I turn off my phone for 24 hours every week. Here's why I value it even more now during the pandemic
- I turn off my phone for an entire day every week as part of my religious observance.
- I appreciate the break from social media and the news even more now during the coronavirus pandemic.
- When my phone is off, I find it easier to sleep, concentrate, and feel relaxed.
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Ninety-two percent of millennials own smartphones. I'm one of them.
The average cell phone user touches their phone 2,617 times per day and checks it every four to six minutes. I'm one of those, too.
But I also observe Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest that begins at sundown on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday. During that time, my phone stays off. It's the highlight of my week — especially now, during the coronavirus pandemic.
It's rare for me, and likely for others of my generation, to get through meals, chapters of a book, or conversations without checking for notifications
Kevin Roose wrote in his New York Times piece, "Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain," that curbing his phone use made him "aware of how profoundly uncomfortable I am with stillness."
"It's an unnerving sensation, being alone with your thoughts in the year 2019," he wrote.
It's even more unnerving in 2020. I feel a constant pull to check the news for the latest coronavirus developments. When that becomes too much, I scroll through Instagram to distract myself from how terrible everything is.
The distraction my phone provides can be a welcome reprieve, but it can also be exhausting to feel like my thoughts never stop trying to outrun themselves.
As a result, I've found myself especially looking forward to the mental break that ditching my phone provides each week.
Turning my phone off for a full day untethers me in a way I find blissfully relaxing, like I've finally come up for air
At traditional Shabbat meals before the coronavirus hit, I would find myself looking around the room at millennials such as myself chatting and helping themselves to heaping dishes of food, often spending hours afterwards on the couch talking or perusing a collection of coffee table books, without a device in sight. And I would think, where else does this happen anymore?
The health benefits of a digital detox are real, too. Despite all of the scientific evidence that looking at screens before bed wrecks my sleep, I can't bring myself to keep my phone anywhere but my nightstand during the week. When it's put away on Shabbat, I fall asleep faster and feel more rested when I wake up.
Without my phone buzzing, I also find it much easier to focus for long periods of time. Getting into a good book or playing a board game without news alerts popping up helps takes my mind off the pandemic the way social media does, but without all of the negative effects of hours spent watching other people's lives (ironically, studies have shown that reducing your use of social media can help you feel less lonely).
Not using my phone one day a week comes with its inconveniences. If I'm running late to a socially distant walk outside, I can't let anyone know that I'm on my way. There are many moments where I wish I had a camera. And it can feel lonely to abstain from digital forms of communication right now, when phone calls and video chats are the safest ways to socialize.
But to me, the minor hindrances are worth the spacious feeling in my brain. I find meaning in the communal observance of this practice, knowing that Jews who observe Shabbat around the world are also taking this time to focus on what's in front of them. And my phone will always be there waiting for me after sundown.
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