15 million tech-fried Brits have tried giving themselves a 'digital detox' Around 15 million people have actively turned their back on having the world's information at their finger tips in preference of talking to boring old humans instead. Research from Ofcom's Communications Market Report found that one in three adult internet users has sought a period of time offline, which if extrapolated across …
I work in IT (dev) and honestly try my best to NOT go online / do IT etc out of hours.
its simply to much and totally agree with this story, and actually think there should be a mandatory unplug period for everyone. I also definately try and instill this into my kids (they are the doomed generation if we dont teach them now).
I obviously dont live in a straw hut with no internet, but definately attempt to limit it as much as possible. (if you want to comment my facebook ID is xxxx and you can contact me on twitter at : xxxx :o)
So im not addicted, i have to do it for work....!
"there should be a mandatory unplug period for everyone"
Your specific use case does not reflect how everybody uses the Internet.
Me? I live rural. I have no close neighbours and being something of an introvert I don't like socialising, especially with people who seem to think a fun day out is getting pissed. For me the Internet offers a way to keep in touch with like minded people, plus a way to watch lots of Japanese "dorama" (which can be pretty good once you understand the syrupy melodrama underpinning most of it). I've not turned on my satellite receiver in months, there's nothing on BBC/ITV that I want to take the time to watch any more (plus I can watch a download where I want when I want). I'm not one of these people that posts a Facebook status update for every bowel motion, but I can choose to participate in fora and projects that interest me, again when I want, on my terms.
This might not make any sense to you if you are an extrovert, but trust me, this ability to choose and this ability to just tune everything out is important to introverts. I don't see myself as addicted to the Internet because I'm quite capable of leaving it to go on a pleasant long walk. But nor do I see specific benefit in socialising for the sake of it. Those walks? I do alone. It gives me time to think about stuff. Our maybe just switch off completely and enjoy my surroundings. That's one of the benefits of rural - crappy download speeds, but plenty of scenery.
@heyrick: "there's nothing on BBC/ITV that I want to take the time to watch any more
The British Broadcasting Corporation is currently changing the law so those of us who don't watch their offerings still have to pay the television license. Not so much a loophole as in we don't want to pay to not watch your television channel, especially as we can't watch BBC America in this country.
The point is that these are facebook obsessives that realised that they were on their devices 24/7 with a million "friends", no actual friends and they discovered that they were messaging people 2 metres away on facebook instead of actually speaking to them. (though it doesn't say if they knew that they "knew" the "friends" in the same room)
IT people have occasional problems with work/life balance. These people just have a problem with a twitter&facebook/life balance. They need to get a life, not a digital detox.
Bloody hell, you know things are bad when introverted and antisocial geeks such as myself can legitimately mock extroverted socialities. Hells, according to the studies we actually socialise more with real people than they do. :/
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"Americans are increasingly concerned about online security and privacy at a time when data breaches, cybersecurity incidents, and controversies over the privacy of online services have become more prominent. These concerns are prompting some Americans to limit their online activity, according to data collected ... by the U.S. Census Bureau."
.....Could it be that the UK also feels this way...???
https://www.ntia.doc.gov/blog/2016/lack-trust-internet-privacy-and-security-may-deter-economic-and-other-online-activities
I regularly treck off the arse of end of nowhere at weekends for a whole day, just me, my waterproofs and my camera kit. Sometimes my whole clan will go camping, we'll spend a few days completely away from everything. You might hook up to a local wifi spot once for a map and weather report but that's it, after that you just cut off the outside world. It's very rewarding and makes you really appreciate the wonder of the internet when you come back to it after a few days.
Yep. Did that in June in the Nevada Desert. 4 days with no leccy, phone, internet, decent toilet etc
But the landcapes were fantastic and the lack of streelight glare made seeing even Saturns Rings easy.
Well worth it and Rattlesnake tastes pretty good.
As I don't do FB etc, nothing was lost.
"which if extrapolated across the population amounts to 15 million people."
Extrapolation in the wrong hands is a very useless tool...
Contemporary lives in 1st world countries have very little choice but to have an online presence. Banking, purchasing, communications ( Email, FB, info), information retrieval etc Many of these tasks are becoming increasingly difficult, nigh impossible without an online connection.
It's neither a good thing, nor a bad thing,it's just the way that things are run today..
