Latest news with #DigitalDetox
DW
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- DW
Young Europeans are growing tired of smartphones – DW – 05/25/2025
A British survey found that almost half of young people polled would prefer growing up without the internet, with a majority welcoming a social media curfew. What's behind this? The Offline Club Instagram account has almost 530,000 followers. This seems almost ironic, as The Offline Club promotes taking a conscious break from social media, including Instagram. "Swap screen time for real time" is the slogan used by the event management company's three Dutch founders, Ilya Kneppelhout, Jordy van Bennekom and Valentijn Klok. Their aim is to use The Offline Club to "reconnect people with themselves and others through real-world communities and authentic, offline experiences." For the past year, the three have organized meetups during which smartphones and laptops were not allowed. "Are you ready to ditch your phone?" they ask in a pinned reel on Instagram. Apparently, more and more people are willing to switch off their phones — at least for these organized events. Instead of taking their smartphones out, people read, play games, do arts and crafts or relax for a few hours. Workshops, called Digital Detox Retreats, take several days. "We envision a world in which phone-free spaces and offline communities are the norm," the three founders write on their website . The Dutch concept has been spreading worldwide over the last year. Amsterdam was one of the first locations, then came London, Paris, Milan and Copenhagen. Berlin has also hosted the first meetings of this kind. Also, a growing number of restaurants and clubs have been asking their guests to leave cellphones at home. TikTok-Brain – What social media does to our concentration To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video More people want to spend less time online, studies find The Dutch founders seem to have struck a nerve. After all, young people in particular often find it difficult to switch off their smartphones despite having all the settings that could limit their usage time. Even the return of the "boring phone" without apps has not been able to seriously displace smartphones, despite being celebrated on social networks. According to figures by the German industry association Bitkom from the end of 2024, people aged 16-29 spend more than three hours per day on their smartphones. That is the highest usage time of all age groups, and the actual duration is probably even longer. Young people spend three hours per day on their smartphones, most likely even more Image: Wolfram Steinberg/dpa/picture alliance Yet, a large number of young people would like to spend significantly less time on their smartphones. According to a new survey by the British Standards Institution, almost 70% of the 1,293 people aged 16-21 feel worse when they spend time on social media. Half would be in favor of a "digital curfew" that would restrict access to certain apps and websites after 10 p.m. Around 46% even stated that they would have preferred to be young in a world without the internet. These results align with other surveys, such as the one Harris Poll, an American polling institute, conducted in late 2024 . In that survey, many young people wished that TikTok, Instagram or X had never been invented. Explainer: Why Meta's monopoly is dangerous for you To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Political protection On Tuesday, British Technology Minister Peter Kyle hinted at considering mandatory curfews , according to The Guardian newspaper. Norway wants to raise the age limit for the use of social media from 13 to 15. As a global pioneer, Australia already raised the age limit to 16 in late 2024. Other countries, such as Denmark, ban tablets and smartphones almost entirely from schoolyards. In 2024, Danish Education Minister Mattias Tesfaye said the country had been naive in its approach to digitalization. Australia has banned children under the age of 16 from social media Image: William West/AFP/Getty Images Harmful effects of smartphone use Excessive smartphone use is further associated with various mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders and addictive behavior. A study published in the journal BMC Medicine earlier this year found that depressive symptoms decreased by 27% after three weeks of reduced smartphone use. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, young people's mental health has deteriorated dramatically over the past 15 years. This trend was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when digital media was increasingly used. However, the OECD also stated that research has not yet been able to prove any direct causality between those two factors. The founders of the Dutch Offline Club want to take action and expand their meetups. Offline events are increasingly happening in different cities. In early April, over 1,000 people switched off their phones and smiled happily into the camera in London. This marks a new record, the offline influencers proudly declared — on Instagram, of course. This article was originally written in German.
