3 types of phone detox (and why you should do one)

People don’t like to talk about their phone use.

It makes them feel bad - defensive, ashamed. It’s a bit like the feeling you get when someone brings up their healthy eating plan just as you’re reaching for your second cookie. I get that. Life’s tiring enough without heaping on unnecessary guilt.

Here’s the thing, though: we use our phones an average of six hours a day. Some of this use is, benign, even helpful. But some of it… is not.

And since our phone’s the #1 tool we all use in modern life, we’d be foolish not to give some thought and attention to how we’re using it. How it’s shaping us. Especially because smart, savvy design engineers have worked hard make these things as addictive as possible. And people who use their phones a lot are more harried, anxious, and depressed.

We examine our phone use because we want to live well. The goal is human flourishing.

The best way to see how our phone is impacting us to do limit our use for a bit and notice what happens. It’s like a mini science experiment that we do on our own lives. It doesn’t have to be that hard; it just takes a little planning.

There are very smallscale ways we can make adjustments (like my bare-bones “3 Best ways to quickly reduce time on your phone,”) and there are full, step-by-step detox plans (like my Reset: 21 Days to a New Relationship with your Phone or Catherine Price’s How to Break Up With Your Phone). Below are a few SIMPLE detox ideas that are in between the two.

First, pick a time period that’s not less than five days. In my experience, it takes at least 48 hours for any positive benefits to accrue from any efforts. Also realize: the longer you do it, the bigger the impact will be (top-of-range for most people would be 30 or 40 days.)

Next, adopt one of these three strategies for your detox.

1. Commit to staying off social media and news sites till 12 pm each day.

   This is the approach I use in most of the phone challenges I run, and it’s a surprisingly effective way to significantly impact your demeanor towards your phone. If you’re unable to resist the temptation to cheat, abandon this option and move to #2 or #3 below.

2. Set screen limits of between five and twenty minutes on every non-essential app on your phone.

   (“Mandatory” for limits would be social media, news, games, Netflix/YouTube, WhatsApp, podcasts; “optional” for limits would be email, music services, messages. Don’t touch GPS, weather, notes, banking, etc). If you find yourself overriding the screen time limit, either allow a friend or family member to change the code to one you don’t know, or move to #3 below.

3. Remove social media and news apps from your phone throughout the duration of your detox.

   This is the most radical of the bunch and can work wonders. You can decide if you’ll allow yourself to access social media and news sites from non-phone devices during the detox or if you’ll stay off them entirely; many factors can influence this.

For any of these three, I also suggest committing to three good practices - helpful for any phone-using person, any time:

• no phone use during meals

• no phone use in the bathroom

• charge your phone outside your bedroom and don’t use it for the final hour before sleep

That’s it.

I challenge you to give it a try. You have so very much to gain - greater brain-space, increased attention, the feel of freedom, presence for your loved ones, a sense of calm (to name several). Let’s do hard things. The good life is worth it!

PS. One resource you might find helpful to peruse while you’re doing your digital detox (especially if you’re a person of faith) is my recent 30-day resource, Your Faith and Your Phone. It walks you through the soul aspects of phone-overuse in a non-shaming way.

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