Digital Detox: A New Trend Against technology Addiction

Abstract

A significant number of studies suggest that an increase in technology addiction and a concomitant decrease in face-to-face communication have left individuals isolated and alienated in their social lives and decreased their performance in their professional and educational lives. To combat the negative effects of communication technologies on the individual there is growing interest in limiting the use of technology through what is known as a 'digital detox' - limiting and reducing the time devoted to the use of digital technology devices. Despite the increasing popularity of :he digital detox especially among young adults there is as yet limited research on the subject. The aim of this study is to examine the digital detox behaviour of young adults and to reveal the reasons that drive them towards this behaviour. Based on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews this study finds that the most common digital detox behaviour patterns are deleting applications muting all notifications and managing sharing behaviour. It also finds that the primary motivations behind digital detoxes are a desire to focus in one's professional environment and to strengthen interpersonal communication in one's private and social environment.