Is A Digital Detox Worth It? This Study Says No

According to a 2019 study by Loughborough University in Britain, 24 hours of smartphone abstinence had no effect on mood and anxiety. This data flies in the face of all those lifestyle blogs encouraging people to go on a “digital detox.” If someone tries to tell you the first step to solving life’s problems is to simply log out and look around… 

…they may be full of it. 

Put the Phone Down

This is not to say that you shouldn’t take a break from the screen. The study doesn’t say, “Keep your eyes glued to your device, you sheep!” Rather, it comes to the conclusion that there’s way more to detox than just putting the phone down. 

“It is very likely nonsense to say that one simple trick like switching off your phone can lead you to live a happier life,” says Andrew Prybylski, experimental psychologist at Oxford Internet Institute. 

“As human beings, we’re always trying to fit together all kinds of things, like being a father, being a husband, being a professor … there’s always a balance that you have to strike.” 

There’s no question that it’s a good idea to look away from the screen occasionally. Anyone whose job requires them to stare at a laptop all day knows the physical pain that can occur right at the back of the eyes. 

You know what I’m talking about. 

We Crave Our Smartphones

The 2019 study, led by Dr. Thom Wilcockson, asked participants to place their phones in a sealed bag and leave it there for 24 hours. Psychologists then measured three variables: mood, anxiety, and craving. 

The only variable that had any effect was craving. 

“The craving results indicate that, as expected, people enjoy using their smartphones and miss them when they are unavailable. However, our results indicate that it may be inappropriate to consider smartphones in the same framework as behavioral addictions as we found little evidence that they meet important behavioral addiction data,” says Dr. Wilcockson. 

There are plenty of blogs that compare an addiction to smartphones or social media as the same as, say, an addiction to alcohol or heroin. That may not only be an unfair comparison, it may be irresponsible. 

“The growing popularity of ‘digital detoxes’ has been encouraged by claims that removing oneself from technology can help reduce stress and improve well-being. However, our results suggest that a short-term digital detox from your smartphone is unlikely to provide any health benefits,” adds Dr. David Ellis. 

There’s More To Detox Than Your Phone

There was a time when reading newspapers was seen as harmful to one’s personal health and damaging to society as a whole. Before that, books. Before that? I don’t know… rocks? 

There will always be voices yelling that the shiny, new thing is dangerous. That it should be cast aside for tried and true methods. In fifty years there will probably be people yelling about how we should log out of our brain chips and return to our smartphones for “good ol’ fashioned reading.” 

Moderation is key in every aspect of life. You don’t want too much of anything, or too little. Tap into your inner Goldilocks… minus the breaking and entering. 

If you have a habit you want to break, here are a few methods you can try. 

Are digital detoxes worth it? Short answer, probably not. It’s always a good idea to put the phone down once in a while. But if you’re counting on that minor lifestyle change to be the first step in a wellness adventure, you may want to try a little harder. 

Go ahead and put the phone down. Log out and look around. It’ll be good for you. But don’t pretend that lifestyle coaches know what they’re talking about.
Don’t forget, these lifestyle coaches trying to get you away from the screen are counting on you to look at their screen.