Privacy is no more an issue than you allow it to be, each of us has a choice about how much personal data we make available, alternatives are available which allow us to become relatively discreet..
Just to repeat : Extrapolation in the wrong hands is a very useless tool...
Yep,called a luddite because not surgically grafted to my smartphone 24/7.
Don't even have a smartphone anymore- 2nd best decision ever made was getting rid of it (1st was I think I'll try this beer stuff).
I appreciate the quiet of no comms sometimes, and some days I wish I could unplug my work colleagues (or plug them straight into the mains)
That's just me hitting refresh on the El Reg homepage. ;-)
Seriously, though, how does one quantify something like this with an always-on connection? I have my phone fetch mail every 15 minutes. Does that count? Does every separate Google search count? After I write this I'm going to look at the RISC OS forum, then look on YouTube for some instrumental "zen" music to enjoy while sitting out in the garden enjoying this grey that is supposed to be my summer holiday. Is that one time on the Internet or three?
The article talks about the internet but I think its missing context. The web, internet and social media are often used interchangably in common parlance.
I mean someone may have responded they cut themselves off but then watch something on Netflix...
I'm surprised people appear to have accepted the research at face value.
The questionnaire used was full of questions including (invented) expressions like 'went web-free' 'hooked, very hooked or completely hooked to my device' 'digital detox holiday'.
It was clearly written to lead respondents with the objective of creating impactful 'results' that could be turned into media headlines. And of course the media bought it.
Fine for selling beans, perhaps, but masquerading as serious lifestyle research from the government-funded national communications regulator - appalling.
I use my computer phone (they're certainly not "smart") many times per day, but I'm not an addict and can do without just fine. For me, it's an information source I can access any time to look up interesting or useful data. Checking the weather radar is handy, especially if motorcycling. Good for finding a store and its hours, perhaps even if the item I want is in stock. No social media use at all.
I also regularly camp (car, backpack and paddle) for days at a time without it. It's nice to be out in the wild without any links to so-called civilization.
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I use a Samsung E1190. It's a flip phone, makes and receives calls and SMS.
It cost £29 SIM free from Amazon a couple of years ago. It still lasts for two weeks on a single charge.
Go to the tech shelves of almost any Tesco and you'll find similar deals; no camera, no Bluetooth or WiFi.
Written on a nexus 10.
Go Phone if you have AT&T. Other carriers offer them too. Cheap and durable. Survived 3 kids.
For myself, I'm in the IT industry (systems). I'm online all day. when I get home I can't be bothered to be "online" other than watching a Netflix movie. More often than not I'm in the shop building something or out mountain biking or boating. I purposefully detach from the interwebs and have done it for years. Its a good thing.
I regularly take time away from Facebook, pretty much 3 or so hours out of every few weeks is the only time I visit it now. But I'm not letting anyone take my Netflix or NowTV (though granted, this one is a bit more meh). Most importantly taking time away from Facebook does make me feel better. Facebook doesn't like me taking time away and starts out by sending me notifications that say thinks "This person just added a new photo" (no I didn't turn on notifications for everytime they post). As I continue to ignore notifications from Facebook, they get more aggressive - like "You have 52 missed notifications, 4 requests to play a game and have missed 18 Birthdays". On some days I can end up with as many as 10 notifications telling me about all the "amazing" stuff that I have missed.
It does however bring up a serious point, there is no doubt that being addicted to Social Networking is a real condition, as is the fear of missing out. Now I take time away because I find my levels of depression rise dramatically if I get sucked back in to spending days at a time on the site, so my will power to ignore the notifications is strong enough to resist being drawn in (and in fact the notifications have the opposite effect that Facebook are aiming for, they make me less likely to visit the site - they feel nagging, which makes me feel resentful to the site) - but people who suffer from fear of missing out will very easily get drawn back in with these notifications, which - while obviously not being exactly the same, does sort of seem a bit like giving a drug addict, copious amounts of their drug of choice for "free" when they are part way through rehab......
Over six months ago now, don't miss it one bit.
Have a large family so camping holidays are the norm now, we switch off.. mostly.
Camping site with a power hookup is a must, cold beer n'all. We also allow the kids to tether their tablets for their YouTube fix in the morning. How else are the missus and I to get a lie in.
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