Why you need a Digital Detox – overcome FOMO

Did you heard about that new buzzword social media detox? It’s not a secret you can get crazy by using social media daily. Unfortunately we all care what people think of us.

We all want to feel accepted.
We all want to feel liked.

As Jason from jasondoesstuff told us “Social media multiplies those thoughts without us even realizing it. It’s not healthy to always be under the knife of criticism.”

Isn’t it easy to check all the platforms early in the morning. Facebook, Instagram, Bloglovin, Whatsapp – the list is endless. It’s wonderful to share experiences and to learn from each other. BUT – it can kill you when it’s so much! So we all use this stuff really carefully and we need to be aware of the risks.

Did you know there is a new disorder? FoMO.

Fear of missing out (FoMO) is a type of social anxiety. It’s been defined by Andrew Przybylski at the University of Essex as the fear that other people might be having rewarding experiences that you’re missing. It’s characterised by a desire to stay connected — continually — to sources that purport to tell you what others are doing. FoMO is a relatively new phenomenon because of the fast growing online world.

Why not having a break from the digital world? It sounds simple. But for lots of people it isn’t simple to make a break – a digital detox. Calculate your online hours during the day and you will be very surprised how many hours you are really online.

Daily detox routine from 8 Blogger

I asked 8 Blogger how they create a daily digital detox. All these beautiful souls are a big part of my social media world I love to interchange with them regularly.

Annelina from foodwithoutregrets

Detaching myself from my phone and online networks can seriously improve my life. Digital detox for me doesn’t mean to totally unplug, but a conscious way of how and when to be online. As a Blogger, I truly have to take care of when and how I’m checking Mails or taking my phone for answering comments. Time is the most important resource we have and I don’t want to waste it, esp. when it comes to shared time. This means for me the time in the offline society, time with family, friends and the environment. I want to be and to live present. Therefore I try to ask myself before taking my phone, is this really needed or could I do something more important right now? It does not work always but at least I’ve 2 hours a day where I’m not going online. This puts me back into life.

Klara von klaraslife 

I always consciously spend a few Internet free hours in the day. Usually around lunchtime, when I go outside with the dog for a walk. Put the phone away and concentrate on other things. Nothing burns in the few hours. You just have to be aware of that. Nowadays you are always scared to miss something but you don`t actually realize how the internet steals your time. When you become aware of it, you become more relaxed and happiness.

Verena von frei-style

To be honest, I’m not always very good in putting the phone aside. Especially when you are working self-employed it can be hard to fight that feeling of being online all the time. But since I’m also a mom and role model for my kids, my daily digital detox is when I spent time with my girls without looking at a screen or being distracted by my phone – we play games, read books or just tell us stories and they have my undivided attention. And since I’m also only human, on some days this works better than on others, so I definitely see room for my personal improvement there.

Kati von blackwhitevivid

I always start my day without my mobile phone. The first one or two hours of each day, I simple leave my phone on flight modus on my bedside table and I lay turn it on once I sit down for work. That way I have time to read a few pages of a book or simple enjoy a relaxing morning with some music and lots of cat cuddles. I also try to implement the same strategy in the evening but it’s not always working as I usually post on Instagram in the evening. However if I don’t post or I post earlier that day I switch off my phone at least an hour before I go to bed.

Lynn von heavenlynnhealthy

The past couple of months, I realized that being constantly „online“ was draining my energy. Now I try not to look at my phone the minute I wake up. Of course, this is not always the case, but the attempt is what counts in my opinion. For 2018, I want to switch off my phone about one hour before going to bed. Let’s see if I can stick to this resolution. What I have come to realize is that Digital Detox works best when you are surrounded by the people you love. That’s when I have absolutely no desire to look at my phone, and I find myself not posting anything on Instagram for days. Another rule that my boyfriend and I try to set is the „no phone on the table“ rule. While we’re not always leaving the phone off the table, we are well aware that a phone-free breakfast or supper is important for our relationship and our well-being.

Anina von aniahimsa

My way to university takes two hours – for one way. As you can imagine, this is a lot of time which you could either waste or use to do something that’s on your to do list. In my case I work on the way up and relax when I go back home. This is my little digital detox every day. I love to watch the landscape passing by and settle down a bit. In the beginning I listened to music too but now I’ve realised that even music can stress me out. So it’s just me and the mountains and lakes that I can watch during this beautiful train ride.

A longer digital detox would be totally needed, yes. But somehow it’s hard for me to really take those breaks and include them to my daily routine. This summer we spent some days on islands in Indonesia where we didn’t had wifi – there was no water, no electricity either. This might sound scary to some of you but I can tell you that we had the best time ever. My phone stayed in the bungalow the whole day and we made some new friends at dinner every day because everyone had to focus on „the real life“. Back then I really wanted to keep those digital detox periods for my routine at home too. But somehow it didn’t happen. Thanks to this blogpost by Janine I want to give it another try now. That’s a good resolution for 2018 I guess. And hopefully one that will stay.

Susanna von eat-sleep-green

My daily digital detox is to have a certain IG time only once a day (not twice like before). Sometimes I have this active IG time in the morning, sometimes in the evening – depending on what else I have to do that day. And when I’m on holidays or when I have to do a lot I might only post once a week. Of course this is not enough activity for IG and my account is not growing at the moment but that’s ok for me. And I also have a little trick to avoid going to often on IG during the day (which I could because I work as a freelancer at home): I banish my mobile phone from my office room. I put it in the kitchen or sometimes even in the cellar.

More Tips for your Digital Detox

• By restricting the time you spend using technology, you can focus on the ‚real world‘ much more and will be encouraged to enjoy social interactions in person rather than through a screen.
• Try storing devices in a different room to your bedroom overnight. It is really important to have a good sleep during the night without storing too much information in your head.
• You should make the effort to give people your full attention. Don’t use your mobile when you spend time with friends or family.
• Spend more time in nature without your mobile phone. Enjoy the fresh air and open your eyes.

Digital Detox experience

Here is a statement of Jason’s 30 Social Detox post “Do a social media detox”

My productivity, attention span and clarity of thought all increased greatly with living without social media for a month. I felt like I broke bad habits (refreshing feeds and checking notifications) in a very short period of time. If all of that can be done in just 30 days? It’s well worth trying.

He also shares a few social media detox tools if you are interested in this.

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Be aware of stress

Did your choice make you feel good? Then it’s the right one. If not you need to think about what to change in your life. Sometimes we don’t know what’s up with us. So keep in mind you decide on your own what’s good for your health and what not. If you are listen carefully you will learn a time out is always welcome to be aware of your life.

Happy Digital Detox :o)

Thank you for your landscape photographies Andreas De Matteis