From doom scrolling to social media updating to checking work emails outside of office hours, many of us have such a problematic relationship with our digital devices, sacrificing so much of our time and mental energy to them, that if they were a substance, we’d be checking into rehab.
And just like any other addiction, numerous studies have shown too much time spent online can lead to an array of mental health issues such as depression, stress, and anxiety. Overseas and NZ studies have shown we average up to six hours a day on our devices – outside of work and school requirements! – with YouTube and social media serving as the most tempting time thieves.
Research by tech care company Asurion found phone use in the US to have quadrupled since 2019, with the average user checking their screens over 350 times a day. 2021 became the year we officially spent more time reading professional emails than our personal ones, which may have been influenced by the pandemic, but it is a habit that’s stuck – UK research concluded more than half of adults use screens more often than pre-covid.
Even the original ‘digital natives’ Gen Z have realised the extent of the problem leading to an increase in the purchase of ‘dumb phones’ – old-school phones on which you can text but not TikTok – in an attempt to reduce their time online.
Little wonder, then, that digital detox holidays are also on the rise and though – deserts, rainforests, and oceans aside – there are few unconnected corners of the world, it is still possible to take a much-needed break from the web. Disconnecting will not only benefit your wellbeing, but ensure you feel far more connected to your destination, and if you’re really lucky, you might even get lost, for a while, too…
Finland
Positioned in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, off the coast of Hamina, the island national park of Ulko-Tammio is looking to become the world’s first phone-free tourist zone. The island has no human inhabitants but plenty of feathered ones which can be viewed via the many walking trails and a watchtower, along with rare plants, and beautiful shorelines. Though there is a mobile network on the island, a trial was run this (northern hemisphere) summer asking visitors to stay off their smartphones. “We want to urge holidaymakers to stop and genuinely enjoy the islands,” says Mats Selin of the Visit Kotka-Hamina tourism board. “This is a great initiative that could be implemented in other nature and recreational destinations, too.”
Chile
Without doubt one of the most spectacular destinations on the list – and the planet – Tierra Patagonia springs from the edge of the Torres del Paine National Park. In the southernmost reaches of Chile, these glacial and mountainous lands are part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve popular with nature and adventure enthusiasts. The resort, on a bluff at the edge of Lake Sarmiento, is every bit as spectacular and luxurious as its surrounds demand, with no TVs, phones or internet connections available outside of its common areas.
Italy
Another island entry, Ischia just off Italy’s Amalfi Coast, hosts Albergo il Monastero which affords visitors the chance to stay in refurbished rooms that served as the cells of nuns between the 16th and 18th centuries – and whose stone walls are so thick that Wi-Fi signals are unable to penetrate. Positioned high on a rocky outcrop above the sparking waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the hotel is reached via a lift carved into a cliff, and its grounds are home to fragrant orchards and vegetable and herb gardens. The ultimate switched-off, spiritual holiday.
Namibia
Who needs signal when you’ve got safari? Named after the Hoanib River – one of the few to not disappear during the dry season – the Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp is a “true desert oasis”. Powered entirely by solar, luxurious Scandinavian-inspired tent accommodation overlooks lands patrolled by elephants, lions, and giraffes, with sand dunes and mountains looming over its ancient plains. The ‘skeleton’ part of the name refers to the shipwrecks and animal skulls that line the nearby shoreline.
Sweden
Such is the isolation of the hotel Fabriken Furillen on an untamed peninsula in the northeast of the island of Gotland that it can only be reached by plane or boat…. followed by a 45-km drive. The sustainable dwelling is famed for its brutalist shell that overlooks an equally stark-yet-spectacular landscape of limestone crags, forgotten beaches, and even an abandoned quarry, all beneath big, big skies The interior dwellings, however, are the epitome of Scandinavian warmth and cosiness, filled with fur skins and open fires – and for those seeking a true digital detox, their Hermit Cabin is off-grid and Wi-Fi-free and only available for a minimum of three nights.
Australia
Just across the ditch, deep within Gold Coast’s Currumbin Valley, Australia’s original health and wellness retreat is a phone-, laptop-, alcohol-, nicotine-, and caffeine-free digital detox destination set on a 150-hectare haven. Offering the “Rolls Royce of wellness packages”, the aptly named Eden Health Retreat is renowned for its luxurious lodgings, wellness workshops, and yoga and meditation sessions. The sustainably minded resort is also surrounded by a network of breathtaking hikes and bushwalks, perhaps best enjoyed knowing that a massage and spa treatment awaits at the end of the trek.
