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How to Do a Digital Detox

And why you should try it

Verywell / Jiaqi Zhou

• Reasons for a Detox

What the Research Says

• How to Do It
• Modifications

A digital detox refers to a period of time when a person refrains from using tech devices such as smartphones, televisions, computers, tablets, and social media sites. “Detoxing” from digital devices is often seen as a way to focus on real-life social interactions without distractions. By forgoing digital devices, at least temporarily, people can let go of the stress that stems from constant connectivity.

Before you decide if it is right for you, consider some of the potential benefits and methods of doing a digital detox.

Reasons for a Digital Detox

For many people, being connected and immersed in the digital world is just a part of everyday life. According to research from the Nielsen Company, the average U.S. adult spends around 11 hours each day listening to, watching, reading, or interacting with media.  

There are many reasons why you might want to give up your mobile phone and other devices for a brief time. You might want to enjoy time to yourself without the interference that your phone and other devices create. In other cases, you might feel like your device use has become excessive and is adding too much stress to your life. 

In some situations, you might even feel like you are addicted to your devices. While technology addiction is not formally recognized as a disorder in the DSM-5 , many experts believe that tech and device overuse represents a very real behavioral addiction that can lead to physical, psychological, and social problems.

In a poll conducted by the organization Common Sense Media, 50% of teens reported that they felt that they were addicted to their mobile devices. A whopping 78% of the teen respondents said that they check their digital devices hourly.  

Technology Can be Stressful

While people often feel that they can't imagine life without their tech devices, research and surveys have found that technology use can also contribute to stress. 

In the American Psychological Associations' annual Stress in America survey , a fifth of U.S. adults (around 18%) cited technology use as a significant source of stress in their life. For many, it is the ever-present digital connection and constant need to keep checking emails, texts, and social media that accounted for the majority of this tech stress.

One study conducted by researchers in Sweden found that heavy technology use among young adults was linked to sleeping problems, depressive symptoms, and increased stress levels.  

Digital Devices Can Disrupt Sleep

Evidence also suggests that heavy device use, particularly prior to bedtime, can interfere with sleep quality and quantity. One study found that children who use digital devices at bedtime had significantly worse and less sleep. The study also found a connection between nighttime tech use and increased body mass index.  

Researchers have also found that in-bed electronic social media use has adverse effects on sleep and mood. The study found that 70% of participants checked social media on their phones while in bed, with 15% spending an hour or more on social media while in bed. The results found that using social media when you are in bed at night increases the likelihood of anxiety, insomnia, and shorter sleep duration.

Heavy Device Use May Be Linked to Mental Health Concerns

A study published in the journal Child Development found that heavy daily technology use was associated with an increased risk for mental health problems among adolescents. More time spent using digital technologies was linked to increased symptoms of ADHD and conduct disorder, as well as worse self-regulation.  

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania recently published the first experimental research linking the use of social media sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram to decreased well-being. The results revealed that limiting social media use decreased symptoms of depression and loneliness .  

Constant Connectivity Affects Work/Life Balance

That feeling of always being connected can make it difficult to create boundaries between your home life and work life. Even when you are at home or on vacation, it can be hard to resist the temptation to check your email, respond to a text from a colleague, or check in on your social media accounts. 

In a study published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life , researchers found that technology use played a role in determining an individual's work-life balance. The study suggested that the use of internet and mobile technologies influenced overall job satisfaction, job stress, and feelings of overwork.

Doing a digital detox may help you establish a healthier, less stressful work-life balance .

Social Comparison Makes It Hard to Be Content

If you spend time on social media, you have probably found yourself comparing your own life to your friends, family, total strangers, and celebs. You might find yourself thinking that everyone else seems to be leading a fuller, richer, or more exciting life based on the tiny, curated glimpse you see on their Instagram or Facebook posts. 

As the saying goes, comparison really can be the thief of joy. Detoxing from your social connections can be a good way to focus on what’s important in your own life without comparing yourself to others. 

Digital Connectivity Can Make You Feel Like You’re Missing Out

Fear of missing out, known as FOMO , is the fear that you are missing the experiences that everyone else is having. Constant connectivity can feed this fear. Every time you see a curated image or post about someone else’s life, it can leave you feeling as if your life is less exciting than theirs. You might find yourself overcommitting to social events out of the fear that you’ll be left behind.

FOMO can also keep you constantly checking your device out of fear that you are going to miss an important text, DM, or post. 

Doing a digital detox is one way to set limits and reduce your fear of missing out. The key is to do it in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling cut off from what’s happening in your digital world.

Signs You Might Need a Digital Detox

• You feel anxious or stressed out if you can't find your phone
• You feel compelled to check your phone every few minutes
• You feel depressed, anxious, or angry after spending time on social media
• You are preoccupied with the like, comment, or reshare counts on your social posts
• You’re afraid that you'll miss something if you don't keep checking your device
• You often find yourself staying up late or getting up early to play on your phone
• You have trouble concentrating on one thing without having to check your phone

Some might suggest that a true digital detox would involve predefined abstinence from any and all digital devices and social media connections, but it is important to make your device usage work for your own life and demands. 

Detaching from your devices can benefit your mental well-being, but doing a digital detox does not have to involve a complete separation from your phone and other tech connections. The process is often more about setting boundaries and making sure that you are using your devices in a way that benefit, rather than harm, your emotional and physical health.

Be Realistic

If you can do a complete digital detox for a certain amount of time, it might be something you want to try. Being completely disconnected can feel liberating and refreshing for some people. For a lot of people, completely forgoing all forms of digital communication might not be possible, particularly if you really do rely on staying connected for work, school, or other obligations. 

This doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the benefits of a digital detox; the key is to make disconnecting something that works for your schedule and your life. 

If you need your devices during the day for your job, try doing a mini-detox at the end of the workday. Pick a time when you want to turn off your devices, and then focus on spending an evening completely free of things like social media, texting, online videos, and other electronic distractions. 

While it isn’t always possible or even preferable to completely disconnect, setting limits on when these digital connections are allowed to intrude on your time can be good for your mental well-being. 

For example, you might want to use your phone to play your Spotify or Apple Music playlist while you are working out, but setting it to airplane mode will make sure that you aren’t distracted by phone calls, texts, other messages, or app notifications during your workout. 

Setting boundaries on the type and timing of connections you’ll attend to helps ensure that you can enjoy real-world activities completely free of digital diversions. 

Other times when you might want to limit your digital device usage include:

• When you are eating meals, particularly when dining with other people
• When you are waking up or going to bed
• When you are working on a project or hobby
• When you are spending time with friends or family
• Before you go to sleep each night

Research suggests that limiting your social media use to approximately 30 minutes per day can significantly improve well-being, decreasing symptoms of loneliness and depression.  

Restricting your mobile device usage immediately before you go to sleep may also be helpful. One review of the research found that using media devices was linked to poor sleep quality, inadequate sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness. Skip laying in bed playing on your phone and instead try reading a book or magazine for a few minutes before you go to sleep.  

Remove Distractions

Another way to start your digital detox is to turn off push notifications on your phone. Many social media apps including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and news websites send alerts every single time you get a message, mention, or new post.

Rather than checking certain apps or websites every time a new story or post hits, set aside a specific time each day when you’ll check your messages or mentions. Then set aside a certain amount of time, around 20 or 30 minutes, to devote to catching up and sending responses.

You might find that it's helpful to leave your phone behind for at least a brief time. Studies have found that the mere presence of a mobile device, even if you aren’t actively using it, lowers empathy levels and decreased conversation quality when interacting with other people, a phenomenon researchers have dubbed ‘the iPhone effect.’  

So the next time you are having dinner with a group of friends, try leaving your phone at home.

Make It Work for You

A digital detox can be whatever you want it to be and can take many forms. You might want to try giving up all digital devices for a time, including television, mobile phones, and social media. In other cases, you might want to focus on restricting your use of just one type of digital device such as your phone or your gaming console.

Some ideas that you might consider trying:

• A digital fast : Try giving up all digital devices for a short period of time, such as a day or up to a week
• Recurrent digital abstinence : Pick one day of the week to go device-free
• A specific detox : If one app, site, game, or digital tool is taking up too much of your time, focus on restricting your use of that problematic item
• A social media detox : Focus on restricting or even completely eliminating your social media use for a specific period of time

Digital Detox Tips

Some people find giving up their devices fairly easy. Others will find it much more difficult and even anxiety-provoking at times.

There are some things that you can do to ensure that your digital detox is more successful:

• Let your friends and family know that you are on a digital detox and ask for their help and support
• Find ways to stay distracted and keep other activities on hand
• Delete social media apps from your phone to reduce temptation and easy access
• Try getting out of the house; go to dinner with friends or go for a walk when you are tempted to use your device
• Keep a journal to track your progress and write down your thoughts about the experience

Going device-free can be uncomfortable and stressful at times. You might feel annoyed, anxious, and even bored without your mobile phone and other tech tools. While it may be hard, it can be a rewarding experience that will help you better understand your relationship with your devices and be more present and mindful in your other activities and experiences.

