Digital Detox

Connect Beyond The Screen 

Step out of the digital world and enjoy your surroundings.  

On This Page 

Refresh and Connect 

We use phones because their useful! But sometimes, they can make us feel disconnected and distracted from in-person life, whether we’re on it too much or only interacting with people digitally. Ironically, they can sometimes hinder the meaningful connections they were designed to create.  

Balance between the digital and in-person world is key. Finding the balance that works for you can positively impact your whole life - sleep, mental health, academic success, and so much more. By being mindful on our phones, we can appreciate our surroundings and build deeper connections with the people around us, which is what life is all about.

 

77% of UA undergraduate students have felt the need to cut down or limit their cell phone usage. 

(UArizona Health & Wellness Survey, 2024)

Phone and notepad with succulents on white surface

What Is Your Relationship Status With Your Phone? 

Is it complicated? Getting in the way? Or maybe you love it!

Digital detoxing is reflecting on your relationship with your phone and taking steps to change your attention to something else. To get started, consider how your phone makes you feel and how you spend time on our phone.

Two Key Themes For Digital Detoxing 

Your digital detoxing journey can depend on two key things: feelings and time. 

How Do You Feel On Your Phone? 

We can feel different ways when we spend time on our phones. Here are some things to notice: 

  1. Enjoyment level 
  2. Feelings of guilt or regret
  3. Mental relaxation vs. mental overstimulation
  4. How connected you feel with others
  5. Changes in your mood
  6. Feeling triggered
  7. Your intentions 

How Much Time Is It Taking? 

Check the numbers. Screen time data shows you how you are using your phone.  Here are some things to notice: 

  • Daily average time
  • Peak days/hours
  • Most used apps

Helpful tools for checking screen time: 

Consider Your Goals

Now that you have reflected on your phone usage through feelings and time, what is next for you? 

  • Do you feel like you want to change? 
  • Are you okay with where you are now? 

If you would like to make some changes, whether its clearing your mind or making time for other things, here are some ways to start your digital detox experience.

 

Person with a thinking facial expression.

Benefits of Digital Detoxing 

  • Less Stress - Avoid information overload for a calmer mind. 
  • Improved Concentration and Productivity - Fewer distractions help you complete tasks more efficiently and live in the moment. 
  • Enhanced Relationships - More face-to-face interactions and quality time spent with loved ones.  
  • More Time for Hobbies - Fully engage in activities you enjoy. 
  • Better Physical Health - Better sleep, reduce eye strain and improve posture. 

 

3 Women and 2 Men Sitting on White Concrete Fence

Start Where You Feel Comfortable 

Digital detoxing can look different for everybody, from thoughtfully re-organizing apps to intentionally managing your phone time. 

Succulent Plant on Gray Plant Pot Close-up Photo

Declutter Your Digital Space

Prioritize thinking and feeling better by clearing up your digital space. 

Person holding dog ears up

Finding Your Balance

Be intentional with how you spend your time. 

Two Women Sitting on White Bench

Make Your Phone Work For You

Set boundaries using your phone's functionality features. 

Declutter Your Digital Space 

Organizing and cleaning your digital space can help reduce the urge to click on apps out of boredom or habit. Follow accounts that align with your values, and interests and enhance your well-being. 

Students Learning Together

Organize Apps

3 ways to help organize the apps/files on your phone: 

  1. Prioritize your Screen Content: Put items that contribute to your happiness and productivity first. 
  2. Rearrange Apps: Shift your apps away from your main screen.

  3. Group Apps in Folders: Relocate apps into folders outside of the main screen. 

Uninstall Apps 

If you would like to take cleaning your digital space a step further, try removing apps. 

5 reasons to remove apps: 

  1. Distraction level: Remove apps that waste time without brining significant value or enjoyment.
  2. Lack of purpose: Remove apps that no longer match your interests or values.
  3. Unused apps: Remove apps that you never use. 
  4. Emotional impact: Remove apps that trigger feelings of comparison or insecurity. 
  5. Storage, battery, or privacy concerns: Remove apps that hog up storage, drain battery or compromise privacy. 
Man Wearing Black Cap With Eyes Closed Under Cloudy Sky

Curate Your Social Media Experience 

Our phones allow us to dive into the world of social media, making it tempting to curiously check your phone throughout the day. However, there are a few approaches you can take to adjust your social media experience. 

5 ways to balance your relationship with social media: 

  1. Follow Positive Accounts: Follow, like and comment on accounts that bring you feelings of inspiration, gratitude, and comfort. 
  2. Customize Your Feed: Identify accounts that trigger stress, anxiety, and unfavorable feelings and unfollow or mute notifications to remove them from your feed. 
  3. Use Content Management Features: Use features like "snooze" or "hide posts" to temporarily hide content.
  4. Take a Social Media Break: Take a break from social media. You can start with one hour, and gradually work up to a full day and then a weekend.
  5. Digital Detox with a Friend: Digital detox with a friend who also wants to take a break and have a shared experience. 

