Bonnie Brennen - Opting Out of Digital Media

On July 27, 2018, I came upon a display of board games and puzzles at my local Target store in Haverhill, Massachusetts, with the heading: Unplug and Play. As a ubiquitous brick and mortar U.S. retailer, second only to Wal-Mart, I wondered if the Target sign was just a play on the term plug-and-play device or if it was actually a sign that the opting out movement had successfully gone mainstream.

During the last few years, there has been a growing trend questioning the role of digital technologies in our lives. Public calls to resist digital cultures shiny objects and to unplug, slow down, restrict and/or opt out of new media have become more urgent, sustained and popular. Contemporary researchers are finding people increasingly frustrated and overwhelmed by the constant intrusions of digital devices into their lives. They suggest that smartphones keep us in an extended state of anxiety where we feel the need to constantly touch them, check them and respond to them. Researchers are now recommending that people need to step away from their phones and take breaks from their use of digital media. Technology leaders are cautioning that the development of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) may have catastrophic results for humanity. Facebook has acknowledged that too much social media takes us away from face-to-face social engagement and that it can be harmful to our mental health. Facebooks acknowledgment of its impact on society, in response to shifting public perceptions of the role of social media and following reports of Facebook spreading propaganda and disinformation during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, now seems particularly significant.

Digital detox retreats, vacations and programs, designed to help break Internet addictions, have become increasingly popular and habit-breaking mobile apps are being developed to help people overcome their digital technology habits. In addition, a growing digital temperance movement is focused on helping individuals take back control of their use of new technology. This book responds to the growing opting out trend; it addresses developments in the unplugging phenomenon and offers evidence to support a determination that in the U.S., unplugging from digital technologies has become a mainstream movement now affecting millions of Americans.