Temporary abstinence from gadgets changes your mental state and health

Constant online presence and exposure to screens can lead to physical and emotional exhaustion. The practice of “digital detox,” which involves temporarily abstaining from smartphones and social media, is often promoted as a way to return to a healthier lifestyle. Recent scientific evidence suggests that reducing screen time can indeed significantly improve mental well-being, provided that it is approached systematically.

On average, young people spend around nine hours per day in front of screens, while adults spend up to six hours. This level of engagement can lead to information overload and chronic social media fatigue. In response, new behavioral trends are emerging, such as completely avoiding entertainment during long flights (“raw-dogging boredom”) or deliberately choosing more challenging and effortful offline activities (“friction-maxxing”), such as board games, chess, or crafts.

The term “digital detox” is borrowed from medicine, where it refers to a safe way to break free from addiction. In the context of technology, it refers to reducing distractions to restore real social connections and allow the nervous system to rest.

An analysis of twenty controlled studies conducted in 2025 showed that even a short break from using social media can increase life satisfaction and self-esteem. Participants in these studies reported reduced levels of anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness.

In another 2025 study, researchers blocked participants’ smartphones for two weeks, allowing only calls and text messages. This restriction was found to have a more significant positive impact on mental health compared to taking antidepressants. The dynamics was caused by the fact that people spent their free time on useful activities: live communication, sports and walks in nature.

The impact of giving up gadgets depends on individual factors. For example, it depends on the cultural context. In countries with a collectivist culture (such as Turkey), people experience greater social pressure: they are expected to respond instantly and maintain a wide range of online connections. For them, a break in communication is more effective. It has also been found that women are more likely to use social media to maintain relationships and tend to compare their appearance to other people’s profiles. Observations from 2020 suggest that a one-week abstinence from visual social media significantly increases life satisfaction among women, while there is no significant effect among men.

However, complete and abrupt abandonment of technology rarely leads to long-term changes, as it can be challenging to maintain in daily life. Observations from 2023 prove that people who simply reduced their smartphone usage by one hour per day had a more consistent and lasting positive effect than those who tried to completely isolate themselves from the internet.

The authors of the article propose a plan for effective digital detoxification:

1. Identify destructive habits: record how often you pick up your phone for no specific reason or carry it around with you.
2. Set restrictions: set time limits for specific apps or define hours when checking messages is prohibited.
3. Set a clear goal: for example, completely abstain from a specific social media platform for one week.
4. Inform your surroundings: inform your loved ones and colleagues about your plans so they understand the reason for the delays in responding and can support the initiative.
5. Monitor your progress: record your sleep quality and daily anxiety levels during the detox process.

The main goal of digital detox is not to completely eliminate technology from our lives, but to transition to a more conscious and controlled use of it.