Is the digital detachment movement a passing fad or is it here to stay?

Phones in bowls. Dumbphones on TikTok. Digital detox retreats that cost more than rent. The digital detachment movement may be our great escape from the noise that fills our lives.

With so many of us still losing hours each day to our smartphones, TV shows being designed for “second screen” viewing, AI therapists on the rise, and studies showing that a quarter of UK families bring their phones to the dinner table, it’s no surprise that digital detoxing is trending.

Some people are escaping to expensive tech-free spas and digital detox retreats. At Careys Manor Hotel & Spa in England, a two-night phone-free weekend starts at £493 per guest. Remote stays from companies like Unplugged provide countryside cabins with lockboxes for your phone. However, most people lack the disposable income or free time needed to pursue digital-free tourism. Most people are finding small, sustainable ways to detach from devices without spending hundreds of pounds. One such choice is switching to a dumbphone (a basic mobile phone that only makes calls and sends texts). Sales of dumbphones, especially flip phones, have spiked in recent years. Nokia reported tens of thousands sold in 2022. Surprisingly, teens and Gen Z are leading the charge. Some parents are even buying dumbphones at their children’s request.

Digital detachment invites us to examine our relationship with screens and intentionally create space away from them. For some, that means deleting apps or quitting social media altogether. Others try hobby-based, screen-free evenings. I have one friend who makes miniature cafes and one who paints by numbers. Some people still have screen-based activities, but ones that focus on a slow, notification-free experience, such as creating a digital garden, which fosters a healthy approach to device usage by replacing scrolling with productivity.  

The goal of a dopamine detox? To reset the brain’s reward system after too much digital stimulation. While the term itself is catchy, it’s misleading. As Sanjana Gupta explains in Verywell Mind, dopamine isn’t a toxin that can be flushed out. It’s a naturally occurring chemical that plays a key role in both addictive and healthy behaviours. I like to understand the trend as enabling us to reset, slow down, and be more mindful about how we use our devices.

I tried a weekend without my phone and realised just how often I reached for it. I usually scroll through Instagram while sipping my morning coffee, so at first, I wasn’t sure what else to do.  Should I go outside and watch the birds? Would watching TV be cheating? It was, after all, a screen-based activity. I ended up reading a transport magazine that  I had been meaning to read, and the next morning, I picked up an X-Men comic I had brought a while ago. I found that I read more, and even got on top of my chores. Aside from group chats with friends, I didn’t miss my phone nearly as much as I expected. In fact, I found myself committing to phone-free mornings. (Although I did fall behind on TikTok drama, and had a friend catch me up over coffee, which felt both silly and sweet.)

Psychologists support dopamine detox, despite its deceptive name. The American Psychological Association (APA) reports that limiting social media use can significantly improve mental health. Social media burnout exists, yet we still find ourselves scrolling. These platforms are designed to keep us engaged by hijacking our attention with the infinite scroll, autoplay, targeted notifications. Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google, wrote in a widely circulated piece, “How Technology Is Hijacking Your Mind,” about the mechanisms that trap us in these habits.  Detaching, even for a morning, is an act of self-care. And we all have to start somewhere, and a phone-free morning with a comic is as good a place to start as any.

Chloe Clarke is a volunteer writer for Power of Zero, exploring the intersection of youth, technology, and mental health (when she is not watching TikTok dramas.)