Digital Minimalism While Traveling: How I Combat Phone Addiction and Rediscover Traveling

4/13/2024

Finally, I’m getting enough sleep. It’s my second and last day in Toulouse. This evening, I’ll take the bus to Madrid to see my friend Alicia, whom I met in a monastery in Thailand. I’m lying in bed, playing on my phone. Damn – that’s a habit I wanted to break.

Phone Addiction While Traveling

In general, I increasingly notice on my travels how much we travelers are also affected by phone addiction. During the day, we seem mostly free from it when we explore the surroundings on tours or get lost in long conversations with other travelers. But in the evenings, after all the adventures, we sink into our beds and let ourselves be entertained by our smartphones.

It’s actually a strange sight when I’m lying in the hostel bed, the room light is turned off, and the room is suddenly illuminated by phone screens.

Working in the Common Room

I get up and go downstairs to the common room. The man from the previous day is sitting there again, listening to his music. This time it’s classical. Well, at least I can work well with that.

I continue programming on my blog. I actually just need to fix some small bugs, but everything is taking much longer than expected. After an hour, I give up a bit frustrated and decide to clear my head with a shower.

The others are also awake, and we seem to be packing our bags for check-out simultaneously. At the last minute, I manage to heat up the frozen vegetables I bought the day before in a pan and put them in my previously unused lunchbox. After checking out, I leave my backpack at the hostel and sit by the river with my Kindle.

Digital Minimalism

I’ve been reading the book “Digital Minimalism” by Cal Newport for over two months now. A book that has completely turned my digital life upside down. I have long known that I have a problem with my media consumption. I’ve often tried a “digital detox” only to consume excessively again a few days later.

Especially when I got sick, the risk of relapse was greatest. The addictive potential of our phones and social media became most apparent to me after my monastery stay.

Experiences in the Silent Monastery

I spent nearly three weeks in Doi Suthep in northern Thailand at a Buddhist Vipassana meditation center. A silent monastery without phones, without books, without writing, without dinner. Basically, I could do nothing but meditate for 17 days. It was a hard but very fulfilling time.

I can remember very well the feeling when I left the monastery: I felt free and happy! … until normal life with its old habits took its toll. Turning on my phone after the monastery was easy. However, I was afraid of the internet and hesitated until the last moment before turning it on. Then all the messages from the past weeks came in and my phone had control over me again.

When I met a young Brit on the same day who had left the monastery a few days earlier, I was appalled. During lunch, he watched TikTok videos for no reason. Why were we in the monastery if old habits and addictions catch up with us so quickly?

Inspiration and Solutions

That’s why I looked for inspirations on how to overcome my phone addiction and came across Newport’s book. I took the book very slowly, but two months after returning to Germany, I was ready to delete my social media (Facebook and Instagram). It wasn’t an easy path, and the platforms make it as difficult as possible. But with good preparation, this step is possible.

I always feared missing something without the two networks. Or that a Facebook contact might still be of great use to me in the future. But in reality, I spent a lot of time on the platforms watching videos that I hadn’t actually searched for. And then you’re caught in so-called doomscrolling. You can’t stop.

Once deleted, I didn’t miss social media anymore. I feel mentally better, and I use the freed-up time for new ideas and projects. Even the contact with my friends and family has improved. I’ve regained control of my life and want to use it. But I’ll write about that best in a separate chapter.

Using Social Media Sensibly

The current chapter is about how to use social media sensibly and not impulsively and much more frequently than necessary. I need to think about this a bit longer because I already realize that I’ll at least need Facebook for my ukulele journey. So many ukulele communities are organized on Facebook and can only be reached through their Facebook groups. I’ll come up with a concept on how to use Facebook for my trip without becoming dependent on it again.

Exploring the City and Conversations

I continue exploring the city and find a beautiful botanical garden. Since I still have enough time, I call my father and a few friends. Sometimes it’s really better to just call people instead of writing. I meditate a bit on a park bench but am disturbed by a huge motorcycle parade that seems to pass by the park for an hour.

Back at the Hostel

Back at the hostel, I work a bit on the website, which is inaccessible due to DNS problems. Good thing almost no one has the web address yet. Once the problem is solved, I play a bit of ukulele and start my second attempt at the novel “Norwegian Wood” by Haruki Murakami.

Another guest speaks to me, and we start a conversation. He’s from Nice and is visiting friends in the city. Somehow he seems nervous. When I ask him about it, he tells me that he’s still suffering from the effects of his burnout. He hasn’t been able to take on new work for three years and feels very insecure. We talk for over an hour, but I’m somewhat relieved when he says goodbye. Not because of his story, but because he got a bit too close for comfort. I’ve often been on the brink of burnout myself, and I understand him. Getting out of burnout is not easy.

Dinner and Departure

I stay at the hostel and eat the vegetables from my lunchbox – they’re still warm! Time flies, and I head to the bus station a bit early. The bus arrives punctually at 11:00 PM. It’s a strange day, very different from those in Paris. But I’m already looking forward to seeing Alicia again and board the bus with a good feeling.