Digital Detox: 30 Days to a New Start

When author and College professor Cal Newport invited his mailing list to participate in an "experiment," the response was stunning. He expected maybe 30 or 40 brave souls, but actually over 1600 people signed up for a 30 day "Digital Declutter."  The journaling of this event by the participants provides a wealth of information about the effects of all things digital in our lives.

Do you want a "Digital Restart? " You don't have to invent the process from scratch. You can make use of many of the strategies employed and lessons learned from Cal Newport's experiment.

The idea is to deliberately eliminate all non-essential technologies from your life, for a period of 30 days, then, reintroduce ONLY those things that you truly deem valuable. Non-essential is defined as things you don't need for work, or school, or important communication, such as "You can come pick me up now." But anything that can be removed without harming your professional or personal life, goes off.

30 days is the minimum time it takes to form or break a habit, according to many branches of science. Of course, you could do a shorter or longer experiment, but we are advocating what is most likely to work.

One of the first revelations of the 2017 experiment, was that "trimming down" to what you think you need, was a far less effective strategy than building back up from a blank slate. The intended destination might be the same, but the odds of actually getting there were very different. It is very difficult to weed through everything, without getting pulled back into everything.

Also, the participants experienced a "detox effect." This is similar to when drugs leave the body of an addict, and they come into their right mind. The digital detox revealed that some things were thought to be essential, but they actually were not. This would never have been discovered with the "trimming down" approach.

Platforms are engineered to grab and keep your attention. Even going in for the purpose of turning them off gives them the chance to grab your attention. Because of this, it might be advisable to partner up with another person who is also doing the digital detox.

"You clean out my device, I clean out yours."

Comments from the participants in 2017 show that the initial stages were difficult. People did not know what to do with themselves, and would compulsively reach for their device, and then realize, there was nothing there for them. Over time, it happened less and less.

One key factor for success, was being intentional about finding other things to do with the recovered time. If a person made no plan for this, they were more likely to abort the restart part way in.

But, as the participants found, there are many rewarding things that can be done without technology.

There are books you always wanted to read, you could learn a language, or a musical instrument, memorize scripture, exercise, pursue an outdoor activity, take a class--or a second job. You could volunteer for some good cause, intentionally pursue live relationships in the form of calling or visiting people, or inviting them to your house. ALL of these things are vastly better for you--and for those around you--than anything you could do on your device.

Its interesting to remember that the people in this experiment were not necessarily Christians trying to pursue Godly Holiness in their lives. They were just people who wanted to reclaim their lives back. Christians can add the pursuit of Holiness to all the natural benefits of a restart.

Those who finished the experiment shared comments, and they are striking. Many were amazed to learn how much of their lives had been consumed by digital activities. They thought they had "very little time," but they found out they actually had plenty of time. Some commented that they felt like a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Like waking up from a dream into reality, they saw how their mental state had been in a state of hypnosis, that they were not seeing the world accurately, but could not tell that while under the influence of the platforms.

The vast majority, never went back to their former activities, having found life outside the screen much more rewarding and fulfilling. Some went back to their old accounts and found they had lost their appeal--like a grown up visiting the toys they used to play with as a kid.

The author also of the study also provided some recommendations on exactly what to let back in, and how to do it.

To allow a technology back into your life it must:

1. Serve something you DEEPLY value.  (offering some benefit is not enough)
2. Be the BEST WAY to use technology to serve that value.
3. Be constrained with a standard operating procedure that specifies HOW and WHEN you use it.

Technologies are designed to "creep" back into your life bit by bit, so you must be prepared for this. For example, one person said, "I will keep facebook, but only check it weekly, on Saturday. Also, it will not be on my phone, only on my desktop computer."

And, just because a technology provides A WAY, is it really the BEST WAY to serve a value?  Do you really need 42 news feeds, notifying you all day long, to keep up on the news? OR can you have only one or two news feeds, which you check only once a day? Or...once a week?  And would it suffice to have it on your desktop computer, not the device you carry around? Chances are, your life would not suffer one bit from this, and your mental state would be much better.

Let's take the example a step further: is keeping up on the "news" really a DEEPLY held value, for a Christian? Or is it bait advertisers have used to hook us into using their platforms?
Should constant awareness of every breaking story really be a top priority for a people who are leaving this world behind? Or--is keeping up with "celebrities" even a value AT ALL, let alone a deeply held one?

Questions like this can reveal to us how much of the world's values we have accepted without really examining them by the Word.

The author recommends being very rigorous with these 3 criteria, and not casually bringing things back in just for convenience. Chances are, either you don't really need those things, OR, there is a better way to serve the need for them.

For example, is following your sister's kids pictures on instagram really BETTER than calling them regularly and talking to them? The second way promotes relationships, the first way just gives the ILLUSION of involvement, but really, no interaction has taken place.

These kinds of judgments are much better made after your past habits are broken, for then you can more readily see the flaws in them.

For those who have been on social media a long time, the thought of leaving it behind may be daunting. But consider this question:

Do you really want to live your whole life, and never know what life is like without social media? You know what life is like with it, but you have no comparison to another state. You don't really know if life is better or worse without it. So you are making choices without information.

Suspending your accounts for a week might give you a little idea, but you are very likely to still be in the "withdrawal" phase--which is not how it is going to be long term. You can't get an accurate idea of the real difference until the habit is clearly broken, and replaced with other things.

The people in the 2017 experiment did the digital restart as individuals, living in many scattered places. But in a church situation, you actually have a much better way--you can do it together, as a group. You can encourage each other, and transition your recovered time into more important things, that are also social.

You could form a "scripture memorizing" club, for example. Or put on a play together, or music. You could call each other often, and talk about how its going for you. You could get together for prayer, or Bible study. You could take little trips together, or go out and witness on the street.

If non-Christians could pull off a 30 day digital fast, with each person acting independently, how much better could a church do it? And remember, in heaven, there won't be ANY digital activity. Would it not make sense to start moving toward that kind of life now--together?

We would love to see a church or youth group do a volunteer 30 day digital restart. We could record your experience, and use it to inspire believers and young people all around the world.

It may just change your life, it may change your church--and it MAY change the lives of Believers all around the world!

Would someone like to try it?  Let us know.