The Nelson Company. The Nielsen Total Audience Report: Q1 2018 . July 2018.

Common Sense Media. Dealing with Devices: The Parent-Teen Dynamic . May 2016.

Thomée S, Härenstam A, Hagberg M. Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults--a prospective cohort study . BMC Public Hea lth. 2011;11:66. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-66

Fuller C, Lehman E, Hicks S, Novick MB. Bedtime Use of Technology and Associated Sleep Problems in Children . Glob Pediatr Health . 2017;4:2333794X17736972. doi:10.1177/2333794X17736972

Bhat S, Pinto-zipp G, Upadhyay H, Polos PG. "To sleep, perchance to tweet": in-bed electronic social media use and its associations with insomnia, daytime sleepiness, mood, and sleep duration in adults . Sleep Health . 2018;4(2):166-173. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2017.12.004

George MJ, Russell MA, Piontak JR, Odgers CL. Concurrent and Subsequent Associations Between Daily Digital Technology Use and High-Risk Adolescents' Mental Health Symptoms . Child Dev . 2018;89(1):78-88. doi:10.1111/cdev.12819

Hunt, MG, Marx, R, Lipson, C, and Young, J. No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 2018; 37(10): 751-768. doi: 10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751

Nam T. Technology use and work-life balance . Applied Research in Quality of Life . 2014; 9(4): 1017-1040. doi: 10.1007/s11482-013-9283-1

Carter B, Rees P, Hale L, Bhattacherjee D, Paradkar, MS. Association between portable screen-based media device access or use and sleep outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr . 2016; 170(12):1202-1208. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.2341

Misra S, Cheng L, Genevie J. The iPhone Effect: The Quality of In-Person Social Interactions in the Presence of Mobile Devices . 2016;48(2). doi: 10.1177/0013916514539755

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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From cognitive overload to digital detox: Psychological implications of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic

Josephine b. schmitt.

a Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), Universitätsstraße 104, 44799 Bochum, Germany

Johannes Breuer

b GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Unter Sachsenhausen 6-8, 50667, Cologne, Germany

c LMU Munich, Department of Media and Communication, Oettingenstraße 67, 80538, Munich, Germany

Associated Data

For most people, telework during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates the increased use of digital tools. Although working from home can enhance flexibility, it comes with various psychological challenges, all of which can be substantially exacerbated for people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased need to use digital tools can create cognitive overload that may negatively impact work productivity and well-being. The idea of digital detox has received increasing attention in the last few years as a means for recovering from stress caused by the use of digital media. This paper presents an analysis of the relationships between the use of digital work tools, the feeling of cognitive overload, digital detox measures, perceived work performance, and well-being. Results from an online survey ( N  = 403) conducted during the period of strict lockdown measures in Germany in April and May 2020 indicate that the relationship between the use of text-based tools and well-being, but not perceived job performance, is mediated by cognitive overload. These relationships were not found for the use of videoconferencing tools. However, for users of these tools, the number of digital detox measures moderates the relationship between cognitive overload and the perception of work demands.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people's lives in many regards. Work is one area severely affected. Due to social distancing measures and lockdowns, many must work from home, relying on videoconferencing (e.g., Zoom, Skype) or text-based work management and communication tools (e.g., Slack, Trello, e-mail) as substitutes for in-person interaction and information access. Although working from home can generally increase flexibility, it comes with various social and psychological challenges (e.g., Shepherd-Banigan, Bell, Basu, Booth-LaForce, & Harris, 2016 ). With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these challenges are exacerbated because of the overall uncertainty of the situation, issues related to childcare and other duties, and the lack of physical social contact. People are likely to experience more stress and overload because of the sudden and unexpected increased use of digital tools to manage workflow. The increased need to use digital tools may introduce changes in working routines or expectations of needing to work longer and faster ( Karr-Wisniewski & Lu, 2010 ). These feelings of being stressed and overloaded by organizing work primarily through digital technologies may, in turn, negatively impact productivity and well-being ( Eppler & Mengis, 2004 ).

Irrespective of the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to the societal phenomenon of being “permanently online, permanently connected” ( Vorderer et al., 2017 ), concepts like digital minimalism and digital detox have received increasing attention recently. The general idea is to take a break from online and digital media, deliberately engaging in “non-digital” tasks in order to avoid or recover from digital stress and overload, and focus on the physical world ( Newport, 2019 ; Syvertsen & Enli, 2019 ).

This paper presents an analysis of the relationships between the use of digital work tools, the feeling of cognitive overload, digital detox measures, work performance and well-being using an online survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic's period of strict social distancing and lockdown measures in Germany in April and May 2020.

1. Cognitive overload, well-being, and work performance

Although digital media can facilitate social life, learning, and work in many ways, they also may cause feelings of being overloaded. From a psychological perspective, this perception can generally be defined as a state in which the informational input exceeds cognitive capacities ( Eppler & Mengis, 2004 ). In psychological and social-scientific research, there are various terminologies that address this phenomenon: Regarding interactive learning systems researchers commonly refer to cognitive overload or cognitive load (e.g., Jiang, Kalyuga, & Sweller, 2020 ; Sweller, 1994 ; van Gog, Paas, & Sweller, 2010 ), meaning that “learners may be overwhelmed by the number of interactive information elements that need to be processed simultaneously before meaningful learning can commence” ( van Gog et al., 2010 , p. 375). Similarly, researchers dealing with cognitive challenges of learning in hypertext environments often use the term cognitive overhead (or “lost-in-hyperspace”-phenomenon), addressing the limitation of the human working memory for information processing while browsing texts with hyperlinks (e.g., Zumbach, 2006 ; Zumbach & Mohraz, 2008 ). Some authors also use the term information overload to describe the psychological consequences of being confronted with a large and heterogeneous set of online news sources (e.g., Schmitt, Debbelt, & Schneider, 2017 ), or being overwhelmed by functions and content on e-learning platforms (e.g., Chen, Pedersen, & Murphy, 2011 ). Others—mainly referring to an overwhelming usage of social media—talk about communication overload or social overload (e.g., Choi & Lim, 2016 ; Lee, Son, & Kim, 2016 ). Finally, concerning the organisational, work-related use of digital information and communication technologies, various authors also use the term techno(-logy) overload (e.g., Karr-Wisniewski & Lu, 2010 ; Tarafdar, Qiang, & Ragu-Nathan; 2010 ). To avoid confusion due to heterogeneity in the terminology, in this article the term cognitive overload is used as shorthand for various forms of overload ascribed to the overuse of digital tools.

The predictors for cognitive overload are diverse and often intertwined. There are various individual variables (e.g., cognitions, attitudes, frustration levels, technical skills, self-efficacy), situational factors (e.g., task difficulty, time constraints, technical support), and media-related aspects (e.g., technological, and social demands of the media used, quality and quantity of information) affecting cognitive overload (e.g., Chen et al., 2011 ; Eppler & Mengis, 2004 ; Schmitt et al., 2017 ; Tarafdar, Tu, & Ragu-Nathan, 2010 ; Zumbach & Mohraz, 2008 ).

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 50 percent of the employees in Germany had to work from home in March 2020 ( Bitkom, 2020 )—initially for an unspecified, indefinite time. Although telework also may have enabled flexibility, autonomy, and creativity, many employees perceived it to be more demanding and stressful than working in the office ( Haufe, 2020 ). The reasons are manifold. About half of the employees reported that they have never worked from home before and, thus, were insufficiently equipped with the necessary hardware or software and the required knowledge and skills. Previous studies have shown that an increased use of mobile information and communication technologies in the workplace, in general, can make the working environment more complicated ( Bawden & Robinson, 2009 ). Consequently, many employees immediately had to face possible doubts and insecurities in dealing with digital tools and acquire relevant technical skills to meet work requirements ( De’, Pandey, & Pal, 2020 ).

For most people – at least the ones working in office jobs – telephone and web conferences substituted for personal meetings with colleagues and customers during the lockdown ( Bitkom, 2020 ), while managerial functions as well as organizational tasks are relocated into “always on” online spaces (e.g., text-based management and chat tools) ( Haufe, 2020 ). Importantly, in such situations, the division between work and non-work is less bounded by clear temporal and physical markers ( Carrigan & Duberley, 2013 ; Lüthje & Thiele, 2020 ). In addition, the increased need to use digital tools accompanied by a constant stream of information and communication may foster the impression that there is a need to work longer and faster ( Eurofound and the International Labour Office, 2017 ), which can create feelings of overload.

