As the holidays are fast approaching, everyone gets busy preparing, decorating their houses, booking flights for vacations with family or friends, and many other things. Many of us will probably go on social media, take a picture of you and your family on vacation or even take a selfie with our best gift for the year, all for everyone to see. With these memories, our smartphones will be always there, capturing (and sharing) everything.
We have built our lives around our smartphones all throughout this year, and the holidays are no exception - we’ll be online and be more active on social media than ever. We want to check out how our friends celebrate their holidays, and if you’re someone who doesn’t want the company of certain relatives during the holidays, smartphones really are a savior from boredom.
In the midst of the busy season for us and our smartphones, there should be a time of rest and reflection. Have you ever tried digital detox?
A digital detox is where you refrain yourself from using your gadgets and everything else that you may be using daily, like televisions, smartphones, computers, and even gaming consoles. Yes: no phones, TVs, PCs, and other screens that we always look at throughout this year. Just books, nature, and people.
Why is This Important?
We have grown so accustomed with our gadgets that our lives have felt like they depended on them. A relaxing digital detox is a good reminder that we should live our lives around these things - that there are more important and essential things than what we see on our screens.
Digital detoxing can be done anytime throughout the year, but we think it is most effective and fulfilling during the holidays. Why? Because it is the time where we go on a vacation, visit our relatives and friends who we don’t usually see often, and we get to have more time to reflect on the good and bad things in this year.
In what ways can we do this digital detox in this season? Here are some examples:
When you visit your family and friends, put all the phones in one place, and don’t let anyone access their phone without a penalty (chores, donation to charity, etc). This will encourage coming up with meaningful topics for conversations and will be fulfilling to everyone since we can focus on the reason we visit our loved ones - to actually talk to them and catch up on life, and not to stare at your screens. You can even play board games, cook great food, or just do some stargazing.
On your vacations, learn to appreciate more of the surroundings by turning off your phone. You get to see more when you focus on the beauty of these places, not on your smartphone. If possible, don’t take any pictures (If you really need to take pictures, sure, but immediately keep your phone or camera). The most awesome memories are sometimes the ones that don’t need a picture to capture the moment.
If you don’t have to do anything in this holiday season, turn off all your gadgets and do something else in your house. Read a book, clean, lie down and rest, exercise, cook something, invite friends, or just sit down and write. Digital detoxing will surely be one of the best things you will do this year. And maybe, you’ll even make this a yearly (or monthly!) ritual.
There are many ways to do a digital detox this holiday season. But the goal remains the same - to appreciate more of the things and people around you. We at Story Leather encourage everyone to do one this season. Happy Holidays!
Photo credits:
Pixabay