us seeking, then we get rewarded for seeking which makes us seek more. It becomes harder to stop looking at email, stop texting, stop checking our cell phones to see if we have a message or a new text."
Is this phenomenon good or bad? That's like asking whether masturbation is good or bad. It's probably not ideal to be excessively compulsive about it, and it's better to do it privately.
Perhaps there's a key as to how to approach all this potential dopamine-inspired compulsivity. Following simple guidelines to maintain choice and self-control in relationship to available technology is an important first step:
•If you don't absolutely need your cell phone where you are going out (yoga, a dinner party, a board meeting, an art class) leave it at home or in your car. Or, simply turn it off -- all the way off.
•Set aside "no media zones" in your house or apartment -- where you meditate or where you gather for meals, for example.
•Set aside a day each week and make it a "sacred day" when you and your household simply take a "fast" from all electronic connectivity devices.
•And probably most important of all, catch yourself in the act -- monitor how fast you reach for the cell phone or jump when the computer lets you know you have a new email. Your Facebook friends will still be there in the morning.
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