Feeling overloaded by the use of digital tools may result in ineffective information processing, confusion, loss of control, psychological stress ( Eppler & Mengis, 2004 )—or even an increase of depressive symptoms ( Matthes, Karsay, Schmuck, & Stevic, 2020 ; Reinecke et al., 2017 ). The latter may have even more severe consequences with the individual, social, and societal demands of the COVID-19 pandemic being especially challenging to mental health. Notably, cognitive overload may also lead to rejection or avoidance of using such products and tools ( Lee et al., 2016 ). Studies have also shown that overload due to an overwhelming digital communication environment negatively influences job productivity (e.g., Karr-Wisniewski & Lu, 2010 ) and job satisfaction (e.g., Tarafdar et al., 2010 ). Considering the ubiquity and necessity of digital tools during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is reason to assume that the resulting cognitive overload is one contributing factor to a reduction in employees’ productivity and well-being.

2. “Digital detox” as a strategy for handling cognitive overload

It is not always possible for individuals to eliminate the conditions leading to cognitive overload, but people can adopt strategies to handle overload and its negative consequences. Constant stress and reduced work productivity can have severe consequences in the long run, for both employees (psychologically) and for organizations (economically) (e.g., De Jonge, Spoor, Sonnentag, Dormann, & van den Tooren, 2012 ). To deal with cognitive overload and its potential consequences, concepts such as digital minimalism and digital detox have received increasing attention recently—however, primarily as buzzwords in popular-science blogs, self-help books, lifestyle websites and social media ( Syvertsen & Enli, 2019 ). They purvey a certain minimalist “philosophy of technology use” ( Newport, 2019 , p. 28). The general idea behind these concepts is taking a conscious break from digital media by engaging in explicitly “non-digital” tasks focusing on the physical world ( Syvertsen & Enli, 2019 ).

Different lines of research point to positive effects of such strategies: For instance, self-control enhancement, switching off notifications, and powering off electronic devices at a certain time in the evening, seem to improve sleep quality and quantity and, thus, increase work productivity the following day ( Lanaj, Johnson, & Barnes, 2014 ). The use of digital detox apps (i.e., apps supporting users to monitor and limit their smartphone time) can also prevent potential harmful effects of social networking sites on well-being among young people ( Schmuck, 2020 ). Other studies have found that answering emails only at a predefined time during a day may reduce stress while working ( Kushlev & Dunn, 2015 ). Taken together, these findings indicate that digital detox strategies may have an overall positive impact on feelings of well-being.

3. Hypotheses

Based on the previous findings and considerations outlined above, this study was designed to test the following hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1: The increased use of digital work tools is positively related to feelings of cognitive overload.

Hypothesis 2: Perceived cognitive overload is negatively related to

a) perceived work performance.

b) feelings of well-being.

Hypothesis 3: Cognitive overload plays a mediating role in the relationship between the use of digital tools and

b) well-being.

Hypothesis 4: The relationships between perceived cognitive overload and

a) feelings of well-being are moderated by “digital detox” measures.

b) perceived work performance is moderated by “digital detox” measures.

Fig. 1 gives an overview of the hypothesized relationships for this study.

Overview of the hypothesized relationships.

4.1. Sample

The data used in this analysis originates from a more comprehensive online survey 1 created with SocSci Survey 2 conducted from 27 th April 2020 to 07 th May 2020 in Germany. The sample was drawn from a German non-probability online access panel ( Leiner, 2016 ). The study was additionally advertised via the authors' private accounts on Facebook and Twitter. In total, 615 people took part in the online survey. Participants who completed the questionnaire in less than five min ( n  = 66) and whose data are incomplete regarding the variables of interest ( n  = 208) were excluded from the analyses. As the focus was on consequences of an increased need for using digital tools for work during the pandemic, the survey included a filter, so that only those who reported to use these tools at least as often as before the pandemic received the questions on cognitive overload, perceived work performance, and digital detox. Accordingly, respondents who indicated that they do not use videoconferencing or text-based tools at all or that they use them less frequently than before the pandemic were not included. 3 Thus, the final sample consisted of N  = 403 respondents, age 18–87 years ( M age  = 38.93, SD age  = 17.49; n female  = 259, n male  = 141, n non-binary  = 3). Ninety-four respondents reported at least one child living in their household. The hypotheses and analysis plan for this study have been pre-registered with AsPredicted. 4

4.2. Measures

4.2.1. use of digital work tools.

Participants were asked whether their use of a) videoconferencing tools (e.g., Zoom, Skype) and b) text-based management and chat tools (e.g., Slack, Trello) differed compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Ratings ranged from 1 ( significantly more seldom ) to 7 ( significantly more often ). Participants could also indicate that they never used these tools before (see Table 1 ). 5

Use of digital work tools.

4.2.2. Cognitive overload

Perceived cognitive overload was assessed with the adapted technology overload scale used by Choi and Lim (2016) . Sample items include: “By using digital work tools, I am forced to do more work than I can handle.“, “By using digital work tools, I am forced to work with very tight time schedules.“. Participants indicated their answers on a 7-point Likert-scale (1 =  strongly disagree , 7 =  absolutely agree ). A mean score was computed for further analyses ( M  = 2.71, SD  = 1.60, min = 1, max = 7, Cronbach's α = .83).

4.2.3. Perceived work performance

In order to measure perceived work performance, two items were adapted from Karr-Wisniewski and Lu (2010) to assess technology-based work performance: a) “Overall, I feel that this technology has efficiently enhanced my job productivity.” b) “Overall, I feel that this technology has effectively enhanced my job productivity.” Participants indicated their answers on a 7-point Likert-scale (1 =  strongly disagree , 7 =  absolutely agree ). The mean score of these two items was used for further analysis ( M  = 3.13, SD  = 1.81, min  = 1, max  = 7, Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0. 79 6 ).

4.2.4. Digital detox

Digital detox strategies were measured via an open-ended question. The answers were coded into categories (e.g., outdoor activities/sports, defining media-free time periods, temporarily leaving the mobile phone unattended). A sum score was calculated over the number of different detox measures each person reported to engage in ( M  = 0.94, SD  = 1.17, min  = 0, max  = 5). Table 2 gives an overview over the full list of categories and counts as well as example quotes.

Overview of digital detox measures, counts, and example quotes.

4.2.5. Well-being

Well-being was measured with the “Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-20)" ( Fliege, Rose, Arck, Levenstein, & Klapp, 2009 ). Sample items: “You feel that too many demands are being made on you.“, “You are full of energy.“. The PSQ-20 is a validated instrument consisting of four subscales: worries, tension, loss of joy, and demands. To increase consistency across scales, and differing from the original scale, participants in the present study indicated their answers on a 7-point Likert-scale (1 =  strongly disagree , 7 =  absolutely agree ). Reversed items were recoded. Internal consistency coefficients of the subscales were high in terms of Cronbach's α (worries: .85, tension: .88, demands: .84, loss of joy: .82). Mean scores for all four subscales were used for further analyses (worries: M  = 3.54, SD  = 1.61, tension: M  = 3.73, SD  = 1.70, demands: M  = 3.38, SD  = 1.69, loss of joy: M  = 3.71, SD  = 1.36).

The first section in this chapter (5.1) summarizes the results of two path models which were calculated to analyse the hypothesized relationships (H1 – H4; for an overview of the assumed relationships and hypotheses see Fig. 1 ). In a second subsection (5.2) additional findings regarding control variables, such as the number of children in the household and participants’ age, are provided.

5.1. Hypothesis tests

Hypotheses were tested by calculating two path models with MLR estimation using the package lavaan ( Rosseel, 2012 ) for R ( R Core Team, 2020 ): one for videoconferencing tools (e.g., Zoom, Skype; Model 1) and one for text-based management and chat tools (e.g., Slack, Trello; Model 2). For both models, the predictor variables cognitive overload and digital detox were mean-centered prior to the analyses and tested for the significance of indirect effects with bootstrapped confidence intervals with 5000 samples. Only cases with complete data were included in the analyses (listwise deletion). Results were controlled for age and the presence of children in the household as parents could likely be particularly stressed due to the closing of schools or day-care centres.

For Model 1, the analysis revealed that the use of videoconferencing tools ( b = .100, 95% CI [-0.123, 0.322], β = .048) was not positively related to perceptions of overload. By contrast, a higher usage of text-based tools ( b = .259, 95% CI [0.067, 0.450], β = .158) was positively related to cognitive overload. Hence, hypothesis H1 was only supported for people who increased their use of text-based tools during the COVID-19 lockdown.

In both models, cognitive overload was significantly and positively related to all four well-being subscales (for all estimates see Table 3 and Table 4 ). The more people feel overloaded by using digital tools for work, the more they experience demands, loss of joy, tensions, and worries. This result supports hypothesis H2b. Further, there is a small positive but significant relationship between digital overload and perceived work performance in Model 1 (b = .174, 95% CI [0.059, 0.289], β = .155) contradicting hypothesis H2a—meaning that people who used videoconferencing tools at least as often as before the pandemic reported a higher perceived work performance when they experienced higher cognitive overload.

Coefficients and conditional indirect effects for Model 1: Videoconferencing tools (n = 395).

