With summer vacation time upon us, we’re well into vacation-planning season — which means it is time to get your mind off work, school or other day to day chores. And coming out of the pandemic shutdowns this summer’s vacations are even more important. Going grid free is important but here are a few reasons you should turn off your phone and take a short social media break while on vacation. Don’t fear of missing out on what’s going on at home.
Our cell phones are super convenient, and for most of us are our primary communication devise- who still even has a land line? Unfortunately, they are also our link to our friends through social media, a 24-hour news cycle and a potential of information overload. We use our cell phones to stay informed, and that is a good thing, but it also exposes us to potential information overload. And since the whole point of vacation is to get away from the stress and tasks of everyday life, it stands to reason that cutting off the tool that allows us 24/7 access to tons of stressors would help us relax more on vacation.
In fact, dealing with stress on vacation can mean your vacation doesn’t feel like a vacation at all! A recent study showed that vacation-related stress caused folks to feel like they had lower energy at work after returning from their supposedly relaxing vacation. And since vacations are already ripe for stress-inducing situations like missed flights and lost baggage, making sure you’re stepping away from the extra stress caused by daily activities.
But the weirdest potential side effect about having our phones on vacation may not be that we’re overwhelmed by things going on back at home, but that we miss things going on back at home. When we’re on our cell phones on vacation, where we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves, it can be easy to fall into the trap of wondering why we’re seemingly not having as much fun as people on social media.
Of course, there are plenty of valid reasons not to turn your phone off completely while you’re on vacation. Like having handy access to Google Translate or, heck, a map — you have lots of options for minimizing your time scrolling. Enforcing strict time limits on yourself is one, if you have a job that requires you to go on social media. One way for minimizing cell phone time is deleting apps; when you travel, delete Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram from your phone altogether, leaving me with just the apps you might need like Kindle.
Another option is to consider getting a cheap prepaid phone for vacation. It allows you to contact the world but separate you from stressors that may be present on your regular phone. That could be $50.00 well spent!
For plenty of us it’s unrealistic to ask for a complete absence from our phone during vacations. But knowing what aspects of cell phone use can disrupt your vacations can help you craft a plan to get the most out of your time away.
