Digital Detox

Trendwatching suggested at the start of the year that there would be an increase in Digital Detoxing, where people start to switch off their social media accounts and always-on digital devices. Not necessarily for good, but for digital holidays to get away from what can be an overwhelming always-on culture. People say digital detoxing can be as difficult as giving up smoking!

Digital detoxing is said to help people relax, declutter their brains even make you happier! There are apps out there to help to take the plunge like Digital Detox which irrevocably disables your Android phone for a period of time you specify. There are Digital Detox holidays with… “St. Vincent and the Grenadines asking travelers to leave their technology at home as part of their digital-detox vacation package. Included in the package is a pre-mailed guidebook explaining how to function on a trip without technology and features an onsite life coach who provides advice on how not to let technology control one’s life. ” (Source: Forbes)

Closer to home, Kit-Kat in Amsterdam have tapped into the Digital Detox trend with their Free No- Wi-Fi Zone campaign. The idea is simple and taps neatly into the brand promise:

Free WiFi is available everywhere we go. People are constantly online, busy with their electronic gadgets all the time. At Kit Kat, we saw that as an opportunity to give people a break. So instead of offering Free WiFi like every other brand, we created a Free No-WiFi Zone. A big sign with a small WiFi jammer that blocked all signals within a five meter radius. By doing that we encouraged people to read a newspaper, a real book or have a genuine conversation again. All while munching on a Kit Kat.

Conor Byrne
Head of Digital