6 Lessons Learned From A Digital Detox Abroad

I like to think that whenever anything happens, good or bad, you can choose to see the positive. You know, the glass is half full mentality. But adapting this health and wellness mindset with a stolen phone (I’ll explain more of this later) is not easy. It’s gut wrenching and awful. In a single moment, all the photos stored on my stolen phone were gone; I had over a thousand. In order to spin this to a positive experience, I decided to have an impromptu social media detox abroad.

Yikes!! Could I do it while having an adventure overseas?

On one hand, a social media detox sounded like an enlightening and mind clearing experience, but on the other hand being abroad and not being able to communicate with my family and friends directly was heart-rending at times. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a strong choice in the matter since my phone was stolen. So I decided to personally test if there were wellness and health travel benefits of doing a social media detox.

I'm sitting one the grass relaxing in the morning on day one of my social media detox

When I put myself in the shoes of others who traveled before, they didn’t have the latest smart phone at their disposal. They had old fashioned pen and paper. Write a letter, then send it. Imagine patiently waiting weeks, maybe a month or so for a return letter to show up in your mail slot. Remembering this mentality was my inspiration that I’d be okay with no phone.

Decades ago that was the norm, but standards in today’s society have changed drastically. Don’t get me wrong, I love Google maps! Directing you from point A to point B in a matter of seconds. Genius! But what if you don’t have a phone? Or in my case, what if your phone’s stolen while traveling? Navigating places to travel gets difficult when trying to see various Spain cities by taking a day trip. What do you do then? Obviously, first cry, then what?

How my phone was stolen

To be frank, I’m not the biggest fan of describing how my phone was stolen. It is not an exciting story. Just a person being forgetful and walking away for five seconds without babysitting their phone, then wallah! Someone stole it.

On the other hand, I’d like to imagine thrill existed when someone stole the phone. That someone took advantage of my not so innocent self, and coerced me into giving it to them.

I chased after them zooming through the streets, and tackled them to retrieve it, only to realize it was the wrong person. I reckon that would be extremely scary, but maybe it would be worth listening to that story rather, than a story of my forgetfulness while sitting in one of the many restaurants in Barcelona.

All I wanted was to eat my plant based food without the distraction of a phone so I could soak up all the Spain culture in Barcelona. I would say this was successfully accomplished. I got a distraction-less, phone-less environment in that health food restaurant in Barcelona city, plus several more days than anticipated.

Lessons I learned from a social media detox:

A girl jumping up in nature because she feels good health and wellness in life.

Day one and two of my social media detox

A photo screen of the different social media platforms — Photo by William Hook on Unsplash

Day one and day two were definitely the hardest of the social media detox. I felt isolated from friends and family, especially while traveling. I wanted to maintain long distance relationships and this was throwing a wrench in the plan. While social media makes it easy to keep in touch abroad, the detox allowed me to I feel a stronger sense of gratitude for my relationships. I knew once this little experiment ended and I bought a new phone, all the excitement and positivity would create a heart-warming reunion with friends and family.

Day three and four of my social media detox

On day three and day four, the isolation slowly faded, and I noticed I didn’t experience this “social media lull”. The lull of where you planned to scroll for five minutes, and then thirty-five minutes later you’re still scrolling. Where the addictiveness of social media slighty creeps in. You gently tell yourself five minutes more, but it ends up being another ten minutes. That’s me, mindless scrolling! Honestly, I think that’s where the isolation emotions came from, because my emotional well-being did feel better on these days since I had a break.

However, the time lost by the social media lull isn’t what bothered me, it’s the energy. Sometimes I put so much energy into social media that it’s draining moving on to the next transition of the day. For instance, I’ll show up bright eyed and ready at a train station then notice they have free WiFi. I log on, then mindlessly scroll. Fifteen minutes pass by and suddenly, I feel rushed to figure out what platform the train is leaving from. Without a phone, there was a no “social media lull,” and the rushing sensations diminished almost entirely.

More energy to focus on my health and wellness

Day one of my social media detox led me to popping bubbles in the park.

When my phone was stolen the social media lull came to an abrupt stop, and I noticed a positive shift in my energy. I really noticed this shift on day two after I accepted I wasn’t finding my phone. Normally, after lunch I tend to check out and take an afternoon stroll down the digital media lane. This afternoon strolls typically makes me tired.

However, on day 2, I decided to redirect that energy to another activity I enjoy: taking short, ten minute walks. Some days were ten minute walks around the Barcelona beach, or trying new Barcelona things to do such as exploring yummy healthy desserts. Other days were writing at coffee and dessert shops in the Barcelona Gothic Quarter, or reading and journaling. Overall, my wellness being felt more energized doing other activities I enjoyed.

More clarity

A person holding glasses over a sight exam poster to boost their health and wellness

Moreover, because my energy increased, it positively impacted my clarity. Having no phone distractions gave me more freedom to explore how my thought patterns affect my self-care. Previously, I was on auto pilot with grabbing my phone whenever I had a moment to spare, but without its temptation I had more clarity about how I wanted my day to run. After day one with no phone, each time I reached over to grab it, I began to set intentions for the day.

Some intentions were spending more time reading, journaling, or making new friends among the Spain people. Other deliberate intentions included how I wanted to interact with someone or something beforehand. For example, on day three when I woke up, I immediately set an intention for the day. The intention was joy. Each time throughout the day I had more opportunities to experience these wellness dimensions because there was clarity on what I wanted from the day. This, coupled with the journaling, boosted my well-being like crazy. (It also helps that I was reading the book “High Performance Habits” by Brendon Buchard at the time, a book I recommend!)

I was more present where I was

A photo of me smiling and laughing in front of Sagrada Familia.

After day 1 of social media detoxing, I found I was able to be more present where I was. Sometimes I can get sucked into my phone, being oblivious to what’s going on in the current space. However no phone meant no distractions, so I was able to have more intentional time with my partner and friends. I was also able to have more organic conversations with locals and other fellow travelers.

This really came to light when my husband and I were exploring the streets near Park Guell in Barcelona and I struck up a random conversation with other travelers. We hit it off so well we ended up getting dinner and drinks with them later that evening. With a stolen phone, I was able to be more present and truly take in what was enfolding before me. The colors of the sunset, the smells of the bakeries for a summer dessert, and getting enough courage to chat with other travelers who we now call friends. This was all thanks to having a stolen phone.

Upgrade time

Standing with my hands up because I survived my social media detox.

Every year another smart phone is released. I’m not big into getting all the latest technology each year, unless I desperately need an upgrade. I make do with what I have and make it work, especially while on a budget. Normally I view the latest technology just to see what’s on the market, and say “wow that’s cool” depending on the new functionalities added.

But this year was different. I said “wow that’s cool”, while actually holding a new phone in my hand. I felt deeply blessed to have a phone again and recognize that its a gift to have the latest technology. Moreover, now I can also practice these new health and wellness habits with my phone.

The verdict – Did my health and wellness increase from a social media detox?

A notebook for journaling about the social media detox. — Photo by Pineapple Supply Co. on Unsplash

Overall, a social media detox really helped me dive into my wellness travels. I felt refreshed and energized stepping away from my digital life for a little while, but I surely did miss it! My happiness in Spain did increase over the first few days, but after a week, I was ready to join the digital world.

Luckily, it was the last summer days in Barcelona, and a big summer festival and fairs were starting. While attending this festival, I even forgot that I didn’t have a phone. If you want to read more about this lively festival click here.

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6 lessons learned from a social media detox

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