Times of Oman
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times of Oman
Young adults in Europe are putting away smartphones
London: The Offline Club Instagram account has almost 530,000 followers. This seems almost ironic, as The Offline Club promotes taking a conscious break from social media, including Instagram. "Swap screen time for real time" is the slogan used by the event management company's three Dutch founders, Ilya Kneppelhout, Jordy van Bennekom and Valentijn Klok. Their aim is to use The Offline Club to "reconnect people with themselves and others through real-world communities and authentic, offline experiences." For the past year, the three have organised meetups during which smartphones and laptops were not allowed. "Are you ready to ditch your phone?" they ask in a pinned reel on Instagram. Apparently, more and more people are willing to switch off their cellphones, at least for these organised events. Instead of taking their smartphones out, people read, play games, do arts and crafts or relax for a few hours. Workshops, called Digital Detox Retreats, take several days. "We envision a world in which phone-free spaces and offline communities are the norm," the three founders write on their website.. The Dutch concept has been spreading worldwide over the last year. Amsterdam was one of the first locations, then came London, Paris, Milan and Copenhagen. Berlin also hosted the first meetings of this kind. Also, a growing number of restaurants and clubs ask their guests to leave cellphones at home. The Dutch founders seem to have struck a nerve. After all, young people in particular often find it difficult to switch off their smartphones despite having all the settings that could limit their usage time. Even the return of the "boring phone" without apps has not been able to seriously displace smartphones despite being celebrated on social networks. According to figures by the German industry association Bitkom from the end of 2024, people aged 16-29 spend more than three hours per day on their smartphones. That is the highest usage time of all age groups, and the actual duration is probably even longer. Yet, a large number of young people would like to spend significantly less time on their smartphones. According to a new survey by the British Standards Institution (BSI), almost 70% of the 1,293 people aged 16-21 feel worse when they spend time on social media. Half would be in favor of a "digital curfew" that would restrict access to certain apps and websites after 10 p.m. Around 46% even stated that they would have preferred to be young in a world without the internet. These results align with other surveys, such as the one Harris Polls, an American polling institute, conducted in late 2024. In that survey, many young people wished that TikTok, Instagram or X had never been invented. On Tuesday, British Technology Minister Peter Kyle hinted at considering mandatory curfews, according to The Guardian newspaper. Norway wants to raise the age limit for the use of social media from 13 to 15. As a global pioneer, Australia already raised the age limit to 16 in late 2024. Other countries, such as Denmark, ban tablets and smartphones almost entirely from schoolyards. In 2024, Danish Minister of Education Mattias Tesfaye said that the country had been in its approach to digitalisation. Excessive smartphone use is further associated with various mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders and addictive behaviour. A study published in the journal BMC Medicine earlier this year found that depressive symptoms decreased by 27% after three weeks of reduced smartphone use. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), young people's mental health has deteriorated dramatically over the past 15 years. This trend was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when digital media was increasingly used. However, the OECD also stated that research has not yet been able to prove any direct causality between those two factors. On the other hand, the founders of the Dutch Offline Club want to take action and expand their meetups. Offline events are increasingly happening in different cities. In early April, over 1,000 people switched off their cell phones and smiled happily into the camera in London. This marks a new record, the offline influencers proudly declared, of course, on Instagram.
DW
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- DW
Young adults in Europe are putting away smartphones – DW – 05/25/2025
A British survey found that almost half of young adults would prefer to live in a time without the Internet. One startup from the Netherlands is trying to accommodate such people by organizing offline meetups. The Offline Club Instagram account has almost 530,000 followers. This seems almost ironic, as The Offline Club promotes taking a conscious break from social media, including Instagram. "Swap screen time for real time" is the slogan used by the event management company's three Dutch founders, Ilya Kneppelhout, Jordy van Bennekom and Valentijn Klok. Their aim is to use The Offline Club to "reconnect people with themselves and others through real-world communities and authentic, offline experiences." For the past year, the three have organized meetups during which smartphones and laptops were not allowed. "Are you ready to ditch your phone?" they ask in a pinned reel on Instagram. Apparently, more and more people are willing to switch off their cellphones, at least for these organized events. Instead of taking their smartphones out, people read, play games, do arts and crafts or relax for a few hours. Workshops, called Digital Detox Retreats, take several days. "We envision a world in which phone-free spaces and offline communities are the norm," the three founders write on their website . The Dutch concept has been spreading worldwide over the last year. Amsterdam was one of the first locations, then came London, Paris, Milan and Copenhagen. Berlin also hosted the first meetings of this kind. Also, a growing number of restaurants and clubs ask their guests to leave cellphones at home. TikTok-Brain – What social media does to our concentration To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video More people want to spend less time online, studies find The Dutch founders seem to have struck