Digital Detox Off-Grid Eco-Village Style
I admit it.
I have an addiction to the internet. Last year I had been thinking about doing a digital detox. I was tired of wasting my time and losing my mind. I wanted to put more awareness and attention on present life rather than seeing the world through the lens of Facebook and Instagram. If I was going to have alone time, which I need to recharge everyday, it had to be quality time. Otherwise, I may as well be watching TV.
I was making progress by limiting my scrolling. I set the timer on my phone to go off after a certain amount of time so I wouldn’t drift off into the deep abyss that is the internet. I even deleted the Facebook app off my phone! I mean, that was only because I had no more storage left for my photo snapping habit — but hey. Baby steps.
There are a lot of things that I’d miss. I want to stop the constant urge to pick up my phone or open my laptop. But I use the weather app all the time. Then there’s email. What about staying connected, and all the messages on social media I’d miss from friends? And there’s the YouTube black hole I’d always fall into. So I was still hooked.
But things are starting to shift and I find myself leaving my phone behind. For hours! Crazy, I know.
Although, this shift is probably happening through some help by living mostly off-grid. About a week ago I temporarily moved into an eco-village with limited access to wifi. Or electricity. And I’m pretty busy with my 9–5 intern schedule of gardening, mulching, harvesting, rainwater gathering, dish duty and composting.
But the biggest reason is that I’m so much more connected to nature. I feel more a part of it as a whole system here than when in the “real world.” I don’t need to plug in to feel connected to life. As much…
That’s what I think we’re missing the most. Humans need to feel that they are integrated. That we’re one with ourselves and nature. Instead we just “visit” it by hiking or going to the zoo. And I’m just as guilty as anyone else. I love the internet. And how you see it and use it is directly correlated to your own state of mind and heart.
Here at the eco-village you are part of the ecosystem. Everything you do matters because it affects everything and everyone else. You can see it immediately.
The “real world” is so fragmented. You can’t see your immediate effect. So you start to think nothing you do matters.
Except on social media.
There you can see the feedback loop right away. People like your post, they comment, there’s drama, trolls, memes and emojis. We want to know we are loved and that we matter. That’s the hole that we use social media to fill.
We can use it in positive ways, but I think limiting your time to one hour on the internet would be good for most people. Or just baby step it! It is becoming more difficult because lots of jobs are now based on the internet. All I know is, limiting my time on the internet and social media has made me more present, connected and happier. It’s worth a shot.
Maybe you don’t have to go off-grid, live in an eco-village or do a 10 day Vipassana silent meditation, but sometimes it’s helpful to have outside constraints when you have the desire but don’t have the tools or the practice of self-discipline to commit to it. I just needed a pre-made structure in place to help me along.
Sometimes we need a break from the constant need to “perform” on social media. It’s been refreshing to take off the Facebook tinted glasses for a while.
So, if you’re looking for a way out of the mind field that is the internet and social media so you can feel human again, living in a tent in the woods for a few weeks could help you kick the habit and plug into something real for a while.