Coefficients and conditional indirect effects for Model 2: Text-based tools (n = 258).

Moreover, there was a significant indirect relationship between using text-based tools and all four well-being subscales that was mediated by perceived cognitive overload (H3b). Higher use of text-based tools during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly related to increased feelings of overloaded that in turn, were positively related to a higher perception of demands, loss of joy, tension, and worries (for an overview of all regression coefficients, see Table 3 , Table 4 ).

Hypothesis 4 proposed that digital detoxing measures would moderate the relationship between perceived cognitive overload and a) work performance and b) well-being. The number of different digital detox measures moderated the relationship between perceived cognitive overload and the perception of demands only in Model 1 (videoconferencing tools). Fig. 2 shows that for users of videoconferencing tools reporting an increasing number of digital detox measures, the size of the relationship between digital overload on perceived demands decreases considerably.

Plot of changes in the estimated coefficients (unstandardized) for the regression of the dependent variable (demands) on the independent variable (digital overload) at different levels of the moderator (digital detox measures) for Model 1; gray area indicates the 95% CI.

5.2. Additional findings

The presence of children in the household was associated with higher feelings of cognitive overload and perceived demands, independent of the digital tools used. In Model 1, age was negatively related to the three scales demand, tension and worries. In Model 2, there were significant negative relationships between age, tension and worries (see Table 3 , Table 4 ).

6. Discussion

The present study revealed several relationships between the use of digital work tools, cognitive overload, the use of digital detox measures, perceived work performance, and different dimensions of well-being. While some of those were the same for videoconferencing and text-based tools, others were only found for one tool type. People reporting an increased use of text-based tools in the context of telework also reported increased perceptions of feeling overloaded, while those reporting increased use of videoconferencing tools did not. One reason may be the difference between synchronous communication and asynchronous communication and their respective demands. With videoconferencing tools, employees communicate at a time slot that is often scheduled. Text-based tools, however, are asynchronous and may lead to the experience that while working on tasks, other tasks accumulate that cannot be addressed simultaneously or swiftly or that key communication (e.g., by email or chat) may be missed ( Becker, Alzahabi, & Hopwood, 2013 ; Reinecke et al., 2017 ). This may be especially challenging for younger, less experienced people who may have difficulties in prioritizing tasks ( Kushlev & Dunn, 2015 ; Nurmi, 2011 ). Another reason for the more challenging character of text-based tools could further be the character of communication. Via videoconferences not only verbal but also nonverbal (e.g., facial expressions, gestures) and paraverbal (e.g., intonation, prosody) information are transmitted. Especially nonverbal and paraverbal information facilitate relational links among team members, which may foster the effectiveness of information exchange and satisfaction with the communication situation (e.g., Warkentin, Sayeed, & Hightower, 1997 ). Text-based communication, in turn, opens a wide latitude for interpretation of persons’ “true” meaning behind their words. Further, it is a challenging task to extract emotions from written text ( Mahajan & Zaveri, 2020 ; Riordan & Kreuz, 2010 ).

As accumulating asynchronous text-based communication may lead to feelings of stress and overload, future research should focus on an adequate trade-off between the productive use of text-based digital tools and, for example, the establishment of time slots during which employees are not receiving any more tasks that could pile up on their (virtual) desks (also see Lüthje & Thiele, 2020 ). Another important difference is that synchronous communication tends to be more time constrained than asynchronous, meaning that there usually are predefined time slots for video calls, whereas messages in text-based tools can often be posted and read at any time.

In the present study, perceptions of cognitive overload were related to different facets of well-being, independently from the digital tool used. In line with previous findings, feeling overloaded was associated with negative indicators of well-being, such as worries, tensions and loss of joy (see e.g., Eppler & Mengis, 2004 ). Contrary to prior expectations, there was a positive relationship between cognitive overload and subjective work performance—but only for people who used videoconferencing tools at least as often as before the pandemic. This may be because the feeling of being forced to work harder and faster also increased the perception of working more efficiently. These relationships were not found for text-based tools, suggesting that —at least from the respondents’ point of view—work performance did not suffer from the digital working environments and a potential digital overload associated with them.

The relationship between cognitive overload and demands was moderated by the number of digital detox measures for people reporting more frequent use of videoconferencing tools during the pandemic. The more “non-digital” tasks people apply in order to avoid or recover from digital stress and overload, the weaker is the association between feelings of cognitive overload and perception of demands (e.g., time pressure, workload). This relationship was not found for text-based tools and other outcome variables.

7. Limitations and future research

First and foremost, it is important to note that causal relationships cannot be inferred from the single administration of a survey. Disentangling the causal relationships between the variables investigated requires longitudinal or experimental research. Moreover, the sample is limited as participants stem mostly from a non-probability sample. Partly, the sample is a convenience sample. Consequently, there may be sampling bias, for example, in that persons with interests or affinities for digital technology were more likely to participate in the study.

Another limitation of the study is that statements about the specific usefulness of different digital detox strategies for different platforms and dimensions of well-being are not possible. Although participants were asked openly to name their digital detox strategies, the sample size was insufficient to analyse the potential moderating effect of different strategy types. Differentiating between digital detox strategies regarding their potential moderating role might be an interesting avenue for future research looking at the effectiveness of specific digital detox measures (see e.g., Schmuck, 2020 ).

Future research should also examine further potentially relevant additional covariates, such as digital literacy, general job satisfaction, and work motivation, which have been shown to be important variables in previous research (e.g., Bucher, Fieseler, & Suphan, 2013 ). It would, for example, be interesting to investigate the role technical expertise might have in the relationships investigated in this study. It could be expected that the challenges of digital work tools are greater for those technologically less savvy. Moreover, the present study measured perceptions, not actual behaviours. So actual increases or decreases in cognitive overload, well-being, subjective work performance, or whether people applied more diverse digital detox measures than before the pandemic are unknown and could be addressed, for example, in the context of ethnographic or field studies or via experience sampling (also known as momentary assessment) methods.

8. Conclusion and practical implications

Overall, this research offers some insight into a scenario where working environments are quickly and comprehensively digitized. While this scenario was somewhat forced by measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies aim at digitizing their employees' work and allowing more work from home. Until now, research suggests that organizational approaches, such as providing a supportive environment or restricting working hours, only show mixed effects on employees’ productivity, satisfaction, and stress level ( Nurmi, 2011 ; Savage & Staunton, 2018 ). Hence, other measures may be needed to ensure a healthy and productive digital work life.

Three main practical implications can be derived from the results of this study: 1) Organizations should rely on synchronous, audio-visual work tools (instead of asynchronous text-based tools) to the extent possible ( Petrova & Schulz, 2021 ). 2) Organizations should make sure that all tools are easy to use and standardize on a limited number of tools (if possible). 3) It may be worthwhile to encourage digital detox behaviors.

JBS, TW, and JB contributed in equal proportions to study conception and data collection. JBS analysed and interpreted the data and drafted the article. TW and JB revised it critically for important intellectual content.

The authors have no funding to disclose.

Compliance with ethical standards

The research presented in this paper has been conducted in compliance with the APA Ethics Code.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

1 The survey also included several scales and questions on media-induced nostalgia, worries, and loneliness which are not reported here.

2 https://www.soscisurvey.de .

3 To quantify how many respondents were excluded based on this filter in the questionnaire: n = 119 people reported that they do not use videoconference tools and n  = 274 respondents indicated that they do not use work management and communication tools at all. By comparison, only n  = 7 participants used videoconference tools less frequently than before the pandemic, and n  = 6 users of text-based tools reported to use them less frequently.

4 See https://aspredicted.org/df4qr.pdf for the preregistration document.

5 With the exception of the questions on well-being, only those participants who said that they used one of the mentioned digital work tools at least as often as before the COVID-19 pandemic (= min. 3 on the scale) were asked to answer the following questions.

6 We report the Spearman-Brown coefficient instead of Cronbach's alpha here as this is the recommended measure of reliability for two-item scales ( Eisinga, Grotenhuis, & Pelzer, 2013 ).

Appendix A Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106899 .

Appendix A. Supplementary data

The following is the Supplementary data to this article:

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Addicted to your phone? How a 30-day digital detox can help break the screen time cycle

For many, 2018 was a year of mounting frustrations with personal technology. Negative stories piled up about the varying abuses and misdirection of social media services — privacy violations , censorship, knee-jerk outrage — while at the same time, Apple rolled out its Screen Time feature , revealing to millions of iPhone users the unflattering reality of how many hours they actually spend each week staring at a little glowing rectangle. Given these trends, it makes sense to make 2019 the year we reform our digital lives. The question, however, is how to succeed with this goal.

My suggestion for decluttering your digital existence is to learn from the decluttering experts. As Marie Kondo teaches , the solution to an over-stuffed house is not to resolve to be cleaner or to buy smarter organizers. You must instead start from scratch: Clean out the entire closest and then add back in only things that “spark joy.”

