In this millennial era it is undeniable that we live for and with our cell phones. Many family no longer use landlines and kids connect with their parents in their own homes on their cell phones. I guess it beats screaming at the top of one’s lung to invite your offsprings for dinner, right?

From the phone’s invention by Italian innovator Antonio Meucci in 1849 to Graham Bell’s patent for the device in the U.S in 1876 to its evolvement to the mobile phone by Martin Cooper in 1973; it is undeniable that in the last forty-seven years our phones have evolved to now becoming texting machines, web surfing giants and even allow us to watch our favorite tv shows. Name yours in the comments!!

We have grown closer to people half a world away whilst losing our ability to handwrite notes to friends and families and even losing touch with the world outside our doors. We now live for the gram, instead of IRL (in real life).

My first facebook account was created in 2007 by a friend of mine so we would keep in touch as she changed schools. Almost 10 years later in 2015 I created my first instagram account. This millenial that I am is late to the game and I love it! I don’t follow trends, I set them (for myself at least). With no snap chat, twitter or Tik Tok account I still feel inundated by the influences and the information shared on the world wide web (www).

In the last 6 months, I have become so consumed with living in the www space that I have lost touch with parts of who I am. As I was studying for my medical board exam I decided to take a digital detox. It was amazing! When recently I felt compelled to do so, with little warnings, I told my less than 1 million followers that I was leaving the gram.

WHAT IS MY DIGITAL DETOX?

For me it meant refraining from using instagram and facebook and reducing all distractions what’s so ever from all my electronic devices. Mind you I am a physician so except for emergencies, that phone did not leave my drawer.

5 SIGNS YOU NEED A DIGITAL DETOX

I wake up with my phone. I work on my medical practice with it and of course connect with friends, close and far. Recently, it has become that I have connected with people halfway across the world due to common interests whether it be fashion or medicine. I have however neglected my family, friends and my lovely pup, who is definitely an attention seeker. I knew it was time for a change.

2.You are not progressing in your school work or business

Ok, so part of my business is working on building my medical practice with social media while connecting with other providers. I have done so much networking that I was not making time for my business outside of the web space. My work was stunted and I knew it was another sign that it was time for a break.

3.You are comparing yourself to your unknown fellow wo(men)

This is something I was surprised was happening to me. I was never envious or jealous growing up. In the recent months I started to play the comparing game. I despised that. I, who was always my own person, trendsetting and unapologetically me, was comparing myself to other women. I was asking myself if I was good enough, was I worth it for this success, should I be doing this or that? JUST NO! I stopped that real quick!

4.You are stunted creatively

With the comparing game came being stunted creatively. My work was suffering because I was just so connected to this web platform I was not connecting to myself, to my work or my art. I was losing myself a little bit every day and things that made me happy just seemed so mundane. It was a sign I needed to step back and recenter myself.

5.Just because it is ALL that you do

If you wake up in the morning with your phone alarm of course you are forced to just look at what is going on the web. Next thing you know, the infomation you read influences your day. It impacts your day positively, or more often then not negatively. If the mindless scrolling is becoming way too much and now you are getting carpal tunnel syndrome (tingling, pain and numbness in the hand and arm due to pressure on the median nerve), it’s time for a break.

If you can not take a full week or more off the gram but you want to be better about how much time you spend online, Here are some tips to help.

3 ways to include a mini digital detox into your daily routine

1. Remove all app notifications especially from your favorite apps. Keep only the important app, for me it’s Whatsapp!
2. Have a time limit on how much time you spend on your social media. I have limited my gram time to 1hr30min!
3. Put your phone on airplane mode from your bedtime to your time when you are done with getting ready for your day. For me it means no texting/notifications from 10pm to 7:30am after I’m done with my workout

All of these have helped me re-focus and recenter my life. I hope you find this article helpful. If you recognize any signs above in you, maybe it’s time for time for a digital detox.