Going 'Cold Turkey' from our phones key to a great Christmas, says UEA study
It found that turning off our phone and locking it away is the most effective way to have a detox from digital tech
Locking away our phones this holiday could be key to a great Christmas holiday.
That's according to a new study from the University of East Anglia.
The digital detoxing study found that going 'cold turkey' is the best way to reduce our screen-time versus trying to draw our own boundaries.
Dr Brad McKenna is an Associate Professor in Information Systems at UEA.
He explains why this is the most effective solution:
"If you try to limit your phone use to half an hour in the morning and the evening, you get into a scenario where you go, 'I'll just have another half an hour that won't be too bad' and it just keeps going and you end up using your phone more than you expected".
He told us that today's phones aren't made to help us look away:
"The design of smart-phones means its not easy to turn notifications off. You have to group them individually and say I'm going to turn off Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Email".
He went on to say that taking these measures can completely change the way we look at our phones:
"We found that many people didn't want to turn their phones back on afterwards and the thought of it actually gave them anxiety sometimes. There's no perfect solution, but we found that going 'cold turkey' was the best option".
He concluded be saying that taking these steps isn't easy, but totally worth it:
"It removes all those challenges of turning off notifications and you no longer have the option of just getting your phone from you pocket. It might be a little overwhelming at first, but you get used to it. Everyone I've spoken to who's done it ends up really loving it and feeling a lot freer like a weight as been lifted".