To simply resolve to look at your screen less or implement hacks such as turning off notifications isn’t enough.

My research indicates that a broadly similar approach is what works best for your digital clutter as well. To simply resolve to look at your screen less or implement hacks such as turning off notifications — the digital equivalent of trying to be cleaner or buying smarter organizers — isn’t enough. The technological and cultural forces pulling your attention back to your screen are too powerful for small tweaks to aggregate into large lifestyle changes. What does seem to work is to clean out your metaphorical closet: Step away from all the optional apps and services that you’ve haphazardly downloaded in recent years, and then add back only the tools that are really important to living a meaningful life.

The more detailed process I propose is called the digital declutter. It asks that you begin by taking a 30-day break from optional digital technologies in your personal life. These include any apps, services, or web sites that aren’t necessary for your work or play a vital role in your daily routine. For most people, these optional technologies include social media, online news and entertainment sites, games and streaming videos.

For technologies that play both a vital and a distracting role, specify rules to separate the former role from the latter. For example, if your job requires you to occasionally post on your company’s social media account, this shouldn’t be an excuse for unrestricted social media browsing on your phone. Instead, put aside some set times on your calendar to complete your professional social media work from your office computer, and then otherwise avoid these services during the declutter period.

There are two motivations for taking a 30-day break. The first is to detox from the compulsive urge to tap a screen at the slightest hint of boredom. It’s difficult to think clearly about your digital life while you still feel an addictive pull to its algorithmically optimized charms.

The alluring noise emanating from our screens provides an easy distraction from the bigger questions about what really matters.

The second purpose to this long duration, however, is arguably more important: to get back in touch with what you actually value. The alluring noise emanating from our screens provides an easy distraction from the bigger questions about what really matters; what we want to do with limited time here on earth. This month-long reprieve provides the space needed to revisit these questions, and through both self-reflection and experimentation, form some tentative answers.

At the end of the digital declutter, you must resist the urge to simply return to the same digital life you fled a month earlier. Like a Kondo aficionado carefully deciding what shoes to put back in the closet, only add back digital tools that significantly support one of these values you recently identified during your self reflection. And when you do add back such a tool, don’t allow its use to be unrestricted — instead place some careful rules about how and when you use it to maximize the deep benefits it provides while minimizing its costs.

If Facebook groups are key for keeping up with a community group that’s really important to you, for example, don’t allow this reality to justify mindless Facebook browsing during every moment of boredom. You might instead remove the Facebook app from your phone and enforce a simple schedule in which you log on to the site on your desktop computer on Sunday nights to review the latest announcements from the group. Similarly, I’ve heard from multiple declutter veterans who tamed a Netflix binge-watching addiction with a simple rule: They never stream shows alone. This trick maintains the relationship-building value of movie night, while avoiding using reruns of “The Office” as a mindless escape from issues that would benefit from direct confrontation.

A little over a year ago, I asked my readers if anyone would be willing to attempt this digital declutter and then send me some thoughts about the experience. I thought a couple dozen brave souls might take on the challenge. In the end, over 1,600 signed up. In addition to emphasizing the hunger so many now feel toward rethinking their relationships with their screens, I learned an important lesson from their experiences: Marie Kondo is on to something. If you want to rediscover joy in your cluttered digital life, half measures are unlikely to work. Gather the courage to start from scratch. Clear out all the junk that has haphazardly piled up on your devices, get back in touch with what you actually want to do with your time, and then put these tools to work making your life more joyful instead of allowing them nudge you into a joyless, distracted, screen-addled existence.

This piece is based on Cal Newport’s new book, " DIGITAL MINIMALISM: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World ," now on sale from Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group.

Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. He is also the author of six books, including most recently The New York Times bestseller, "Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World." His work has been published in over 20 languages and has been featured in many major publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, Washington Post, and Economist.

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Digital Detox: What to Know

What Is a Digital Detox?

Do you often find yourself glued to your smartphone screen and scrolling endlessly as chunks of time slip away? You’re not alone. Research shows that about 61% of people admit they’re addicted to the internet and their digital screens.

Worse, that constant connection can also take a toll on your quality of life and overload your senses. That’s why taking a break from your numerous social media apps and some time away from screens could help be good for your mental and physical health.

And that’s where a digital detox comes in. This is a period of time during which you intentionally reduce the amount of time you spend online on your devices. You may even opt to disconnect completely.

Why Do You Need a Digital Detox?

One study found that around 25% smartphone owners between ages 18 and 44 don’t remember the last time their phone wasn’t right next to them.

All that time online can cause:

• Self-image problems
• Low self-esteem
• Sleep problems
• Weight gain
• Unhealthy eating
• Lack of exercise
• Lack of time management
• Work ethic problems

Experts also found that heavy smartphone use can cause changes in your brain . Every scroll or swipe sends a hit of dopamine to the same areas of your brain that respond to addictive and dangerous drugs like cocaine.

The Benefits of a Digital Detox

Unplugging yourself from your devices or making the effort to use them less can help improve your quality of life by helping you:

Calm down and feel content. Several social experiments found that taking a scheduled break away from your smartphone or digital device can lower your stress levels. It can also help you focus on the present and pay more attention to things around you.

Be more productive. Scrolling, liking, posting, or just surfing the internet can be time consuming. It can leach time away from your responsibilities. Setting your phone aside will help you focus on things you need to get done.

Feel better about yourself. Social media apps lead you to compare yourself with others constantly. That can affect how you see yourself. Cutting back on phone time can boost your self-image and esteem.

Get healthier. Staying glued to your smartphone for several hours can lead to eye strain, dry eyes, blurry vision , teary eyes, and headaches . You may also hunch over as you look down at the phone or screen. This can cause lower back and neck problems. Disconnecting can provide relief to various parts of your body.

Sleep better. When your body knows it’s time for sleep , your brain releases a chemical called melatonin to help you relax and drift off. Staring at your phone right before bed keeps your brain alert and active and delays that melatonin release. Lack of sleep over a long period of time can affect your mood and health. A digital detox can help your body better control your sleep cycles.

How to Get Started

If you think tech use is affecting your physical and mental well-being, taking time away from things you need to get done, or both, it may be time for a digital detox. You don’t have to quit your devices altogether -- just do what works best for your lifestyle.

This could mean setting your phone aside for a few hours every now and then, exploring how much you really need to use it or disconnecting completely from the internet for a day or more.

To get started on your digital detox:

Pay attention to your emotion when you use your phone. Be mindful of your phone use to better understand the relationship you have with your device. Ask yourself why you’re using your phone at different times.

Is it boredom? Do you need it for work? Do you feel like you’re missing out on what others have? Does checking your phone make you feel better or worse? Experts say getting a better sense of your emotions can help you control your phone use better. If it’s taking a toll, try to cut back on the amount of time you use it every day.

Schedule a break from your phone. If you’re obsessively using your smartphone and you suspect addictive behavior, one way to detox would be to block out time intervals to check your phone. For example, try to check your phone only every 15 or 30 minutes.

Experts say an easy rule to follow would be to keep your phone away during mealtimes. This can help you focus on surroundings. If you have a hard time resisting your phone, try to keep it out of sight in a different room or out of easy reach so you can focus on your food. Or you could set times that you won’t use it, like when you’re out for a walk, at a social gathering, or after a certain hour at night.

Use apps to track your usage. Want to track how much you use your phone daily? If your phone can’t do it for you, there’s an app for that. Some apps can also block your access to social media sites for period of time or give you a detailed report on what you’re spending too much time on. This can help limit your reliance on your phone and take back some control.

Disconnect at night before bedtime. Since phone use can disrupt your sleep patterns, try to disconnect or switch off your phone before your go to bed or set a time like 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. to unplug. This will help you get into routine to go to bed and improve sleep.

Turn off notifications. If you find yourself responding to every text alert, email, or ping from your social media apps, it may be a good idea to shut off the notifications in your phone settings. This can help curb the urge to respond to every noise it makes. You can also try the do not disturb function.

If you feel like your smartphone addiction is disrupting your day-to-day life and you’re unable to take back control or unsure how to get started, talk to your doctor or a therapist. They may help you come with solutions that work best for your lifestyle.

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How to Do a Digital Detox Without Unplugging Completely

Excess tech use may be getting in the way of your wellness. Try these expert-backed strategies to become a little less attached to your devices.

Life during the most connected era in human history has many positives — faraway family members are just a FaceTime session away, and the answer to nearly any question that pops into your mind is at your fingertips.

But too much technology — whether it’s time spent on smartphones, social media, or in front of other digital screens — can have unintended consequences. That may signal the need for a digital detox.

“Excessive technology use can take away time from activities such as sleep, exercise, and socializing, which are all important for well-being,” says Carol Vidal, MD, PhD, MPH , an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

A research review noted that frequent technology use has been linked to heightened attention-deficit symptoms, impaired emotional and social intelligence, technology addiction, social isolation, impaired brain development, and disrupted sleep in some cases.