Find Your Balance 

There are moments throughout our day that we can practice being thoughtful of our phone usage especially during social gatherings and bedtime. 

Group of People Having Fun

People and Phones 

When you're with friends, family or loved ones, try to avoid using your phone out of habit. Instead, use it to enhance your time together by taking phots or sharing memories. Strive to be present, acknowledge others, and even spark conversations to deepen connections. 

Try these tips:  

  • Keep your phone in your pocket, bag, backpack
  • Put your phone in a different room 
  • Have a designated phone basket 
  • Capture memories with photos videos  
  • Share past videos/photos

Try to limit phone use during: 

  • Meals with friends/family 
  • Classes or meetings 
  • Intimate conversations 
  • Cultural or social events 
  • Moments with nature 

Bonus tip: Avoid checking your phone in the bathroom, while driving, reading, relaxing, or working out. 

Man sleeping

Sleep and Phones 

Phones are stimulating and can easily draw us in, stealing precious sleep time. While having your phone close by can tempt you into late-night usage, it can also aid in better sleep if used wisely. 

If you want to keep your phone nearby, try these helpful tips: 

Try more of this: 

  • Listen to binaural beats 
  • Play white noise or soothing sounds/ music - Stressbusters App
  • Hear a bedtime story with apps like Calm 
  • Read a book (reduce phone brightness or use "night mode")
  • Listen to an audiobook 
  • Use sleep tracking apps 
  • Reduce screen time before bed 

Try less of this:   

  • Doom scroll
  • Watching YouTube or TikTok videos 
  • Shopping
  • Reading the news 
  • Watching a show 
  • Reading celebrity gossip 

Bonus tip: If having your phone nearby is too tempting, try moving your phone a little further away and use a traditional alarm clock. 

Person wearing headphones

Purposeful Phone Habits 

Let's remember all the useful tools our phones offer!  It’s easier to be intentional with your phone use if you’re using the features for a purpose. 

  • Connect with loved ones through call, text, video chat
  • Find information quickly 
  • Enjoy music, podcast, books 
  • Record voice memos 
  • Use the flashlight 
  • Shop for necessities
  • Track health and fitness with apps 
  • Capture & share photos/videos
  • Navigate with GPS maps
  • Stay organized with calendars, task lists, notes, reminders
  • Use the calculator for calculations  
  • Keep track of time with timers, stopwatch or an alarm clock
  • Measure or level objects 

Before you got lost in endless scrolling or gaming, practice the purposeful habits below to decide how you are going to use your phone. 

Name Your Purpose 

Focus on: 

  • What are you using your phone for? 
  • Why now? 
  • What else could you do? 

Use One Device At a Time 

Limit yourself to only using one device (phone, laptop, tablet, smart watch, etc.) at a time. 

Swap It Out 

Replace phone use with something that is similarly hands on – pick up a book, craft or instrument instead. 

Free on-campus resource: 

Join A Free Class at CATalyst Studios

Schedule Time 

Schedule time to be on or off your phone. 

For instance: 

  • 30-minute social media scroll after homework 
  • Avoid phone use 30-minutes before bed 

Make Your Phone Work For You 

Your time and health are incredibly valuable, put yourself first and make your phone use work for you, not the other way around.  

A person holding iPhone in their hand.

Activate "Do Not Disturb" or Silence Notifications

Turn on "Do Not Disturb" mode or silencing notifications to improve your social interactions, sleep, and concentrations by reducing distractions. 

Bonus Tips: 

  • Customize notification settings for specific apps. 
  • Use "airplane mode" during focused activities like homework or hobbies. 

Discover how to easily enable "do not disturb" mode on your phone

Hourglass

Set App Limits 

Setting app limits on your phone promotes time management and minimizes procrastination. 

Bonus Tip: 

  • iPhones can be set up to require a passcode when a time limit is reached, and sharing that passcode with a trusted individual can help not going over time for the day. 

Helpful Tools for Setting App Limits: set app limits: 

A Person Holding a Picture of a Dog on a Smartphone

Switch to a Grayscale Screen

Without the colorful display, you may find yourself less likely to mindlessly scroll through social media or other apps.  

Bonus Tip: 

  • Explore how to create shortcuts for grayscale or associate it with a focus mode using the link below. 

Helpful Tool for Grayscale Setting

Cutting down on phone use is not always easy. Remember that phones are engineered to keep us locked in. Start small and be kind to yourself along the way.

Group of Friends Making Toast

It's Okay To Hit "Refresh" Again 

Remember to reassess and be kind to yourself throughout this journey. Recognize that implementing new changes can be challenging and will take time. It's an ongoing process with adjustments along the way. Practice being patient with yourself as you take small steps to gradually finding a healthier balance between the digital world and your life offline.