The digital detox isn’t such a surprise when we think about how much we love fad diets – juice cleanses, soup fasts, tea detoxes…
It seems like a justified reaction to the excessive consumption of the horrors going on in the world.
Whereas the 6 o’clock news channel is able to be changed or brightened up with a feel-good story to finish, social media is less predictable.
The public can’t even post an innocent photo of their brunch on Instagram without accidentally glimpsing a #PrayforParis post at the top of their feed.
I wonder how a detox from digital can solve anything. Even if you switch off, these events are still happening.
However, as Carla Zanoni writes about in the NiemanLab Predictions for Journalism 2017, constant exposure to the digital sphere can come at the expense of emotional health. For journalists and those tasked with disseminating these events to the world, the graphic and confronting realities are often too much. In a 24/7 news cycle, the expectation is that they are always ‘on’. I agree with Zanoni that regulating this will become a higher priority in future newsrooms and media organisations. There needs to be a distinction between keeping up to date with the industry landscape you work in and never being able to escape it.
In Dhiya Kuriakose’s prediction, she also discusses digital detoxing, although from the viewpoint of the audience. Her words inspire, reminding current and potential journalists such as myself, why I want to go into this field and the meaning that it can create for people.
Kuriakose understands this sentiment behind digital detoxing, writing that she practices it herself. The not-so captive audience is choosing to turn off, making the media scramble to capture them during the valuable time they spend tolerating their devices.
How do we cater to this audience that no longer wants to listen?
