The 16:8 Phone Fast
The 16:8 Phone Fast
A practical framework for cellphone emancipation, and the unexpected health benefits from a few hours a day of digital freedom.
We are spending 25 hours a week on average on our phones; that’s a part-time job. It’s also doubled from just 6 years ago.
There is no shortage of studies (as we all know) that link social media usage with a decline in our psychological and psychosocial well-being.
Yet we don’t stop.
We are not simply addicted to our social media apps, or the convenience of instant messages, or quick internet searches for weird ingredients on food labels as we stand in the supermarket aisle. We’re also addicted to the physical device itself.
The "Where’s my phone?" panic is something we are all familiar with, and the rush of fear that we feel when we think we might have really lost it this time is something I believe is worthy of examination.
So, a digital detox isn’t only about our social media addictions; it’s about unhooking yourself from the sense of security having with your phone by your side provides. Or at least giving yourself the opportunity to ask, 'Is it true? Am I more safe now?'
What I find worrying, and I recognise this in myself, is that once we lose our sense of self-reliance, because we need our phone to feel safe and secure, we have handed over the feeling of safety and comfort to something that fundamentally does not have our best interest at heart.
Kind of like how sugar doesn’t actually keep you company, but may soothe a sense of loneliness, your phone doesn’t actually worry about you, but alleviates a sense of vulnerability. But Is it true? Are you more vulnerable without it?' And if so, is that OK?
Cellphone Emancipation - A Personal Story
A few years ago I went on a retreat where my phone was confiscated for 7 days. I had read in the literature that “phones are not allowed” which I assumed meant we weren’t allowed to walk around with our phones, and that surely, once alone at night in my yurt, I would have access to all the comforts my phone brings me. When it came time to physically hand over my phone, I had a complete meltdown that honestly surprised me. An actual addict’s response. I cited reason after reason why that ‘wasn’t going to work for me’. I need my voice recording app! My sleep meditations! My mantras! My friends!
After a big fuss, I was finally told “I have spoken to the organisers and they said you can keep your phone, but you will have to leave.”
On my final call to my partner before powering off, he said to me, “This is who you are, you’ll love it“. - How did I not know that?
Any quantum shift starts with the awareness that there needs to be a shift.
My meltdown showed me with absolute clarity that my phone was way too closely related to my sense of connection and security. I would say the biggest gifts were:
I remembered how to keep myself company. It took a minute, but I got there.
A sense of autonomy returned - which I was not aware I had lost.
When I tell people this story, the general reaction is, 'Wow, I would love that, but I couldn’t.'
Your relationship with your phone is personal, and so is your addiction to it.
Cellphone emancipation starts with an honest look at your relationship with your phone.
Questions to ask yourself:
Do I ever leave the house without my phone?
When was the last time my phone was more than 10 meters from my body?
When was the last time my phone unequivocally protected me from danger or provided me with actual safety?
When was the last time my phone was powered off?
What was the last experience I remember from pre ‘smart-phone’ era that would have been greatly improved if I had a smart phone?
This is Not About Social Media
I don’t really want to talk about ‘dopamine mining’ and the scrolling addictions that are causing a desensitisation to actual human connection. Or the constant cortisol spikes every time we see something that makes us feel professional or social anxiety, left behind, left out, jealousy, unworthiness etc..
I want to talk about the lack of safety we feel when we are without our phones and offer you a practical framework to break free, at least partially, from this false sense of security your phone gives you, leading you toward greater personal autonomy.
Because personal autonomy is power.
Cellphone emancipation requires a deep trust in life itself.
But what if my family needs me?
What if something bad happens to me and I need help?
What if something bad happens to someone I love and I don’t know about it until it’s too late?
These are legitimate questions and concerns, but they are also how we have been indoctrinated to believe we are not safe without our phones.
Emancipation can be a complex and challenging process and requires us to summon our reserves of deep trust.
If you are dedicated to being the leader of your own physical and mental health choices and evolution, personal autonomy is worth the challenge.
16:8 Intermittent Phone Fasting
This is a framework to play with. It’s lightly, and playfully based on the well-known intermittent fasting model.
16:8 Intermittent (food) fasting means in a 24 hour period, you have a feeding window of 8 hours, and a fasting window of 16 hours. Most people choose their feeding window to opens at 10 am and closes at 6 pm. And then fast 16 hours until the next day at 10 am.
16:8 Intermittent PHONE fasting means in a 24 hour period, your phone is POWERED OFF for 16 hours and ON for 8 hours. This is not an unreasonable amount of time to be disconnected to your phone. It might need some practice, and some occasional flexibility. But just like intermittent food fasting, the benefits are cumulative.
You can of course choose which time to power off, or the length of your fast. You might want to start with a 14:10 fast. Your phone powered off for 14 hours and on for 10. For example; turn your phone off at 7 pm and on again at 9 am. So reasonable! Even though you are at home, by having your phone powered off, and therefore no reason to go to it for company or security, you will feel a new layer of freedom. It’s wild.
Tips for Phone Fasting
The point is, to power off. Unless you are lucky enough to have a sweet yogi come and take your phone away in straw basket, the exercise is to power off-and live.
Baby steps. If you cannot fathom having your phone powered off for 16 hours, begin by leaving it at home when you go for a walk or head to the shop. You will be ‘unreachable’ which might be the first time in a long time so you may (probably will) feel uncomfortable, and possibly even experience little moments of panic; a clear indication that this is an extremely valuable exercise.
Remember, no one has ever regretted spending less time on their phone.
If you are a mom with little children, I know this might seem impossible. However, I have never heard anyone in my parents generation say that they wish they had smart phones when we were young.
If you live alone and/or being without your phone feels too frightening or stressful for you, set up a system where your most important person/people check in with you every evening via email that you can read and send from your laptop before you retire.
If you meet a friend for dinner, tell them you are experimenting with phone fasting and invite them to join you for an evening of connection - with both your phones powered off.
As you feel more empowered and start to experience the myriad benefits of your cellphone liberation, you may even choose the occasional weekend fast.
Whether or not you go for a full 16:8 phone fast, any amount of time living your life without your phone by your side, with a small amount of safeguarding and organising will feel like stepping into a spacious time portal of freedom.
HAVE YOU EVER PHONE FASTED?
CAN YOU GO OUT OF THE HOUSE WITHOUT YOUR PHONE? I would love to know. Please tell me in the comment section!
Here is to our personal and collective autonomy!
All the love,
Emily