I have often jested about doing a Digital Detox (DD), but truth be told I only ever thought I would entertain the idea of switching off all my media devices if it involved me being on a stunning beach on a faraway island. It is not that I have high expectations or anything. My DD arrived this week….. earlier than I anticipated …. sadly not accompanied by a tropical beach…. but with a trip to the North of Scotland to see my parents.
Before anyone gets any ideas, they don’t live in a backwater town with no broadband, but they are in the middle of switching broadband providers after a fairly massive muck up by BT. This switchover to Sky has meant they have been “sans” internet for about a month now. (I have no idea how it has taken so long …. not very 21st century… all I know is that the parentals are a little hacked off with it all…. being polite). Any hopes I had of working away at the blog while my parents bonded with my kids and Mr Dog were dashed. To start with I thought this DD would be a little bit of an adventure. Oh to be taken back to a time where the internet did not exist. No Facebook. No emails. No Twitter. There would be no desire for me to turn my phone on as soon as I wake up every morning and check my social media/email/news …. and breathe. #thesimplelife
Typically for me though, my DD happened in a week when there were a lot of things going on that I needed to reply to….. and quickly…. and to do that I needed internet. The only place I could actually pick up emails was either when I went to a local town or when I was on the train going into Aberdeen. After my train trip my mum had asked me what I thought of the stunning views from the train…. eh…. I saw no views …. my neck was consistently bent over towards my phone while I hounded the free Scotrail wifi for the whole twenty minute journey. Sad but true. Definitely the quickest train journey ever as I frantically got emails sent out before I had to get off the train.
Perhaps one of the biggest defiances against my DD was the fact that I bought a new phone during it …. not sure it is meant to work like that.
Lesson learned. My imposed DD was enriching but also quite stressful. Yes I want to do a DD as I think it could be good. How very Elle MacPherson of me. I found myself winding down, wanting to go to bed earlier and found myself being happily entertained without having a screen in front of me. However, if I was to do it again I would do it in a week that I chose. This would be a week where there were no important legal documents to proof read or when I could be lying on a beach chillaxing. Maybe that would be a little less stressful. This DD will be revisited…. ideally with a beach or a yacht.
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