Holidays are made to relax! It is also a perfect opportunity to pause all those screens that harm us and in front of which, it is proven, we now spend most of our lives. Because between teleworking, compulsive consultation of social networks, video games or “binge looking” (watching television series for hours and hours), our day to day life has been almost completely digitized.
Vacations, real ones, must now take place in “offline” mode, disconnected from the World Wide Web. A digital detox, in a way!
The effects of digital withdrawal have been the subject of many studies. They are still very disparate, even contradictory, according to a recent review of the medical literature. Some heavy social media users may, for example, experience a heightened sense of loneliness when their interactions suddenly cease or, conversely, increased social connectivity.
But unless you have a particularly troubled relationship with digital, you can expect plenty of benefits from unplugged vacations:
- We have less pain, because being in front of a screen all the time (computer but also smartphone since it forces you to tilt your head forward to look at the screen!) leads to musculoskeletal disorders that improve with rest;
- We sleep better, so we “recover” better. Blue light from screens disrupts the production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates our sleep cycles;
- We are less tired, so we can also have more activities. Staying glued to screens is known to cause eyestrain, blurred vision, and headaches;
- We feel better about ourselves, because consulting social networks encourages us to compare ourselves with others, and therefore runs the risk of changing the perception we have of ourselves. We are also less depressed (if we were);
- Time seems longer, so vacations too. Imagine the time saved by not scrolling, liking, posting or just browsing the internet!
Finally, we better prepare for the beginning of the school year. After a digital detox, the semblerait que l’on soit moins inclin à procrastinator (c’est-à-dire remettre au lendemain ce qu’on pourrait faire le jour même), et même que l’on se mette spontanément à moins utiliser social networks !