Escape routes from digital addiction

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Our world is immersed in technological gadgets and a flood of information. We are seldom alone, and almost always stimulated. Even holidays has becom e part of the same: a recent survey found that 68% of American adults check their work emails during holidays.

Digital addiction is as destructive
as drugs or alcohol

Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Longevity Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior explains: “The same neural pathways in the brain that reinforce dependence on substances can reinforce compulsive technology behaviors that are just as addictive and potentially destructive.”

No wonder a lot of us feel addicted, and trapped.

New ESC = a tech-free time out

In response to this digital addiction, there’s a new trend emerging. The blog Lowe Counsel cleverly calls it „New Esc“ – a tech-free time out – and lists some ingenious ways for creating quiet space.

Web consultancy firm Netlife Research have introduced a new monastery-style space at work, designed as a space for employees to seek refuge for contemplation.
Volkswagen has rewired employees’ Blackberrys to stop receiving work emails 30 minutes after their shifts ended.
David Lynch’s Foundation, in partnership with the Maharishi Foundation, is introducing Quiet Time to more than 350 partner schools. Part of the official curriculum, “Quiet time” allows students to practice Transcendental Meditation during their day at school
As part of his Invisibility Project, artist and designer Thomas Stevenson has created ‘analogue armor‘, which is lined with anti-electromagnetic fabrics to prevent electronic devices from working.
Mobile phone deposit box at Eva Restaurant

Eva Restaurant in L.A. offers customers a 5% discount for leaving their phone with the receptionist during the meal. According to Mark Gold, chef and owner of Eva Restaurant: “We want people to connect again. It’s about two people sitting together and just connecting, without the distraction of a phone, and we’re trying to create an ambiance where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company.”