How to Start Your Digital Well-Being Journey?
Have you ever stared at your phone, feeling fatigued and thought, "I really should take a break from all this"—only to immediately feel overwhelmed by the very idea?
The moment you consider reclaiming your digital well-being, a flood of worries rushes in:
Will I have to abandon all my social media?
How will I keep in touch with friends, or stay informed and entertained?
“No phone before bed? But that's my wind-down routine!"
All this can feel so overwhelming that many never take the first step. Others, in a burst of motivation, try to overhaul everything at once, only to find themselves exhausted and giving up halfway.
The secret isn’t in grand gestures, but in small, steady steps. Research in digital well-being emphasises the importance of sustainable, incremental change over drastic measures. A recent network analysis highlighted that digital well-being is a complex interplay of emotional regulation, social connectedness, and self-control, all of which benefit from gradual, consistent efforts rather than all-or-nothing approaches. Just as you wouldn’t leap a whole staircase in one bound, your journey to digital wellness is best taken one step at a time.
Imagine approaching digital detox not as giving up your favourite dessert forever, but as savouring one less bite each day. The compound effect of these small acts is where the magic happens: one step leads to another, and over time, your digital habits transform.
So, how do you begin? Here are some small first steps:
Instead of silencing all notifications, start by turning off only the non-essential alerts.
Rather than banning all social media, try setting specific check-in times, perhaps only on your laptop during work breaks. Or using social media only on a laptop.
Don’t exile your phone from the bedroom right away. Begin by placing it across the room, making it less tempting to scroll late at night.
If blocking every distracting feed seems too extreme, install a tool like “Newsfeed Eradicator” on just your most distracting platform.
You don’t need to disconnect for hours. Begin by keeping your phone away during one context: meals, bathroom breaks, the first 30 minutes after waking, or the last 30 minutes before sleep.
The key is simple: choose just one step, do it daily, and let the compound effect unfold.