On the way to the here and now with Digital Detox
Mobile phone addiction, constant streaming of music, films and the like, social media, messengers, television ... the list of digital to-do's and offers is constantly growing. Time out in nature and time away from the smartphone, conscious analogue living, on the other hand, strengthen the psyche, resilience and ability to concentrate. Holidays are a particularly good time to start a digital detox.

What is digital detox?
Digital detox is a term for taking a break from all digital media. Depending on your needs, this can range from a regular short period of one hour a day to a longer period - such as a whole month. Smartphones, laptops, televisions and streaming services of all kinds are banned from life for the chosen period.
The motto is: back to real life, back to the here and now. You quickly realise how much digital withdrawal hurts when you feel the urge to go back to your smartphone, answer emails or just quickly send a WhatsApp message. The rewarding feeling comes sooner or later for everyone: Namely, resting in the here and now, engaging with real people, nature or even a tactile book for once.
Why is a digital detox weekend so good for us?
Ultimately, the aim is to develop a mindful approach to digital media. To learn this, it is important to practise taking time out from digital media from time to time.
A study by the American Psychological Association (APA) shows that if you don't do this, your individually perceived stress actually increases: Respondents stated that the frequency with which they check their mobile phones also has a direct impact on their perception of stress. Two thirds of respondents even admitted that offline time or a digital detox is important for mental health.
At the same time, the ability to concentrate decreases. The internet generally makes it harder to concentrate on one thing, as external stimuli are constantly being perceived online. One result of the meta-study ‘The online brain’ by the World Psychiatric Association is that this is even noticeable in the offline world with shorter attention spans.
Digital detox at home or at a digital detox retreat?
At home, a good first step is to define mobile phone-free rooms and zones. The bedroom and the dining table are well suited for this. Then, of course, the excuse that the smartphone is indispensable as an alarm clock does not apply and, of course, these zones also apply to all flatmates, partners and children. It also makes sense to define analogue times - in the evening before going to bed or when getting up. New habits then develop very quickly: Active activities such as sport, reading, going for a walk, social activities such as good conversation or simply meditative relaxation.
Sometimes it also makes sense to start your time-out from smartphones and the like with a digital detox retreat: New impressions and experiences have a completely different, profound quality when they are not only captured directly through the lens of the smartphone and by all the senses.
Take the digital detox programme at our Hotel Hochschober, for example:
-
Digital detox in the unspoilt nature of Carinthia
-
The mind comes to rest during yoga in idyllic locations such as on the mountain or in an original Chinese tower
-
Chinese tea ceremonies in the teahouse, serves to release the information burden
The nature of the Turracher Höhe and the Nockberge Biosphere Reserve is so overwhelming that you forget everything around you
-
Feel the calming power of water at the tranquil Turrach Lakes
