Our first challenge is a wrap and our second challenge is underway! This challenge is all about taking a break from the screen and going on a digital detox. The vloggers will be giving up their electronic devices for 2 days over the weekend of 24th and 25th November. And we would like you to join in too!

Don’t panic! We don’t expect you to give it up completely and we don’t expect you to send us a vlog either, but we do hope it will make you think about how you use technology and the impacting it’s having on your day-to-day lives.

Why we’re setting the challenge?
Our lives are full of screens and it seems that the pervasiveness of technology distraction is affecting more and more of us. We’re sure you’ve noticed the increase in the number of people who are stuck to their phones and the digital unbalance in all of our lives, but we don’t really appreciate how much of our lives is taken up by this.

According to a recent Ofcom study:
”The average Briton now checks a mobile phone every 12 minutes and is online for 24 hours a week.”

We agree that tech has huge advantages and is necessary but how do we strike the right balance and stop it from taking over our personal lives? And how do we evaluate what we do online so it’s beneficial and positively impacts our lives.

A digital detox is regarded as an opportunity to pause, reduce stress, improve focus, sleep quality and to focus on social interaction in the physical world and tune in to what really matters from time to time.

We appreciate this challenge won’t be easy and yup it’s a big ask but we’re sure it’ll give you a better understanding of yourself and your reliance on the digital world.

Two day digital detox: Here’s what we want you to do.
We would like you go device free for two days over the weekend of the 24th / 25th November. This is about you, your family and your friends. Resist the temptation to reach for your devices.

A few little pointers that might help:
1. Give-up your phone from 7pm Friday to 9pm Sunday.
2. Try to keep your phone on airplane mode all day and only use it if you have to.
3. Same goes for social media.
4. No cheating with laptops /computers.
5. Minimise distraction by turning all notifications off apps.
6. Incorporate more exercise and wild time into your day.
7. Spend more time with family and friends.

Gentle digital detox ideas.
Theses are some other things you might like to consider trialing as a gentle detox (if you have the opportunity, time and want to go longer without technology) over the two weeks. They might help you become more mindful about the way you and your family use tech.

1. Set technology free zones in the home. Eg. Put your phone in a central place and go to the location of the phone if you need to check it.
2. Leave your phone on airplane mode for the first hour in the morning and the last hour at night.
3. Charge your phone outside of your bedroom at night.
4. Spend 10 minutes before getting up doing stretches or mindfulness.
5. Stop yourself from using your phone when socialising.
6. Make a list of all the outdoor things you enjoy doing but aren’t doing because you don’t have the time. Try one of those things instead of reaching for your phone.

Here are a few questions that you might like to ask yourself and vlog about during the challenge:
How did you spend your time offline?  How did you feel when your phone wasn’t in the same room as you? What struggles did you have?  Did it have an affect on your relationships? Did you identify any behaviours you want to cut down on?

The aim of this challenge is to make you think about how you use technology and its impacting on your behaviour and wellbeing. Hopefully it will encourage you to introduce some of the benefits of your digital detox into your day-to-day lives too.