Anita Ericson
Forget everyday life with Digital Detox - that is the real purpose of Vacation. It's not that easy, of course, because the first step to success is also the hardest: turn off your cell phone, tablet, etc. and go to the diving station for a while.
The traffic light is red - that's enough to type in the WhatsApp answer. The film is a bit lengthy - then you quickly facebook and join the discussion about the children's playground. The queue in the supermarket is long - quickly typed an email. In the past, you just waited in such situations, today you have to keep yourself busy. Even those who grew up analog can hardly escape this trend. And what doesn't work on a small scale (idly waiting for it to continue in a minute) doesn't work at all on a large scale: switching off from everything for a whole day (or more). It seems as if we have forgotten leisure, that valuable time that one devotes to blissfully doing nothing and that does one so infinitely good, keyword: relaxation, deceleration, finding oneself again.
Millions of digital junkies
So digital detox. Switch off smartphone, tablet, computer and go offline. It sounds simple, but it is often an almost insurmountable obstacle: 42 percent have already tried it, according to a representative survey commissioned by the digital association Bitkom at the end of 2020 among around a thousand respondents over the age of 16 in Germany. Four percent regularly hold out for at least a few hours, ten percent for one or more days - a full 28 percent gave up in the middle. That corresponds to 29 million Germans who would like to do without digital media from time to time and 19 million who didn't make it. One can assume that the figures in Austria are relatively comparable.
Rehearse the exit
You know this from your own experience: how often does your finger itch when there is actually no reason to be online. It's like a little addiction that just keeps growing. Holidays become a test run for digital detoxification – but this in particular presents additional hurdles, as the smartphone appears to be indispensable as a camera, GPS hiking companion and restaurant critic, especially when we are away from home. So doing without your beloved little digital helpers, especially on vacation, becomes a test of your inner resilience.
It is advisable to seek advice from a professional. So there about Monica Schmiderer from Tyrol, digital detox expert and author of the book "Switch Off", individual digital detoxification in the Schlosshotel Fiss. “The willingness to leave the digital beaten path is the first step. This works particularly well in beautiful surroundings with space for regeneration," explains Schmiderer of this holiday offer. "In discussions, I offer competent support for questions and emotions that arise. Furthermore, we honestly deal with the question 'Why am I online too much' – and how can I live out this why differently in the future.” There are also practical, everyday, personal tips for a more sustainable use of the new media back in everyday life.
The journey from the web
If you want to try it on your own, you have the best chance of trekking from hut to hut in the mountains for several days - with the poor reception in the mountains, you soon leave your cell phone aside. Yoga and mindfulness retreats or time out in a monastery can also help with storing the digital companions. Get back to basics at Camp Breakout, a holiday camp for adults. There are appointments at two locations in Northern Germany every August and September, you will stay in shared rooms in huts or in tents, the daily program of games and fun, music and art is linked to carefree childhood times - so the equipment handed in at the beginning of the week will not be missed.
The three most important camp rules: no cell phones, tablets or other digital devices; each adopts a camp name; there is no talk about the job. The origin of this offer is in America, in 2012/13 the term Digital Detox was coined in California and the first camp was held.
From organic hotel to professional weaning
If that’s too earthy for you: Beautiful organic hotels in dreamlike surroundings with suitable wellness offers offer the right setting for switching off – however, digital detoxification will probably be very difficult without (professional) help if the WLAN is working so perfectly and everyone around is looking forward to it stare at the screen. Here comes the online platform "digitaldetoxdestination.de“ comes into play, which offers a curated offer from 59 houses worldwide.
From the monastery in the mountains to the beach bungalow, from inexpensive to luxurious, including a number of beautiful organic hotels such as Theiner's Garden in South Tyrol or the Eco Camp Patagonia. The selected destinations enable digital fasting for every level. Whether it’s a smartphone safe with a timer function for detox beginners, handing over your cell phone at check-in or an absolute dead zone for professionals – depending on how much detox you need or dare to do, the “soft detox”, “high detox” and “high detox” categories can help "Black Hole" when looking for the right holiday destination. From Austria, the "Lebe Frei Hotel der Löwe" is represented in Leogang, which returns ten percent of the package price on departure if you consistently abstain from mobile phones.
Alina and Agatha are the brains behind this offer, how did you come up with this particular idea? Agatha Schütz: “Primarily because of our own desire to take a break from the media hype. We are exposed to a large flood of digital information every day - professionally and privately. We check online news, emails, social media, communicate via WhatsApp, etc., and are constantly on the move on various apps. At the end of the day, this is incredible information overload. This abundance and the constant eye on our cell phones put us in a state of permanent alert. In the long run, this not only makes you dissatisfied, but also limits concentration and, paradoxically, productivity.
In addition, constant availability through our jobs in the advertising industry is part of our everyday life. On our own, we didn't really manage to abstain from cellphones. So we came up with the idea of doing without it, at least on vacation, in order to reflect on the analogue existence and recharge the batteries. After extensive research, we found that there are many wonderful digital detox accommodations worldwide, but so far no platform that summarizes the confusing offer. At the same time, we thought that this idea could also inspire other people”.
Of course, both have tried this form of vacation themselves several times, Alina's experience in Malaysia can be read in the blog on the homepage. "This is of course an extreme example, if you want to start small, we recommend a digital detox weekend in the local area, two days is a good start to try out digital withdrawal," Agatha summarizes her and her customers' experiences, "We can definitely say that the transition is not that easy. The mobile phone is so present in our everyday lives that we only realize how dependent we are when we stop using it. It's weird at first not to keep checking your phone. One has the impression that something is missing. After the short adjustment phase, however, there is usually a feeling of deceleration and suddenly you realize how much more time you have for the beautiful things in life".
7 tips for digital detox:
1 - Get up rested
Buy an alarm clock and banish the smartphone from the bedroom - this eliminates the last look at the cell phone before falling asleep, which otherwise quickly ends up surfing, tweeting or following for an hour.
2 - Use Flight/Do Not Disturb Mode
Go offline from time to time – the clock, calendar, camera and (saved) music can still be used.
3 - Block push messages
Every app tries to keep the user with it - one tool for this are so-called push messages, which, classified as important by the app, suddenly pop up on the cell phone and thus draw attention away again.
4 – Digital Detox Apps
Curiously, there are apps designed to help reduce media usage. Quality Time, Menthal or Offtime record how often the user activates his smartphone and what he does with it. At the end of the day, you're amazed when you realize that you've been online on your cell phone for 4 hours and 52 minutes and that you've unlocked the screen 99 times. That creates awareness.
5 - Introduce offline zones
Smartphone-free zones are defined in terms of time and space, e.g. B. between 22 p.m. and XNUMX a.m. or generally in the bedroom or at the dining table.
6 – Look for analogue alternatives
A real watch, a real flashlight, a city map to touch, a book with pages to turn. There are many services that can be outsourced back to the analogue world.
7 - Take your time
You don't always have to answer straight away - you can take that liberty and also allow the others. That takes a lot of stress.
Photo / Video: Shutterstock.
