Cell phone off, life on: How a woman from Vorarlberg helps others to be more careful with their smartphones
The "Offline Village" in Vorarlberg's Gargellen is the world's first holiday experience that promotes a sustainable, healthy use of smart devices on a scientific basis. Five days of digital detox: being completely offline, surrounded by lots of nature, relaxation and good conversations. We asked Offline Institute founder Linda Meixner for an interview and talked to her about her self-experiment without a smartphone, the idea of founding the offline village and her tips for using the cell phone carefully.
Nadine:
Your journey to more conscious mobile phone consumption began with a self-experiment: 66 days of smartphone abstinence. What originally made you do it?
Linda:
I was or am a content creator in the outdoor area. At some point I noticed how the immense amount of screen time – it was around 60 hours a week – meant that I no longer perceived any boundaries between work and leisure time. The amount of time I spent on my smartphone has changed me as a person. I didn't like being around people as much anymore, felt judged and had the feeling that I always had to look like my pictures. It even went so far that I had to deal with psychosomatic consequences. I suffered paralysis on my right shoulder and at that point I was wondering what is so heavy in my right hand.
From that point on, I wanted to know who I am as a person without my cell phone. That was the starting signal for my attempt. In addition to giving up my cell phone, I did systemic psychotherapy to see what this withdrawal was doing to my psyche.
Nadine:
And what did it do to you specifically? What were your learnings?
Linda:
The whole attempt was a long road from radical confrontation to cold turkey to change. I got close to myself again, knew who I am again and started to be creative again. I had much better deep sleep phases again. I was also much more in the moment, my perception of time has changed and the days suddenly lasted much longer and became more intense. My senses have also sharpened, I have become much more aware of the here and now and have experienced conversations more intensively again. It has become clear to me that we always just look at everything and no longer dream anything ourselves. This change isn't easy at first, but then it gets great. You get so much closer again and you just have the most blatant feelings of happiness and that has been driving me a lot until now. You just get a different view of the device. I think you have to experience it yourself.
How can cell phone addiction happen?
Nadine:
Our devices are smart, the way we use them is not. In your opinion, why is it that we don't use our devices carefully and sometimes (unconsciously) slip into cell phone addiction?
Linda:
Actually, these are narratives from the alcohol and nicotine industry. Because it is often not entirely our fault that we slip into cell phone addiction. The device and many apps that we use are already designed in such a way that we spend as much time as possible with them. However, the way we handle things will only change fundamentally if something changes in these data business models.
Of course, this takes a long time, so my mission is to show what you can do to protect yourself or build resilience against these digital technologies. There are many approaches and studies - social contacts, sports and exercise also release dopamine and ensure a feeling of satiety - which means that I no longer have to get it through the device so much.
Nadine:
Apparently you spend 2 months a year on your cell phone. That triggers something for me, it shocks me. Nevertheless, half an hour later I pick up my cell phone again. In your experience, what does it take to make this change, to find a more careful use of our cell phones?
Linda:
It is difficult for people to change their behavior. It takes an average of 66 days for a change in behavior to set in. I think it needs an initial spark, preferably among like-minded people. It is best to do this in a setting that prepares you for it before the actual abstinence phase, so that it does not become such a hard withdrawal.
Digital detox - how can it work?
Nadine:
That's exactly what you do with the offline village, right?
Linda:
Yes, at Offline Dorf we offer exactly that. There is a 10-day pre-phase where we prepare for the offline period. The actual detox then serves as the initial spark. We try to create certain combinations with movement, relaxation, social exchange, creativity and reflection and are also connected to nature all the time. Up to 30 days later there are further impulses to guarantee that you really stick with it. We try to give as much help as possible, but in the end it is up to everyone to change their own behavior.
Nadine:
Who is the Offline Village intended for?
Linda:
The first offline village is for everyone who wants to learn how to use smart devices smartly, who long to switch off and recharge and be human. The whole thing happens among like-minded people, with evidence-based knowledge and with the help of various experts from the fields of sports science, health tourism, nutrition, digital balance and stress management. The offline village is a digital balance tourism concept that does not exist anywhere else in the world. For those who will experience this in September, it will be very transformative.
Nadine:
How do you personally deal with your mobile phone?
Linda:
I have had a completely different perception of my device since I tried it, and that has never changed again. That means if I have days where I use it a lot, I notice the difference in my psyche and then I try to use it less again. I never got back to those 60 hours from before. I no longer love the device and just use it differently. I have the same problems as everyone else: In times of stress, you try to regulate something on your cell phone, but this is only an illusion. In psychology, this is called regulation emotion. Because we constantly try to suppress our emotions, such as stress or sadness, with our cell phones, we no longer get into deeper emotional phases. We'll just scroll that away.
I notice that a change in thinking is already taking place here, but the health consequences are not yet so significant that something is happening on a larger scale. And as is so often the case, we only do something when there is already a problem. But my work starts before that. I'm trying to set up health promotion, to stabilize the problem before it gets out of hand and leads to addiction.
Prevention instead of addiction treatment
Nadine:
What advice do you have for people who would like to improve the way they use their smartphones in the long term?
Linda:
Create smartphone-free rooms and places, set smartphone-free times and prefer to use the smartphone for a certain amount of time at a time and not repeatedly throughout the day. I would also recommend turning off push notifications and changing how you communicate with others. For example, I often say "I'm sorry that I'm picking up the device now" and consciously draw the attention of those around me to the fact that it's not normal to just pick up the cell phone during a call.
Nadine:
At Good Travel, we stand for mindful travel. What tips do you have for a sustainable use of our devices on the go and on vacation?
Linda:
I think we should burn the moments we experience while traveling on our retinas much more than capturing them on our cell phones. I try to be aware of moments, to breathe and take in everything around me instead of taking a picture or video that I might never look at again. When I'm going to shoot, I really focus on the photography itself, immersing myself in the creative process and really taking the time to do it.
© Photos: Office Ludvina
Nadine Pinezits
Nadine is a freelance editor and copywriter. She lives in Austria and commutes between Salzburg, Styria and Vienna. She is therefore either in the mountains or in the urban jungle, but at the same time tries to spend as much time as possible in her heart country Portugal.
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