Conscious digital detox communities are making progress

A brilliant idea quickly becomes a global movement. Far from connected digital devices. In the Netherlands, three young university students launch a smartphone-free weekend immersed in nature. The initiative sells out, capturing the attention of Generation Z. At its core is the conscious use of devices. Time alternates between creative silence and screen-free conversation. Phones are stored in special phone hotels, metal boxes with closed compartments. The digital detox goes from an elitist weekend to an urban ritual. The first Offline Hangout is born in a café in Amsterdam. It quickly grows: tens of thousands of people and half a million followers, symbolizing a collective need for detachment. The idea also conquers Berlin, London, Paris, Milan, and Barcelona. And it takes off in America.

Here's the rise of communities promoting a critical approach to technology. It's not rejected, but interpreted. It's the gentle dissent of the always-on lifestyle. But are we at the turning point of an intentional disconnection? According to a survey by the British Standards Institution, 47% of young people between the ages of 16 and 21 say they would prefer to live in a world without the internet. From England to Italy, digital overload is high, with 42% of consumers actively seeking digital detox by limiting their smartphone or other device usage time. This is what EY's Decoding the Digital Home study found, which interviewed 1,000 families in Italy and 20,000 worldwide about consumer behavior regarding connectivity, digitalization, and the smart home. Surprise. Disconnecting from devices is no longer just an isolated act, as evidenced at the Digital Detox Festival in Sauris, a Friulian village at 1,400 meters above sea level and with fewer than four hundred inhabitants in the Carnic Alps.

"Young people, especially adolescents, still spend a lot of time online, although some are starting to experiment with small detoxification measures like limiting their use of apps. Rather than disconnecting, we're seeing a growing search for authenticity. The discomfort stems primarily from social comparison and the presence of unrealistic ideal models," says Laura Marciano, an Italian researcher in the United States, director of research at Harvard University's TH School of Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and associate at the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital. The average time spent on devices is no longer a reliable indicator. To understand our well-being, we need to question social dynamics, writes the New York Times, highlighting Marciano's studies. "Excessive screen time is certainly not good for our health, but to go further, we need to ask ourselves what socio-emotional processes the online world activates or not.

The two worlds—the physical and the virtual—are interrelated, but online the relational dynamics are different, perhaps intense, lacking key aspects of an in-person encounter. Two key concepts emerge: detox is by definition voluntary; it doesn't work if imposed. Furthermore, more than a total detox—with subsequent reuse with interest—it's the gradual reduction of online time that leads to more lasting and realistic effects," says Marciano. "Disconnecting isn't about escaping, but about returning to the essentials: you need to choose consciously, listen to yourself, reconnect with what really matters, perform, and feel satisfied with yourself and others." So argues Sandro Formica, professor of positive organizations at Florida International University, one of the first in the world to decode the role of chief happiness officers in companies. "The debate is heated, but without self-awareness, there is no real choice. We need a silent revolution that puts people back at the center of their decisions. My research on great resignation and quiet quitting highlights that we disconnect not because of tiredness, but because of a lack of meaning. When needs, values, and purpose aren’t aligned, digital disconnection is just a symptom,” Formica says.