Glow-Up Your Lifestyle by Going Device-Free

For one whole excruciating month, I went device-free. Did the playdates even happen if I didn’t get to post about them? Did I wear a cute outfit on date night with my husband? What about that family dinner with the grandparents where there is no proof? Was I, like the tree that falls in the forest with no one to hear it, still living my best life? Yes, yes, I was. In vibrant color.

While modern society deems it impossible to truly live device-free, I found a few ways to “glow up” my lifestyle, communication, and relationships by creating clear, healthy boundaries between myself and screens.

I realized my coping mechanisms. During my month spent device-free, I went through a detox. A definitive sign I needed some boundaries with my device? I reached for my phone or the remote control anytime I had any downtime for about the first week of this digital detox. If I was stressed out, I’d google solutions. If craving a mental break, I’d scroll social media apps or put on a streaming service.

Not to villainize any of these media options; I just realized what I was using them to cope with things emotionally or mentally. One of the great things about our lifetime is the ability to research things on our own. One of the great losses of our lifetime is the ability to research things on our own.

5 Benefits of Going Device-Free

1. Without defaulting to devices all the time, I realized I communicated better.

When I realized I couldn’t necessarily google everything, I started conversations asking other people for their advice. Moms at the park became a wealth of knowledge; ladies at the church with their adult children knew a thing or two from their younger years. My husband and I chatted about a variety of topics when we could’ve been scrolling. Granted, my husband wasn’t taking a break from devices, but my availability encouraged him to put down his phone a little bit more for a chat.

My mom became a great conversationist while my son was a boy genius with his knowledge of his numbers and the alphabet. I saw more people, had longer conversations, and with more depth.

2. I saw things with clarity.

While my iPhone has a great camera, I’ll say the difference between looking at the world with your own eyes versus through the lens is paramount. These same people I talked to started looking more interesting as well.

While beauty standards on the internet had me competing with not just the best, but the best and most beautiful in the world, I saw more beauty in the people around me: The mom with four kids still rocking a mini dress and oversized Audrey-style sunnies. The dad in matching Patagonia puffer with his little man at the park. The lines full of grace and years of smiles hugging the eyes of the Southern belle I sat next to at a play in London. There was a whole lot more real, a whole lot less fake, and a lot of warmth I’d been missing in the AI-stylized hours I’d spent online.

3. I absorbed more information.

Books I’d wanted to read, new vocabulary my son was saying, the nuance of what my husband was trying to say through tired afternoon complaints—information was still pouring into my brain but with the potency you only get from real life. I realized I’d needed Google to find my acupuncturist for months, but was suddenly able to do it from memory. There were things I wanted to get done but would always forget before I wrote them down. Now, they lingered in my brain long enough to get them done. I remembered the recipe for tamales from my mother-in-law as opposed to propping open the recipe app on my phone for constant referral.

4. I regulated my emotions.

Not going to lie, there were a few days I was craving a scroll through social media so much more than sitting with my own emotions. Some days it sucked, as sitting with our feelings can. These were the days I was forced to “touch grass” as the kids say, getting outside in the fresh air or doing a workout to ground myself. I got a book about grounding techniques from a local author and practiced a few techniques when I felt stressed out. I asked my husband for an afternoon off for a hot bath. An added benefit of my digital detox was being forced to regulate my emotions in different ways, expanding my arsenal of self-care techniques.

5. I spent more time doing what I wanted.

Granted, a few times all I wanted to do was scroll social media, catch up on the outfits and memes and gossip I’d missed, yet I found myself enjoying other activities so much more. I got old school and played my vinyl collections while making dinner, did a noodle date with a friend, and found much more joy in chasing my son around the playground. My husband and I played a board game at a café. Old school living at its finest.

As I sit here listening to my phone, after a drive full of podcasts and now typing at my computer, I’m not naïve to the beauty and benefit of a device-reliant life. Just like we take vacations for our mental health, get a pedicure for our beautification, exercise for our health, or build a community for our sanity, I argue we’d benefit from scheduling clear times to leave the device behind.

Life is so full, especially with our tech turned off. Maybe it’s bedtime for the phones after 7 p.m., or weekends device-free, or a more specific tweak like an Instagram break for a week or a month. Whatever we may choose, we owe ourselves a device-free glow-up to truly experience all this vibrant life has to offer. It’s brighter than 4K and way more realistic than all those AI-generated images out there.

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If your technology addiction is just one stronghold of many you’re looking to shed this year, don’t lose hope. In this podcast episode, you’ll find additional tips for overcoming your biggest challenges: Ready to Conquer Life’s Challenges? Here’s How – 248