a nerve. After all, young people in particular often find it difficult to switch off their smartphones despite having all the settings that could limit their usage time. Even the return of the "boring phone" without apps has not been able to seriously displace smartphones despite being celebrated on social networks. According to figures by the German industry association Bitkom from the end of 2024, people aged 16-29 spend more than three hours per day on their smartphones. That is the highest usage time of all age groups, and the actual duration is probably even longer. Young people spend three hours per day on their smartphones, most likely even more Image: Wolfram Steinberg/dpa/picture alliance Yet, a large number of young people would like to spend significantly less time on their smartphones. According to a new survey by the British Standards Institution (BSI), almost 70% of the 1,293 people aged 16-21 feel worse when they spend time on social media. Half would be in favor of a "digital curfew" that would restrict access to certain apps and websites after 10 p.m. Around 46% even stated that they would have preferred to be young in a world without the internet. These results align with other surveys, such as the one Harris Polls, an American polling institute, conducted in late 2024 . In that survey, many young people wished that TikTok, Instagram or X had never been invented. Explainer: Why Meta's monopoly is dangerous for you To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Political protection On Tuesday, British Technology Minister Peter Kyle hinted at considering mandatory curfews , according to The Guardian newspaper. Norway wants to raise the age limit for the use of social media from 13 to 15. As a global pioneer, Australia already raised the age limit to 16 in late 2024. Other countries, such as Denmark, ban tablets and smartphones almost entirely from schoolyards. In 2024, Danish Minister of Education Mattias Tesfaye said that the country had been in its approach to digitalization. Australia has banned children under the age of 16 from social media Image: William West/AFP/Getty Images Harmful effects of smartphone use Excessive smartphone use is further associated with various mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders and addictive behavior. A study published in the journal BMC Medicine earlier this year found that depressive symptoms decreased by 27% after three weeks of reduced smartphone use. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), young people's mental health has deteriorated dramatically over the past 15 years. This trend was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when digital media was increasingly used. However, the OECD also stated that research has not yet been able to prove any direct causality between those two factors. On the other hand, the founders of the Dutch Offline Club want to take action and expand their meetups. Offline events are increasingly happening in different cities. In early April, over 1,000 people switched off their cell phones and smiled happily into the camera in London. This marks a new record, the offline influencers proudly declared, of course, on Instagram. This article was originally published in German.
New York Post
11-05-2025
- New York Post
Digital detox retreats rise in popularity
In a time when people can't even go to the bathroom without bringing their phones — surprisingly, the interest around digital detox retreats is rising, and people are willing to pay thousands to go on them. While on vacation, 27% of adults want to be present and spend less time doom-scrolling, according to a 2025 Hilton Trends Report, which was originally reported on by the BBC. And 17% of vacationers are taking things a step further by searching for trips that will force them to unplug and possibly ditch their technology altogether, according to global luxury home-rental platform Plum Guide. Advertisement 'We used to have a tag to show which properties had wi-fi. Now we're adding a 'no wi-fi' tag,' Martin Dunford, the founder and CEO of Cool Places, a UK travel accommodation booking site, told the BBC. Guests at the Grand Velas Resorts in Mexico can book a stay here and sign up for their Digital Detox program. Once travelers arrive at their designated hotel room — they'll notice that the room is free of any tech. TVs are replaced with board games, and guests' devices are kept in a safe by the concierge, according to the resort's site. On a digital detox trip — guests are forced to lock up their devices for the duration of their stay. Aaron Weiss – Advertisement This forces guests to partake in complimentary activities such as biking and snorkeling tours. The average rate for a room is a couple of thousand dollars a night. And if people aren't looking to spend so much money to travel outside the country for this kind of retreat — stressed-out travelers can stay at the Urban Cowboy Lodge in the Catskills, which is only a few hours north of NYC. At this Catskills cabin-style boutique hotel, guests lock their devices in a box for the duration of their stay. Something that might sound terrifying but is ultimately rewarding. Dunford worked with the University of Greenwich and the University of East Anglia to study people's patterns and behaviors when they completely disconnect on a trip. Advertisement As expected, they found that at first, it's quite the adjustment for people to not have access to technology while away. Disconnecting from the outside world allows travelers to partake in outdoor activities. EFStock – 'Guests go stir crazy in the first 24 hours,' Dunford said. 'But after 48 hours, they are well adjusted and start getting into other activities. At the end of a three-day stay – or longer – we find guests may be happy to have their phones back or can be a bit take it or leave it about it.' Advertisement 'By the end of the three days, I was far from excited to open the lockbox and turn my phone back on – in fact, I was dreading it,' said a writer for The Week in a story about their experience taking part in a digital detox trip. 'I prolonged my vacation from society for as long as I could, but was eventually forced to bite the bullet when I got into the car and remembered I was reliant on Google Maps if I had any hope of getting home,' the writer pointed out.
