Overcoming Digital Detox Addiction

There is A village in India, Vadgaon which is in Sangli district of Maharashtra. Every day a siren rings at 7 o’clock in the evening. The sound of the siren is a signal to the villagers to switch off their mobiles and TV sets. After one and a half hours i.e. at half past eight, the siren of the Panchayat rings again. Villagers can restart mobiles and TV sets deemed ‘addicted’. Village head Mr. Vijay Mohite Says “We decided on August 14, a day before Independence Day, that we need to curb this addiction now.” After this, the television sets and mobile phones started shutting down as soon as the siren was sounded in the village,” Mr. Mohite said. The population of Vadgaon is about three thousand. Most of the people in the village and all says “We Need Digital Detoxing to Survive Healthy Life, Digital Fasting Can Save Us.

Mr. Vijay Mohite told that during Covid, children had become dependent on mobile phones for TV and online classes. When schools opened this year, children started going to school. He says, “Children started going to regular classes but there was a big problem. On returning from school, they either used to sit with mobile phones or started watching TV. Not only children but adults also used to get busy on mobiles. The process of conversation between them was also coming to an end.

Digital Detox Strategies, Addiction Prevention

Vandana Mohite, who lives in the village, said that she was finding it difficult to handle her two children. “Both the kids were either completely on the phone or watching TV,”. She says, “But ever since the new rule has been introduced in the village, it has become easier for my husband to return from work and educate the children. Now I am also able to work in the kitchen in peace.”

How difficult was it to implement for Digital Detoxing?

It was not so easy for the panchayat to persuade the villagers to stay away from mobile and TV sets i.e. digital detox. Vijay Mohite says that when the panchayat first put this idea in front of the villagers, the men laughed it off. Then the people of the panchayat gathered the women of the village. Women were believing that if this continues, they can become addicted to watching too many TV serials.

She agreed that the whole village should switch off the mobile and TV set for a few hours. After this anoth,er meeting of the panchayat was held and it was decided to put a siren above the village temple. Vijay Mohite says, “It was not easy to implement this decision. As soon as the siren sounded, the panchayat members and groups of villagers had to go round around village asking people to switch off their mobile and TV now brother.”

Why Digital Detox?

Can we turn off the TV or phone for a while can lead to a ‘digital detox’? Can this get rid of the ‘addiction’ of watching TV or mobile? In response to this question, Dr. Manoj Sharma, Professor of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS says, “Covid has increased the time spent on online activities or mobile.“

Dr. Sharma and his colleagues did a study in this regard among 495 women and 187 men. According to this study conducted between July and December of 2020, ‘problematic Internet use’ is becoming a rapidly increasing trend among adolescents and young adults. Due to the increasing use of the Internet, it has emerged as one of the most serious challenges. The study results stated, “Increased excessive unproductive use of the Internet increases the risk of developing problematic use, which can lead to psychological stress. It can harm many aspects of adolescents’ lives.”

It has also been said in the study that teenagers with a tendency to mental stress or who feel like it may turn to the Internet. They use it to stay away from or avoid any emotional situation causing trouble.

It has been told that because of this, they start shying away from meeting people. Distance from social gatherings, family events, and outdoor activities isolates them.

Why we need Technology Detoxing?

Dr. Sharma says that as a family with full consciousness, digital fasting (distance from mobile, TV) can be the foundation to reduce our dependence on online activities.

“Digital detoxing requires you to interact with children and ensure that they participate in sports and other offline activities. They get enough sleep and eat well,” he says.

Dilip Mohite, a resident of Vadgaon, is a sugarcane farmer. His three sons study in the school. They say that they are seeing the effect of turning off the their mobile, TV for a few hours. He says, “Earlier children did not pay attention to studies. Now the trend towards reading has increased. And now people in the village are taking part in normal conversation both inside and outside the house.”

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