🏁 Axios Finish Line: Digital detox

Plus: iPhone ubiquity | Tuesday, June 07, 2022

Open in app View in browser     Axios Finish Line By Mike Allen, Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei ·Jun 07, 2022 Jun 07, 2022 Welcome back. Reach us at FinishLine@axios.com. Smart Brevity™ count: 592 words ... 2½ minutes.     1 big thing: Time for digital detox Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios   Deep down, you know the truth: You're hopelessly addicted to the phone or iPad or computer you're reading this newsletter on. It's like puffing three packs of cigarettes, in the car, windows up, kids jammed in back. You know it's not great for you — or them. Why it matters: Time for digital detox, friends. You don't need to quit cold turkey — just dial it back. The upside: a clearer mind, calmer nerves, happier friends and family. First, the incentive: Our devices are shortening our attention spans, wrecking our ability to focus and even hindering us from empathizing with others. A Baylor University study found screen time is ruining relationships, as one partner feels "phone-snubbed" by the other. Some restraint is being imposed by force.  A handful of restaurants and workout classes are requiring you to part ways with your devices.  Hearth, in Manhattan's East Village, has boxes for guests to stash their phones during the meal. The French House in London has a hard ban on phones and will kick out patrons for using devices, per the (London) Evening Standard. Sushi Lounge in Hoboken, N.J., tried "Reconnect Tuesdays," which gave customers 20% off if they kept their phone locked away in a box for dinner. A slew of workout classes ban phones from the floor. And there are coffee shops without outlets and Wi-Fi — as well as bars without TVs, to encourage you to actually talk to people. Resorts are taking it a step further and offering a digital detox for days. Sheldon Chalet in Alaska has no Wi-Fi or cell service. Germany's Villa Stephanie's rooms have a switch that lets you turn off the Wi-Fi and all your devices at once, Conde Nast Traveler reports. You don't need to eat at a fancy restaurant or take a vacation to reap the benefits of a digital detox. Configure your phone. If you have a smartphone, it's got settings where you can limit your screen time. It'll shut you out of Facebook or Instagram once you've been scrolling for 15 or 30 minutes that day — and prompt you to enter a password if you want more time on the app. Erica's boyfriend had her set that password so he couldn't have more scrolling time even if he wanted it. Make it a game. Try this with friends or family: Put all your phones at the center of the table when you're out to dinner. Silence them. Whoever breaks first and reaches for their device gets stuck with the bill. Create distance. Studies have shown that most of the times we pick up our phones aren't because we've gotten a notification — it's just because the phone is sitting there. Start putting your phone in another room when you don't need to be using it. Use tech to fight tech. You can buy a customizable lockbox with a timer. Throw your phone in, and you won't be able to get it out for a set amount of time. Here's one at a lower price point, and another at a higher one. The bottom line: Screen time overload is hurting our relationships, our brains and our kids. Let's do something about it. Share this story     A message from Axios Smart Brevity® for your business     We took the lessons — and data — of our best writers and built a tool to distill important information and distribute it one-to-many. Today 300+ organizations are using it for all-staff, client, member, and other stakeholder communications. See how it works.     📱Crazy stat Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Here's a number that stunned us: 87% of U.S. teenagers have iPhones, per a survey of 10,000 young people from investment bank Piper Sandler. Digital detoxes will be even more essential for future generations.   Thanks for reading. Invite friends to sign up. Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: