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We need a cure for the curse of digital overabundance
Having all the products of human civilisation at your fingertips can feel overwhelming.
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We were not designed to have the output of all of human history at our fingertips, nor to be contactable at all times.
PHOTO: UNSPLASH
Jemima Kelly
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Last weekend, after a period of plenty of stimulation and travel but not nearly enough sleep or stillness, I decided to embark on a self-imposed 48-hour digital detox. I sat down and listened to records the whole way through; I spent time with loved ones without feeling the compulsion to take a photograph every five minutes; I had a nap for the first time in years. And, after some quite bothersome withdrawal symptoms on the first day, by Sunday evening, I had got quite into the whole thing and felt a certain degree of dread about turning my phone back on.
It wasn’t very original of me, sadly. A discernible trend towards de-technologising our lives is afoot. Digital detoxes and silent retreats are all the rage, with Conde Nast Traveller recently declaring “silent travel” to be “the wellness trend we’re obsessing over this year”.
