The Rise (and Inevitable Fall) of the Digital Detox

Image contains: camera, notebook, book, pens, iPod (type thing), watch → all aspects commonly seen in the “analog bag.”

The world is at our fingertips, and what a privilege horror it is. Gen Z was raised on two mantras: 1) the world is at our fingertips, and 2) it’s that damn phone. In our lifetime, the internet has transformed from a resource into a pastime. Gen Z has witnessed a shift in technology, from using only one household computer to an ecosystem of digital products. What once was solely a means of entertainment has infiltrated our school systems, make computer access a requirement and therefore a barrier to learning. Such technology usage has been inescapable throughout our lifetimes, and we inevitably feel suffocated. In 2007, the first iPhone was a marvel, and 19 years later, we resent that our physical and digital worlds feel one and the same.

Gen Z has combatted such frustrations by turning to analog products, a social media trend known as the “digital detox.” The digital detox is a transition from a heavily digital life to non-digital activities. It’s a renaissance of the '90s: big “analog bags” filled with journals, compact mirrors, watches, digital cameras, books, iPods, magazines, sketchpads…anything to pick up a physical item rather than your smartphone. Like many good things, this originally well-intentioned desire for mindfulness without online influence has become a trend, encouraging people to buy their way to mental wellness through alarm clocks, cameras, iPods, journals, bags, and any other marketable products. In this essay, I will explore the deep longing for a detox and the feeling of sheer impossibility to escape social media’s wrath.

The implementation of technology in schools did not spike until around 2013. Therefore, many Gen Zers associate the freedom of early adolescence with being offline. This generation saw both the fascination and optimistic intrigue of modern technology as well as its complete bombardment of our daily lives. The takeover of modern technology can be partially attributed to its usage during formative school years. According to Education Next, “By 2013, four and a half million iPads had been sold to schools, and Chromebooks had arrived in 2,000 schools and counting… In 2024, K–12 ed tech spending reached $30 billion, and the overall ed tech market was valued at an estimated $163 billion; each of those figures is expected to double in less than a decade.” Such technology usage is not only present in schools, social media algorithms and surveillance — meant to keep users hooked on social sites — make social media significantly more addictive and harmful to all users. According to ResearchGate, “the personalized recommendation of TikTok resulted in a strong correlation between adolescent anxiety symptoms and eating disorder behaviors.” Such findings continue to emphasize social media’s negative consequences on people of all ages, creating cyclical habits of constant technological use from school age that contribute to these harmful effects and reliance on technology. Evidently, the reliance on technology and personal devices in schools is here to stay, impacting the dependence and screen time of Gen Z as well as newer generations. Today, the CDC’s Screen Time vs. Lean Time infographic reports that screen time is 6 hours for 8-10 year olds, 9 hours for 11-14 year olds, and 7.5 hours for 15-18 year olds, not including educational screen use. Children as young as 8 years old could be spending over 8 hours of their day looking at screens for both school and personal use. These concerning statistics contribute to Gen Z’s frustration with personal devices today — creating a deep longing for a lifestyle free of screens.

The digital detox movement reflects the overwhelming nature of existing online at all times. The movement is gaining traction among Gen Z to regain autonomy over our free time. Considering Gen Z’s usage of technology since childhood, days free of screentime only existed in our earliest years of life, making the digital detox a reflection of both childhood innocence as well as freedom from digital shackles. In Sonja Knezevic’s article for Vogue Adria, she reflects on her early 2000s childhood, “It was a world in which online and offline life existed in almost perfect harmony. We had many of the benefits of technology: connectivity, Internet searches, and entertainment, but we could clearly separate the virtual world from reality. Today, when almost all of us are chronically online and when the line between the real and the virtual is increasingly blurred, such a distinction seems utopian.” She argues that Gen Z shares this same nostalgia for a time we’ve never actually experienced. A return to a phoneless existence is both deeply nostalgic and eerily unfamiliar, something older generations may not fully grasp. Reddit user Fizzabl in r/digitalminimalism perfectly encapsulates the generational differences in these trends:

“Seriously am I the only one in my generation with a damn hobby? This is just called carrying stuff

Edit: for inspo, things ive carried are: book, killer sudoku, rubiks cube, mini sketchbook, DS lite, puzzle book

Depends on the length of journey.”

Older generations may look to a trend like the digital detox and think that analog habits are normal and therefore easy to accomplish. However, that perspective doesn’t consider how intertwined Gen Z’s lives are with technology and how unsettling existing without that tool has become. The digital detox is a desire to regain the lighthearted relationships we once had with ourselves and the world around us, to get to know ourselves better in a world where our attention is a product to be controlled by social media sites. Our nervous systems long for a slower, less stimulated existence, a desire increasingly difficult to fulfil when social media companies profit from our dependence. 

Like all good things, the well-intentioned trend of the digital detox has been commodified and commercialized by social media influencers and fashion brands alike. The aesthetic of landline phones, film cameras, journals, and other analog motifs in online trends is reflected in consumer behaviors. Vogue Business stated, “The American company’s sales of digital video cameras have surged by 700 per cent in 2024 over last year, with iPods jumping 637 per cent and portable CD players 130 per cent. Sales of 2000s-era digital cameras increased 150 per cent year-on-year.” Brands are capitalizing on and embracing this trend — increasing the online presence of a movement made to ignore such crazes. Now, to be perceived as “offline” on social media is both monetizable and aestheticized in line with an “it” girl, who ironically receives all her praise on social media. The trend encapsulates exactly what it is trying to avoid, reinforcing social media’s constant trends and entrancing algorithm. Social media sites understand that trends such as the digital detox are threatening to their profits; therefore, they understand that spotlighting this trend successfully keeps people watching, as our brains cannot differentiate between our thoughts and reality. CU Boulder’s Director of the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Tor Wager, found in a 2018 study that “imagination is a neurological reality that can impact our brains and bodies in ways that matter for our wellbeing,” meaning our brains cannot tell the difference between our thoughts and reality. Brands and social media companies alike understand that consuming content about a digital detox can actually feel slightly productive and satisfying, even though we’re still consuming online media. These sorts of targeted algorithmic approaches are what Gen Z has begun to pay attention to, creating a real-world consequence of young people prioritizing mindfulness and screen time limits over doom-scrolling.

The draw to be offline is persistent and based on a valid response to the overbearing experience of social media. In Vogue’s How ‘Unplugging’ Became Luxury’s Most Valuable Currency, Catherine Goetze, who, after her decision to use a landline phone, garnered “5.6 million” views and “over 600,000 likes,” commented on her desire to shift offline. She gained a community that shared her same want for an offline life, recognizing that the impulse to ditch your smartphone is actually a “public health issue. Now that we have more data and more information about how all of these technologies are impacting people in real time, we need to make changes.” This is a movement with genuine intentions for a better life — built on years of frustration and a robbery of our attention. Social media can frequently overcomplicate what is quite simple. There is no need to purchase a notebook or a specific camera; you surely have some paper and a pen lying around somewhere. To go outside, breathe, write, think, draw, talk, appreciate, remember, are free. We are all seeking a return to ourselves, free from distraction and the buzz of the world around us, and we are entitled to that peace. Don’t let companies convince you that you cannot achieve clarity and mindfulness in your purest form, without purchases and without scrolling, you already have all you need to “detox.” Rather than looking to others' opinions of why they want to digital detox, it’s important to sit with yourself and draw your own conclusions, a skill that will fulfill and rejuvenate you far more than anyone else can for you. If we recognize what within us is causing this movement, we learn more about our nature — our longing for social connections and a more thoughtful life. After this, for the love of god please go outside and look at some greenery. You will thank you.