Being without your phone is a luxury these days.
For the rest of us, tech is both a distraction and a necessity.
And a digital detox doesnt do much to change that.
What is the point of a detox?
Our bodies do not accumulate a substance called digital, so this concept does not apply.
A digital detox is more like a crash diet.
But really, its just a way of assuaging guilt before you go back to your old habits.
Detoxes only feel good because theyre vacations
There are two ways to do a digital detox.
If you are rich, you’re free to detox by taking a special digital detox vacation.
Invite people over for board games.
News flash: You had fun because you were on vacation.
Your friends will not come over for board game night every time you decide you are bored.
But theres no equivalent way to return from a digital detox.
But people used to!
Get a paper dictionary?
Buy an encyclopedia from a traveling salesman?
This isnt a sustainable solution.
Its a design feature, not a flaw.
There is no completely healthy, anxiety-free way to use a smartphone.
They wouldnt have become so ubiquitous if we felt we could take them or leave them.
And so we are captivated by the fantasy of the detox.
So we cantell our phones to block certain apps at certain times.
We can limit notifications, andturn off raise-to-wake.
We canput our phones down during dinnertime, ortell co-workers we wont be answering messagesafter 5 p.m.
In a sense, it is a hack to quit Facebook andleave all the emotional labor to your wife.
So take a detox if you like, but be honest with yourself if its just a vacation.
Updated 3/14/2019 shortly after publication to add more suggestions for ways to manage our relationship with our phones.
