Detoxing on the Dunes

In the car at 5:00am, we rose with the sun; my family and I were on our way to the South West Coast of England. I  watched  my apps vibrate and wobble in my phone like particles, ready to tap the ‘x’ on all those in my social media folder. 

So often we are led to believe a holiday requires a new wardrobe and a pre-holiday glow up in order to get the perfect holiday snaps to decorate our social media pages. In the tangle of stress and preparation, the motives (to relax, explore and rest) so often get shoved aside and put out of focus. When was the last time you jumped waves instead of filming them? Did you really watch that sunset, or did you see it through a lense? These are the questions that got me craving a digital detox, hungry to reinstall that sense of adventure in me, and testing the real benefits of using or not using social media during a getaway. 

Initially the thought of being social media free for four days set my heart rate up just a bit. I won’t be able to see what my friends are up to (unless I call or text, but does that break the rules?). Then, the more I thought about not using my device, the more it actually excited me; without the pressure of taking pictures, and having nothing distracting me during my hikes, beach days, and recharging my mind, I wondered if by day five I would even want to redownload those far-too-often draining apps.

Day One:

Watching the sun come up over fields and careless cows, I was surprisingly apprehensive. ‘Maybe I should post just one story’ I thought to myself as my finger hovered over Snapchat, but then again it is only a few days. The thought of people thinking I’d just escaped for a while gave me a ridiculous main character complex, like that scene from End Of The F******  World when Alissa just throws her phone. I’m only going on holiday though, not running away, and (spoiler alert!!) certainly not running away from a murder scene. 

By seven in the evening, I hadn’t missed spending time on my phone at all. I had climbed sand dunes and felt on top of the world. Views of fields, wind turbines and seagulls flying over the blanket of green lay to my right while on my left was a wash of blue and a sharp glimmer of white as the sun fell out of the sky and bounced on the sea’s surface. I don’t know whether it was being device free, or the pure concept of being on holiday, but at that moment, I felt invincible. There was no one contacting me, watching what I was doing through a device, or judging me, and no one even knew where I was; something about that felt so content. The night was spent watching the sunset, eating, and drinking until I fell asleep. 

Day Two: 

Night two I showed dad my new favourite spot, on top of that dune. We layed in the sand, and listened to the birds, eventually falling asleep under the evening glow of orange in that moment of serenity. I didn’t have my phone in my pocket, ready to whip out and take a photo, let alone post it online, Even if I did, the feeling of adrenaline as I ran down those sandy hills could never be captured through a phone. This was the moment I decided taking photos for the memories and photo albums, rather than for the internet, seemed a whole lot more important, a mindset I hope to obtain.

Day Three:

A morning walk on the beach, afternoon in the pub, and evening in a restaurant. Sat in a beach bar, listening to waves, I found myself reading in between short snoozes right there on an outdoor bench instead of scrolling through my social media feeds. I was so relaxed and clearly giving my brain the rest it needed and deserved. So far, there were no disadvantages that I was aware of from not having screen time. 

Day four: 

On Saturday evening I contemplated the fact that I had reached a point where I could confidently redownload the often stigmatised apps and enjoy their function rather than feel drained or consumed by them. Yes four days isn’t even that long, especially when you are distracted by plenty to see, do and explore, but how much time we spend on our phone can so easily be disregarded. Ten minutes here and ten minutes there can so quickly become an hour wasted. Of course we can all use and enjoy social media, but like all things, we need a break too every now and again, especially when it no longer becomes fun. The effects of my detox meant I felt relaxed and active during my trip away, three days being plenty enough to reconnect with my mind and body instead of the WiFi. 

Day Five: 

The day I cracked and redownloaded Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter. Truth is, it was so anticlimactic to find out I had not missed any news or gossip at all. There was no celebrity scandal hitting the headlines, no plans made within my friendship group and most of my notifications were from my dad posting on Facebook. However, I hated how during my beach day, the question “what picture can I post?” slowly drifted into my mind like an evil angel, completely overriding my new ‘photos for the scrapbook only’ mindset. Catching up felt like a chore rather than fun, instantly putting my phone back in my back and opening a book, getting comfortable with leaving my messages unopened. 

Day Six:

I fell deep into the social media trap while I was in the car. Instead of looking out the window at the beautiful views, I was searching for phone signal, and I am ashamed to admit it. I forced myself to zip my phone away but then wondered if spending some time on social media is really that bad, especially when I had been WiFi free for nearly a week. My verdict is, dedicated online time shouldn’t be forbidden during a holiday. Wanting to cause cocktail envy seems to be natural to all of us. Plus, the accumulation of unimportant notifications can be extremely overwhelming. As much as social media shouldn’t be considered detrimental, it certainly can be a distraction from family time you will treasure later in life and the best part of a morning walk or active afternoons. 

Day Seven: 

My phone commanded ‘could not refresh ‘ all day with the poor WiFi and service, but I wasn’t even mad about that, lording it up on my beach towel as I tried to catch a tan. In my opinion, the use of social media definitely deters from a travel experience. In the second half of my holiday, the only advantages it did have was being able to see what my friends were posting and being informed of a local event (which we actually already knew about). 

You can spend your whole life online if you really wanted, but travel experiences and holidays tend to be rare. Those are the days you will want to remember, so as much as you can, I’d encourage you to keep your head up and devices away and I too will be taking my own advice.

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Photos courtesy of the author, Amy Stanborough