RELATED: Are the Stresses of Social Media Too Much for Teens and Young Adults?

Technology is not inherently bad, says Madeleine George, PhD , a public health research analyst at RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, in Durham, North Carolina. “Technology and social media can have positive or negative effects, depending on what someone is doing online and who they are.”

Other research suggests, for example, that social media use can help you build and maintain connections when you’re more actively interacting with others, but tends to have the opposite effect when people use it more passively, such as when scrolling through an Instagram or Facebook feed without interacting with the content, according to research .

You’ll know you’re overdoing it and may need a digital detox if technology interferes with your work, relationships, mental and physical health, or finances, according to Brittany Becker , a licensed mental health counselor based in New York City and the director of the Dorm, a holistic treatment center for mental health.

RELATED: Are the Virtual Interactions of Social Media Busting or Boosting Your Stress?

Dr. Vidal agrees. “When something is consuming a lot of your thoughts and conditioning your behaviors, and when it is interfering with your life — like your job or schoolwork or your relationships — it may be time to consider cutting back on its use,” Vidal says.

Scaling back through a digital detox may have positive effects.

A study from 2021 found that students who completed a social media detox reported positive changes to their mood, sleep, and anxiety. And another study found that women who quit Instagram reported higher life satisfaction and more positive effects than women who continued using the social media app. (It should be noted that both studies were small, with 68 and 80 participants, respectively.)

7 Ways to Do a Digital Detox  (Without Pulling the Plug Entirely)

For most people, ditching technology altogether isn’t going to happen. “Cutting down seems like a more realistic approach,” Vidal says.

To do this, make a plan, Becker says. Pinpoint your unhealthy habits and then decide which ones you want to change. “I think it is really helpful to get a clear picture of your tech use and review the time spent on your phone,” Becker says. “How that time is divided up with different applications is a great place to start, and then you can identify which areas to begin to limit.”

Dr. George suggests cutting back on anything that makes you feel worse or stressed, or that takes away from your life rather than adding to it. And remember, what constitutes healthy technology use varies from person to person. “There’s no magic amount of screen time that is good or bad,” George says. “You have to find out what works for you and your family.”

Here are seven strategies to help you manage your technology use and experiment with your own personal digital detox.

1. Schedule Time Away From Screens Throughout the Day

If you work at a computer, it’s hard to avoid screens, which means it’s all the more important to prioritize breaking away. Set up time in your calendar or with an alarm on your phone to remind you to go for a walk or to eat lunch away from your desk, Becker says. And remember to leave your phone behind.

2. Take Periodic Breaks From Technology

Breaks can reduce stress, particularly among heavy users, Vidal says. She says more research is needed on digital abstinence before there can be specific recommendations on what this looks like and how long it should last. But it could mean joining others who are committed to disconnecting through events like those run by Digital Detox (a company that leads tech-free retreats) or deleting problematic apps from your phone, temporarily or for good.

“If the Facebook app is something that you click on often and find yourself scrolling through for long periods of time, getting rid of the app and having to go through the search browser takes an extra step and allows for a moment to pause and decide if it is a good time to engage in this activity,” Becker says.

3. Downgrade Your Phone

If you’re having trouble staying present, eliminate the distractions by replacing your smartphone with a simple cell phone that cannot support apps. “It can absolutely be helpful to downgrade from a smartphone if that is possible,” says Jennifer Kelman, LCSW , a social worker based in Boca Raton, Florida. In fact, this is what she uses with her own children. “They have simple call or text features and that’s it,” she says.

4. Turn Off Your Phone at a Specific Time

Try powering down before dinner and until the next morning. Apple and Android users can enable do-not-disturb settings that can silence alerts, notifications, and calls. Becker says it’s a good idea to take advantage of the tools that are built into your devices.

5. Adjust Your Phone Settings to Limit Certain Apps

Apple iPhone users can set limits with  Screen Time (find it in your phone’s settings) and schedule Downtime, when only phone calls or specific apps are allowed and specified apps have a time limit. Digital Wellbeing works similarly for Google devices. People who didn’t use these features were more likely to experience problematic smartphone use and worse well-being than those who did use them, according to a  research analysis .

RELATED: How to Recognize When a Self-Care Practice Is No Longer Self-Care

6. Create No-Phone Areas

Kelman believes that setting limits on certain apps doesn’t always work. Instead, she suggests removing yourself from device use completely. Banning phones and screens from the bedroom, for instance, can keep screens from interfering with your sleep, Becker says. And if you have to go into a different room or part of your home to use a device, it may deter you from mindlessly scrolling.

7. Consider Reaching Out to a Mental Health Professional

“We are all using technology constantly, and therefore it can be hard to always know the difference between having a problem or not,” Becker says. If your behaviors with or feelings regarding technology or certain apps and sites begin to interfere with your daily functioning, it may be time to seek professional help, Becker says. Kelman adds that if your self-esteem plummets or you find yourself dealing with anxiety or depression, it’s time to talk to someone.

Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy . We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

• Small GW, Lee J, Kaufman A, et al. Brain Health Consequences of Digital Technology Use.  Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience . June 2020.
• Clark JL, Algoe SB, Green MC. Social Network Sites and Well-Being: The Role of Social Connection.  Current Directions in Psychological Science . February 2018.
• El-Khoury J, Haidar R, Kanj RR, et al. Characteristics of Social Media ‘Detoxification’ in University Students.  Libyan Journal of Medicine . December 2021.
• Fioravanti G, Prostamo A, Casale S. Taking a Short Break From Instagram: The Effects on Subjective Well-Being.  Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking . February 2020.
• Schmuck D. Does Digital Detox Work? Exploring the Role of Digital Detox Applications for Problematic Smartphone Use and Well-Being of Young Adults Using Multigroup Analysis. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking . August 2020.

Seth Gillihan, PhD

Medical reviewer.

Moira Lawler

If you're trying to purge yourself of social media attachments, but find it hard to stop mindlessly scrolling Facebook and Twitter, I've picked out 20 story and essay collections to read on your digital detox .

Over the last several years, the humble social network has transformed from being a convenient means of staying in touch with friends into an integral part of everyday business relations. Every business has a social media presence these days, often with a dedicated staffers to manage it. Rather than simply being the place you go to find and share memes, your favorite social media network is now a place where people and corporations go to sell their products. That constant barrage of ads for skin products, clothing, diet plans, shoes, TV shows, medications, movies, home goods, restaurants, and more is really pretty exhausting to deal with, and that's not even including the horrible headlines — and worse, the comments underneath the headlines . And yet, we crave more of it .

Sometimes you just need to get away from all of that, which is why digital detoxing exists in the first place. If you're thinking of taking a break from your phone for a while, or if you're having trouble sticking to your no-social-media guns, the 20 books I've picked out for you below offer digestible stories and essays you can read instead of scrolling through your timeline of choice.

'Sabrina & Corina' by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

A collection of stories about Latinx and indigenous women living in Colorado, Kali Fajardo-Anstine's Sabrina & Corina is deeply moving and hopeful, despite the often grim subject matter of the stories. You won't be able to put it down to reach for your phone.

Click here to buy.

'Orange World and Other Stories' by Karen Russell

From the author of Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove comes this collection of eight comedic stories, which includes the New Yorker -published "Bog Girl" — a tale of a boy in love with a 2,000-year-old swamp mummy.

'My Seditious Heart' by Arundhati Roy

My Seditious Heart collects the two decades of political that came between The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness . Arundhati Roy's fiction has been celebrated the world over, but her new collection of nonfiction is not to be missed.

'Southern Lady Code' by Helen Ellis

Containing 23 irreverent essays on life as a woman in the American South, Helen Ellis' Southern Lady Code is a masterclass in the art of southern living and diplomatic politeness.

'Home Remedies' by Xuan Juliana Wang

The 12 stories in Xuan Juliana Wang's Home Remedies weave in and around the Chinese diaspora. From a family of Chinese-American immigrants living in Chicago, to two Olympic divers in Beijing, Wang's collection explores the twin feelings of belonging and out-of-place-ness that surround the Chinese immigrant experience today.

'All the Names They Used for God' by Anjali Sachdeva

The nine stories in Anjali Sachdeva's collection of short fiction span the globe, pushing the boundaries of what conventional fiction can do. Infused with a dreamy logic that has aliens replacing human hands with metal forks, and a woman retreating to live in a cave after the departure of her husband, All the Names They Used for God has a haunting quality that will stick with you long after each story is through.

'The Collected Schizophrenias' by Esmé Weijun Wang

Esmé Weijun Wang's award-winning essay collection has received a lot of buzz lately, and if you aren't already on the bandwagon, now's the time. If you haven't read this inventive guide to mental illness in America, you need to pick it up as part of your digital detox this year.

'Time Is the Thing a Body Moves Through' by T Fleischmann

Although it's technically a memoir, composed of a single essay, T Fleischmann's Time Is the Thing a Body Moves Through is short enough to read over the course of a weekend, or even a single day. The story of the author's own exploration of queerness and identity, this is an all-too-important book at a time when LGBTQIA+ rights are at risk of regression.

