The new trend is shutting down and escaping the always-on lifestyle, even if just for an hour.
Constant connectivity is hurting our mental, physical, and emotional health. This is probably why the new trend in digital is detoxing. All over the world, from Asia to Europe, and now just a little bit in the US of A, people are starting to see that being hunched over like Quasi-Modo and only virtually interacting with other people, devices, or Pokémon (yikes), is probably not the best way to live a full life.
Asia seems to be the area hardest hit with the maladies of technology- as we probably all already knew. With a suicide epidemic, video-game related violence, and health disorders (an actual clinical disorder is internet addiction) caused by too much connectivity, people in Asia are at least beginning to figure out what exactly is the source of all evils.
However, the whole “digital detox retreat” idea is something aimed more at burned-out Europeans that want to disconnect completely on far-away islands in Myanmar and Vietnam, than something meant for stressed-out Asian natives. In Asia, the hardest hit sector has been teenagers. There are even detox boot camps that claim a 75% success rate: “success” meaning they reduced internet connectivity to about 6 hours a day instead of more than 14, on average.
In the UK, digital marketing agency, Greenlight, did research about the detoxing trend. They found that 53% of those surveyed wanted to step away from their devices to spend more quality time (or real, in-person time is more like it) with their family and friends, which means that the emotional side of too much connectivity is something that is starting to weigh on people’s minds. About 6% cited information overload as a source of stress and about 40% said they were sick of the constant social media updates and push notifications from their friend lists.
All of that “information overload” is causing clinical depression, lack of (or interrupted) sleep, and anxiety when mobile users can’t check their devices or can’t “share” what they are doing online.
Some companies and events are cashing-in on the need for a disconnect. In England, there is an “Unplugged festival” sponsored by a drinks brand called Innocent that offers busy city-dwellers the chance to completely disconnect from their normally chaotic world for a weekend. The festival is in its second year and continues to grow.
There is also a “naked” restaurant in London where no cell phones are permitted, all customers and staff are actually naked, the tables are lit by candles and all food is cooked over a fire. How’s that for liberation from technology?
Americans haven’t fully caught-on to the digital detox trend, but it is going to be very important to keep a little bit of balance in our world as technology keeps advancing and encroaching on our ever-shrinking personal lives.
Plus, the internet exists. Along with a ton of horribly distracting apps, websites, social media and cat videos. And nowadays (yeah, I said it) you pretty much will always have internet while in class or at work. So, if you want to really remember what the heck was going on in that important meeting, try leaving the technology aside and taking notes with those flexible, helpful little appendages attached to your arms, and a pen and paper (recycled of course).
One of the most important things to recognize about listening to music at work is that music’s strongest and most important effect on us is it’s ability to improve our mood. A good mood does more for productivity than a whole Beethoven’s Symphony. Think about what kind of music goes with your office (ambient sound, oldies, classical, rainstorms, chakra-alignment, etc.) and ask your employees or co-workers what works best for them to find a soundtrack for productivity, improved office morale, or even defeating a dreaded case of the “Mondays”. How about that? All for the cost of a Spotify membership and some wireless speakers? Sign me up! 
What kind of office layout works for you and your company? Do more social, open offices lead to more or less productivity? Take, for example, a company like Google; where the employees have coding tips and puzzles on bathroom walls, workout rooms and mini-exercise pools, on-site child care, views of nature, clear walls in pretty much every part of the building (To boost transparency?), etc. And Google is a multi-bazillion dollar company. They’re pretty productive. Maybe you aren’t a millionaire who can build a facility like Google, but anyone can figure out the right type of office organization for his or her company. Open and airy, closed-in cubicles, workout rooms and child-care, there are plenty of options that may help motivate your workers to be the best they can be. According to new studies, surprisingly, the completely “open” floor-plan does not lend itself to a lot of collaboration. It turns out that when co-workers can hear everything that goes on, people get shy! Not talking is NOT great for the creative process. Even if you do have an open organization scheme, it is important to have nooks and crannies (like an English Muffin) for people to meet in and make phone calls or other semi-intimidating stuff.
While productivity is mostly affected by peoples’ different learning/concentration styles, as well as their varied social interaction skills, some general “new” rules for office design include the presence of plants and natural light (to remember where we came from, man…); open spaces for a leg-stretching/brain-clearing session after lunch; and other sort of hippie stuff like stand-only desks and workout equipment in the office. Research what is best for your employees and try out a new layout, or even a new color of paint on the office walls. It WILL make a difference in their productivity, and probably even their motivation to go to work!