By AFP - Agence France Presse
Digital detox: Young adults gather for offline nights in London
By Caroline TAÏX
Lois Shafier left her cell phone in a storage box, happy in the knowledge that for the next two hours, it would be completely offline. No pings, beeps, or distractions.
“I'm terrible at disconnecting. I have a real addiction to my phone,” she told AFP as she headed for a night out organized by the Offline Club in London.
Tickets for the two-hour “digital detox” evening were selling briskly, with more than 150 young adults, mostly aged between 20 and 35, eager to ditch their screens and spend an evening IRL - finding themselves in real life.
They each paid £9.50 (US$11.97) for the chance to switch off their phones and make human connections in person.
“We're the tech generation, but we're tired of it. We want to reconnect with the real world,” said Bianca Bolum.
The 25-year-old jeweler came on her own and hoped to meet new people.
According to the UK's telecoms regulator, Ofcom, young Britons aged between 25 and 34 spend an average of four hours and three minutes a day glued to their smartphones.
But Liliann Delacruz, 22, said she spent around 10 hours a day texting family and friends, surfing the Internet, and checking her social networks.
The evening was a chance to “get out of my bubble”.
Scattered around the hall of a local London church were tables with board games, while a lively buzz echoed off the walls.
Engineer Harry Stead, 25, said he found it “liberating” to leave his cell phone at the door.
“I don't realize how addicted I am, and all too often I feel the urge to look at my phone and scroll,“ he told AFP, adding that he suffered from FOMO (”Fear of missing out").
Shafier, 35, came with a friend, and they chatted while sewing.
If she were at home, her phone would be by her side. “I hate using my phone so much. I'm angry with myself,” she said.
However, as soon as the evening was over, she turned her phone back on, running her eyes over the screen.
Ironically, participants found out about the club via social media, usually through posts on Instagram.
Organizer Ben Hounsell, 23, said he wasn't against technology or asking everyone to get rid of their phones.
“A lot of people are realizing that just getting away from your phone for a few hours can be very beneficial in many ways,” he said.
Since the club's launch at the end of October, more than 2,000 people have taken part.
“It's growing very quickly in London. All the events seem to sell out instantly,” he said.
The club has also opened branches in Paris, Barcelona, and Dubai. The first Offline Club was launched in Amsterdam by Ilya Kneppelhout and two friends.
“The loneliness epidemic and mental health epidemics are on the rise. So people are looking for connection, genuine connection with other people away from screens,” said Kneppelhout.
“Many of us have addictions to social media and phones because we use them even though we don't want to... and we use them even though we know they don't make us feel better.”
Kneppelhout was inspired by book clubs such as Reading Rhythms in New York or the Silent Book Club, where people meet to read together.
Those looking for a longer detox can even take part in retreats in various countries lasting days.
Some influencers, always present on social media, are leading the way. Frenchwoman Lena Mahfouf announced to her millions of followers in November that she was taking a month-long break.
Venetia La Manna, an online activist for sustainable fashion, disconnects from her phone every weekend and informs her followers with the hashtag #offline48.
“I can be more present with my loved ones, I sleep better, I have more time to be creative, be in nature, and be with my community.”
For most people, “the real problem isn't necessarily the damage to mental health; it's the missed opportunities. What did you miss doing because you were scrolling?” said Anna Cox, professor of human-computer interaction at University College London.
“Did you miss a conversation with your partner,” for example, or stay up later than planned and put off washing the dishes?
But Cox said there are excellent strategies “to help people reduce the time they spend on their devices”, such as turning off notifications or changing the phone's interface to black and white.
“We need to educate ourselves - and especially young people - about how to take control of our devices,” he added.
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