Opinion: digital detox holidays are overrated

We should be ditching toxic digital detox breaks, not smartphones.

Amazingly, it's been several days since I received an email promoting the benefits of a digital detox holiday. The last one was about a Devon-based detox from, bizarrely, electronics firm Punkt. It was regarding their new MP01 phone which can only be used for text and voice calls. The press release suggested their phone was single-handedly tackling digital addiction by preventing users from accessing the Internet.

Shutterstock/Katia L

It's depressingly typical of our attitude to technology: we're all addicted to it and, rather than just limit our use, the only solution is to remove our ability to connect entirely.

The growing popularity of digital detox holidays is a case in point. It’s no longer enough to switch off after 8pm. Apparently, the best approach is to pay large sums of money to leave our devices at home – and I say this as someone who's been there, done that and got the t-shirt.

Years ago, I was invited on a digital detox holiday. The premise was simple: fly to the Caribbean, hand over my electronic devices and spend six nights on a private island.

Tamara Hinson

Ironically, I didn’t own a smartphone at that point so I wasn't exactly in mourning when I handed over my battered Nokia 310. I did, however, own a netbook, and there was no way in hell I was giving that up. The life coach accompanying us (presumably to offer support in the event of withdrawal symptoms) relented, with the disclaimer that I didn't access the Internet – something which simply wasn't going to happen.

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Not because I was addicted, but because I was here for work, writing a newspaper feature about the experience. Unsurprisingly, my belief that digital detox holidays are fundamentally flawed was formed during those six nights.

Shutterstock/Peera_stockfoto

The experience would have been less stressful if I'd been given the green light to limit my connectivity time. The enforced outright ban meant I had to take matters into my own hands. Every day, I'd set my alarm for 6am, sneak down to the reception area and sit on the steps, close enough to the server to use the WiFi. I'd have one hour to get what the life coach would later refer to as "my fix", before she'd go for her early morning stroll at 7am and catch me out.

Shutterstock/Anton Watman

Let me be clear, I'm all for minimising device use for short periods of time. During that week, my lack of screen time allowed me to recharge my batteries and appreciate my surroundings more. But I suspect that my stress levels would have been lower had I been given permission to self-medicate with sanctioned periods of technology use.

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We need to cut technology some slack and start seeing it as a force for the good rather than a destructive influence turning our brains into grey mush.

Unsplash/Rita Vicari

A reminder of the growing disdain for technology came during a recent visit to Rishikish, India. One evening, I wandered over to the reception area of my tiny boutique hotel to sit outside and send some emails. It was a beautiful evening – a warm, muggy night with a soundtrack of croaking frogs and the distant roar of the Ganges. Until that is, a fellow guest wandered past, scowled and said, waving a hand towards my netbook: "That's the problem these days. Nobody ever disconnects."

I smiled politely and refused to rise to the bait. However, I was sorely tempted to point out that this wasn't a holiday but a work trip, and that the nature of my job required occasional Internet access, even when abroad. I wasn't updating my Facebook profile or uploading smug selfies to Twitter. In fact, what she saw as the problem – my laptop – is what allows me to travel the world.

Shutterstock/GaudiLab

My point is this: technology isn’t crack. For some people, myself included, technology isn't ruining lives. It allows them to do what they love. And even if you're not travelling for work, one too many games of Candy Crush isn’t going to kill you.

If I ever get to the point where I prioritise Internet time over basic hygiene, eating or sleeping, I'm pretty sure my loved ones would take me aside for a quiet word. I suspect their advice wouldn't involve paying a tour operator thousands of pounds to whisk me away for an enforced digital detox.

Unsplash/Jordan McQueen

I'm not against taking a break from screens. In fact, I took a short digital detox, albeit enforced, last week when I left my phone on the train. But it was the WhatsApp location tool that helped me work out it had ended up in Basingstoke. Thank goodness for technology.

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