'Small Kingdoms and Other Stories' by Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse creator Charlaine Harris offers readers a series of interwoven short stories in her newest book. The stories here all revolve around a singular institution, Travis High School, whose principal and baseball coach have had blood on their hands before... and are at risk of falling back on their old tricks in order to keep a good thing going.

'The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations' by Toni Morrison

The Nobel Prize-winning author of Beloved and The Bluest Eye published a collection of nonfiction this year, and if you haven't read it yet, you're missing out. The Source of Self-Regard compiles Morrison's speeches and essays, moving from a prayer for those killed during and after 9/11 to a eulogy for Go Tell It on the Mountain author James Baldwin.

'Thick: And Other Essays' by Tressie McMillan Cottom

If you want to read a collection of essays from a brilliant feminist voice, tackling every modern-day issue imaginable, you're going to want to get yourself a copy of Tressie McMillan Cottom's Thick . This is the perfect book for anyone who has ever been "thick where I should have been thin, more where I should have been less."

'That Time I Loved You' by Carrianne Leung

That Time I Loved You is a short-story collection united by place. All of the tales in Carrie Leung's debut take place in a brand-new Toronto subdivision in the 1970s. If you're a fan of books that expose the murky underbelly of suburban perfection, you're going to love this new book.

'Divided Loyalties' by Nilofar Shidmehr

Nilofar Shidmehr's short fiction moves from Tehran on the brink of the Iranian Revolution to modern-day Canada, where members of the Iranian diaspora live and work, their lives overshadowed by the suspicions of their non-Muslim neighbors. Focusing on Iranian women and girls across time and place, Divided Loyalties is a unique collection that you won't want to miss out on reading.

'Brown White Black: An American Family at the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion' by Nishta J. Mehra

Indian-American author Nishta J. Mehra is married to a white woman named Jill, and together they raise their son Shiv, who is black. Their little family forms the heart of Brown White Black , a collection of essays on motherhood, intersectionality, and belonging.

'I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution' by Emily Nussbaum

The author of Pulitzer Prize-winning columns for The New Yorker , TV critic Emily Nussbaum covers her own life as a passionate TV fan in I Like to Watch . At once an intimate collection of personal essays and a chronicle of our relationship to the tube, this book is perfect for anyone Jonesing for a TV fix during their digital detox.

'Let's Tell This Story Properly' by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

A series of portraits examining the lives of the Ugandan-British, Let's Tell This Story Properly presents readers with a fascinating voice in English-language fiction. Kintu author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's deft handling of her Average Joe subjects is worth reading again and again.

'Shut Up You're Pretty' by Téa Mutonji

Sharp-witted stories that examine women's lives askew, Téa Mutonji's fiction is designed to unsettle and enlighten. You won't know whether to laugh or cringe as you read these off-beat tales of women poised to examine not only their surroundings, but also themselves, to their very cores.

'salt slow' by Julia Armfield

Juxtaposing women's bodies and visions of transforming landscapes, Julia Armfield's debut collection of short fiction transports readers into a world, very much like our own, where magical and unreal things can happen any day.

'I'm Telling the Truth, But I'm Lying' by Bassey Ikpi (Aug. 6)

Diagnosed with bipolar II and anxiety, Nigerian-American immigrant and slam poet Bassey Ikpi has a unique and often unheard perspective on life. An unflinching examination of the ways our society marginalizes people who exist at particular intersections, I'm Telling the Truth, But I'm Lying will change the way you think about mental health and illness in the U.S.

'Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion' by Jia Tolentino (Aug. 6)

One of the year's most anticipated titles, Jia Tolentino's Trick Mirror tackles social media, weddings, aesthetics, and everything in between. Already a No. 1 new release on Amazon, ahead of its publication, Trick Mirror is the book you'll want to talk about with everyone you know.

Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Digital Era — The Reasons Why People Need Digital Detox

The Reasons Why People Need Digital Detox

• Categories: Digital Era Impact of Technology Society

About this sample

Words: 791 |

Published: Sep 19, 2019

Words: 791 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Works Cited

• Breene, K. (2015). The effects of technology overload on productivity and wellbeing. Harvard Business Review.
• Eichler, L. (2012). Shutting down email to improve productivity. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/life-at-work/shutting-down-email-to-improve-productivity/article530092/
• Furedi, F. (2015). Our age of distraction. Aeon. Retrieved from https://aeon.co/essays/ours-is-an-age-of-distraction-and-there-s-no-escape
• Gina, V., & Louis, B. (2000). Mobile phones, the Internet, and the strategic reconstruction of the self. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30(3), 470-480.
• Kotenko, J. (2013). The benefits of a digital detox. Good Housekeeping.
• Lisa, W. (2014). How to cure internet addiction. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/our-emotional-footprint/201402/how-cure-internet-addiction
• Rosen, L., & Samuel, M. (2015). The impact of the Internet on society: A global perspective. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 17(1), 21-34.
• Seaward, B. L. (2015). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (9th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
• Wallace, P. (2014). The psychology of the Internet. Cambridge University Press.
• Wallace, P. (2014). The social and psychological impact of online social networking. The Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology, 1, 151-166.

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How a 'digital detox' could help you save money

Time away from your smartphone and other devices can be a good thing for your wallet..

If you spend hours staring at your laptop or mindlessly scrolling through your phone while watching TV, you’re definitely not alone. Internet users ages 16-64 spend an average of 6 hours and 40 minutes on the web each day, according to the Digital 2024 Global Overview Report .

Excessive screen time has been linked to consequences such as sleep disturbances, back and neck pain, and even depression and anxiety. But the repercussions can extend beyond your physical and mental health. A study by BadCredit.org found that Americans spend an average of $513 per month on online purchases. With ads and shopping portals seamlessly integrated into social platforms, and digital payment apps that allow you to make purchases with a single tap, it’s easier than ever to spend money without much thought.

Even though screens have become the center of our lives, stepping away from your screens (at least for a little while) can help you cut down on spending and reprioritize your financial goals. And a great way to do that is with a digital detox.

What is a digital detox?

A digital detox is when you intentionally take time away from your social media platforms and electronic devices, such as your phone, laptop, or tablet. Basically, it’s a digital reset that forces you to be more present. The idea is to break the cycle of dependency on digital devices, which can lead to improved mental health, better sleep, more meaningful interactions with others — and even savings .

A digital detox can be as short or as long as you want. For some, a 24-hour detox can be refreshing. Others may decide to go days or weeks without screen time for a major reset. It’s up to you to determine how long you need to step away from your devices to benefit.

3 ways a digital detox challenge can help you save money

Going cold turkey from your devices, even for a short period of time, can be a good thing for your finances. Here’s why.

1. See fewer ads and sponsored content

As you're scrolling through your social media feeds, you probably encounter a number of ads and sponsored content tempting you to buy products you never even knew you “needed.” The more time you spend on your devices, the more you’re bombarded with these messages to buy.

With a digital detox, your exposure to these attention-grabbing ads is all but eliminated. You’ll probably realize that you don’t feel compelled to spend money when these products are being pushed on you.

2. Cut back on impulse buys

Online shopping removes the pain of paying because you don’t have to physically hand over your cash or card at the register to complete a transaction. Often, all it takes is the tap of a button, so you can complete a purchase before really thinking it through. Limiting your screen time could help you cut back on these impulsive splurges.

3. Gain more productive time

If you’re spending an average of six hours out of your day online, that’s about 180 hours per month that could be used to improve your financial situation.

By disconnecting from digital distractions, you may find yourself more productive in your work or personal projects. Maybe you pick up a new skill that could lead to a promotion or raise at work. Perhaps you start a side hustle for some extra income. Or you could finally sit down and create a budget to better manage your household finances.

The next time you find yourself complaining about not having enough hours in the day, consider that cutting back even one hour of screen time gives you 30 hours back per month.

How to start a digital detox

If a digital detox sounds like just what you need, here are a few tips to get started and set yourself up for success:

Set a timeline: It’s probably not realistic to swear off your phone and social media for the next six months. Try starting with a smaller goal, like a 24-or 48-hour detox to see how you feel. You can always work your way up to a longer detox once you get comfortable with spending more time offline.

Be realistic: Reducing the time you spend on your devices has plenty of benefits, but you may not be able to go completely cold turkey if you work remotely or need to stay in contact with family members. That means you might need to set some ground rules around what constitutes necessary access to your devices.

Put safeguards in place to help you stick to your goal: Think carefully about what temptations might encourage you to pick up your devices and remove them before they can sabotage your progress. This might mean turning off app notifications or finding a safe place to store your devices so they’re out of sight and out of mind.

Make a plan for your time: Decide how you’ll use those hours you usually spend scrolling. Maybe you want to start a book, deep clean the kitchen, reorganize your closet, take a few workout classes, or have more quality time with family.

