On vacation without a smartphone: “Do it in your everyday life too” | RTL News

You probably know phrases like: “On vacation, I actually turn off my phone.” Many people feel the urge to pick up their phone as an addiction. This also applies to Masha Rozel (38 years old). She travels a lot and works remotely, and she has completely turned off her phone several times. “When I didn’t use my phone, I no longer had any stimuli or distractions, I was more interested in the moment itself.”

No phone for a month

Masha started by turning off her phone for part of the day and weekend, to see what it would do to her. But in the end she liked it so much – “I loved it” – that she also wanted to test it for a longer period of time.

While on vacation in Thailand, she turned off her phone for a month. “I suddenly realized how busy I was constantly looking for things and seeing what I could do next.” Masha slept better and noticed her mind was calmer.

Going offline seems like an impossible task, but Masha explains that you can make it as difficult as you want. There are no hard and fast rules, because you decide for yourself. “You can turn off your phone completely or put it in airplane mode, but you can also turn off data for each app and decide where you are offline.” For example, to stay in touch with one person or to find your way via Maps.

Masha has tried many “offline” variants herself, and now does it occasionally, but after this break, she is always fully online again. “It’s about balance, because being online also has its advantages for me.”

long term effect

How effective is this break? “If you stop for a while, you don’t suddenly get rid of the problem,” says Harmen Bormanger, an addiction researcher at Novadec Kentron. “There’s no point in trying your best after a break,” says Stefan van der Stichel, a cognitive psychologist at Utrecht University, because you’ll simply fall back into old habits.

But a break can make you look at your phone use differently, says Permanger. If you have a positive experience, it’s easier to start making behavioral changes.

Do you really want to test whether a behavioral change is right for you in the long term? “Then you have to apply the action to your ‘normal’ life and not on vacation.” The circumstances will then be more similar, making it easier to make lasting changes after you stop.

And if you take a break from your phone, do it for a month. “For a few hours you’ll have more connection with the people around you, but if you do it for longer, you’ll notice it even more. For example, you’ll sleep better because you’re spending less time in front of a screen.”

balance of interest

Van der Stichel believes that every little bit helps in the end. “If you come home from your vacation and feel good about reducing your phone use, it will be easier to adapt that into your daily life.”

According to him, it’s about finding a balance. “Our brain loves stimuli, so we tend to constantly seek out new information, which in turn demands our attention. But in our daily lives we also need tasks that require less attention, otherwise we become mentally tired.” Think of physical activities, such as washing the dishes and walking.

If we are lazy, we immediately grab the smartphone, because our brain does not like to do “nothing”. “What we then experience are all sorts of thoughts,” says van der Stijschel. People often worry about something and then start to worry. “To prevent that, we run to our phones.”