Cut yourself some slack: We often lean on our devices for entertainment, work, paying bills, sticking to a schedule, and so much more. If you end up breaking the rules of your detox, that’s OK. You can always start fresh later or come up with a more manageable plan that fits your lifestyle.

Other savings challenges to try:

The 52-week savings challenge

The no-spend challenge

The $1,000 savings challenge

Column: I stayed off social media for just one week and rediscovered awe

• Copy Link URL Copied!

When my iPhone stopped working earlier this month, I spent an hour trying to fix it before I gave up. I scheduled the earliest-available appointment at an Apple store the next morning and resigned myself to a day without my device.

Opinion Columnist

Jean Guerrero

Jean Guerrero is the author, most recently, of “Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda.”

As I drove around to various errands, I awoke to details of the real world that I’d long ago stopped noticing: the faces of strangers in cars behind me at traffic stops, my steering wheel’s leather, the ethereal whiteness of ordinary clouds.

Without social media to occupy me at all times, my mind went empty: gloriously empty, with space for nature and new ideas. It was exhilarating. Suddenly, anything seemed possible. Eager to prolong the feeling after I got a new phone, I decided to stay off social media during an upcoming vacation.

I’d be seeing friends and going to training events for Brazilian Zouk dancing, my new hobby. My social media addiction includes posting videos of my real-world activities, including dancing, so I knew it would be difficult for me.

Guerrero: Have fun with strangers. Democracy and our mental health may depend on it

We all need to be expanding our social circles. What better time than summer to play outside and make some new friends?

Aug. 14, 2023

I often tell myself that my posting is voluntary, with a worthy purpose: to inspire people to exit the Metaverse and bond with others . But the truth is, I’ve raced home from in-person experiences to post about them, pulse racing like a junkie’s. How much of my posting is volitional and how much is compulsory labor for Big Tech, which gives me dopamine hits in exchange?

I had to spend time off the apps to find out. Instagram would be the hardest. TikTok had always felt overstimulating to me, and I rarely used Twitter now that Elon Musk had turned it into X, even though I spent years building a following there. Since reducing my Twitter use, I’ve noticed a shift in my thinking: away from binaries. How would a complete social media cleanse change me?

The first few days were easy. I arrived at the Brazilian Zouk dance retreat, which took over a wildlife training school in the green slopes near Nevada City. Absorbed in dance classes and meeting new people, I didn’t miss social media at all.

Guerrero: Smartphones take a toll on teenagers. What choice do parents have?

The older children are when they get their first smartphone, the better their mental health later in life. That’s little consolation to teens feeling left out when all their friends are connected.

May 22, 2023

In my down time, I re-read Katherine May’s “Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age,” about the author’s quest to rediscover her childhood sense of awe, which had less to do with beauty than with “a deep engagement with the world around me, the particular quality of attention that accompanies close attention.”

I had no memory of finishing the book, which I read earlier this year. But when I reached the final chapters, I saw my own pen markings. It was ironic: I’d read a book about attention while so distracted that I’d forgotten most of the experience.

The next morning, eating breakfast with my classmates on a sun-dappled patio, I noticed a large praying mantis on the ground, its body the yellow-green of a ripe lime. Beside me, a friend was posting videos of the previous night of dancing to Instagram. If I weren’t on a digital detox, I realized, I’d be doing the same thing.

Guerrero: Shouting down racists isn’t effective. Gen Z needs to find another way

If Gen Z Republicans are attacked as bigots, they’re more likely to double down on harmful beliefs, including the idea that they’re victims of oppression.

May 15, 2023

The insect was crawling toward the dining hall door, where it could be crushed. I knelt down to move it to safety, charmed by its resemblance to foliage and its worshipful pose. I hadn’t seen one in years. I wondered how many small wonders I’d missed while staring at my phone. “How do we worship now?” May asks in her book, “How do we get past the blunt knowing of our disenchanted age and tap back into the magic that we used to perceive everywhere?”

The praying mantis offered an answer. Simply noticing was enough. Attention to nuance and in-between spaces could make existence sacred.

I sat down again and my friend told me that he’d stayed up all night dancing and seen the sunrise. He pulled up Instagram to show me a video he had posted of the sunrise, ignoring my comments about my social media cleanse. The sky’s pink hues were beautiful, and his desire to share beauty is a good thing.

Often for me, though, the impulse to share joy online has come at the expense of presence in the moment. But social media can also open doors to new experiences; it was a friend’s videos of Brazilian Zouk dancing on Instagram that sparked my interest in this activity, which is all about inhabiting our bodies.

Later, when a friend texted me a video he’d captured of one of my best dances, I texted it to my abuelita, whose reply was more real than hundreds of Instagram likes: “It looks perfect precious,” she texted in Spanish. “I love watching that Zouk dance.” I didn’t need a large audience — one person was enough.

Just as I was marveling at how painless it was to stay off social media, I relapsed. One second, I was responding to a friend’s text. The next moment I was staring at a video of a cute French bulldog. Without realizing it, I’d opened Instagram. I closed it and tried to recall how I ended up there, but I’d done it on autopilot. I resolved to remove the app from my home screen to make it harder to access.

The rest of my social media break was easy. I spent time with old friends and their two small sons who lived in a nearby forest, where we gathered mushrooms and floated in a lake. Later, I met friends in San Francisco and joined in more dance sessions.

A few times, I felt social media’s pull. But each time, I resisted, remembering the lesson of the praying mantis. Now the challenge is keeping up my resistance in normal life.

@jeanguerre

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Jean Guerrero is a former opinion columnist at the Los Angeles Times. Her writing has been featured in Vanity Fair, Politico, the Nation, Wired, the New York Times, the Washington Post and “Best American Essays 2019,” and she has contributed to NPR, “PBS NewsHour” and more. She started her career as a commodities correspondent in Mexico City for the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. She is the author, most recently, of “Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda.” Her first book, “Crux: A Cross-Border Memoir,” won a PEN Literary Award. A native of San Diego, she is a graduate of USC’s journalism school and has a master of fine arts in nonfiction from Goucher College.

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Rethinking the “Digital Detox”

Experts say the best way to set boundaries with technology involve sustained effort, not just a break.

By Sarah Kessler and Bernhard Warner

Marc Benioff’s version of a “digital detox,” is more involved than most: The Salesforce chief executive went on a 10-day, device-free vacation to French Polynesia as his company was laying off around 8,000 workers last month. “We are so addicted to our devices (at least I am) it’s very freeing to leave them all behind for a while!” he told The New York Times via text message.

But maybe a detox is the wrong metaphor. The phrase, pulled from the language of substance abuse treatment, suggests that “we at least have a sense that there’s something wrong here,” said Nicholas Carr, whose 2010 book, “The Shallows,” was one of the first to explore the cognitive cost of digital distraction. Newer research, he says, has shown the problem isn’t only about the time you spend actually looking at your devices. The mere ability to check for messages “is taking up part of our attention all the time.”

Here’s bad news: Taking a vacation from your phone probably won’t solve much. “Leaving Las Vegas for 10 days if you’re a problem gambler is great,” said Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, the author of books on digital distraction and the importance of rest. “But if on day 11 you’re back at the slot machines, then it’s not so great.” A 2021 review of 21 studies that looked at the effect of digital detoxes on aspects like anxiety and participants’ sense of well-being found that most showed either no effect or mixed results at best.

What’s more, cutting off all access to technology — not so hard to imagine in 2010 — is increasingly impractical, especially if you’re not a billionaire with a staff. Even people on vacation “are reliant on mobile phones for so much, from documents to photos,” said Matt Berna, the North America president for Intrepid, an adventure travel company that ended its “digital detox” tours in 2018. (It still runs many trips on which you’re not likely to catch a Wi-Fi signal.)

That’s not to say a digital detox is bad — it’s just not enough. “You really have to figure out how to take breaks within the realities of your daily life,” said Adam Gazzaley, a professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. Like any other habit, he says, “it basically takes repetition and sort of baby-stepping into it.”

Experts’ recommendations are less exciting than a trip to French Polynesia, though they’re certainly less expensive: Turn off your notifications. Set aside an hour of single-tasking time. Put physical distance between yourself and your phone when you don’t need it. And understand that although technology companies design their devices to be on your mind all the time, you don’t need to follow suit.

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I Went On A Staycation With No Electricity & Wifi

What happened when i went on a staycation with no electricity & wifi.

A post shared by V E N U S . W O N G 黃伊璇 (@venuswongisun) on Oct 15, 2017 at 4:07pm PDT

A post shared by V E N U S . W O N G 黃伊璇 (@venuswongisun) on Oct 18, 2017 at 3:54pm PDT

Without the internet to distract me, and nothing but the sound of the crackling fireplace in a distance, I was able to hear myself think for the first time in months.

A post shared by V E N U S . W O N G 黃伊璇 (@venuswongisun) on Oct 19, 2017 at 6:49am PDT

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