THE ANTIDOTE TO DIGITAL OVERLOAD

FAKE PHONES, FOREST BATHING AND LEARNING HOW TO TALK AGAIN...

TAKE A BATH

Two books, Shinrin Yoku: The Art Of Japanese Forest Bathing by Yoshifumi Miyazaki and Dr Qing Li’s Shinrin-yoku: The Art And Science Of Forest Bathing, hail 2018 as the year of, yes, forest bathing – the Japanese tradition of hanging out with trees. It could be the ultimate remedy to social-media stress: it’s been shown to lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress-hormone production and improve overall feelings of wellbeing. No time to escape to the woods? Sound baths (meditation to the sound of gongs or crystal bowls) provide similar relief.

THE ART OF CONVERSATION

With so many digital ways of interacting, real-life conversations are happening less and less. While texts and emails are convenient, lack of practice makes us much worse at actual chatting, which is what inspired Celeste Headlee’s book We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter. From embracing a childlike curiosity to learning when to stay silent, it’s a bible for would-be conversationalists whose speaking skills have suffered from the rise of emoji-speak.

FAKE IT ’TIL YOU MAKE IT

Smart-phone fatigue has paved the way for the nostalgia phone. Last year’s relaunch saw the cult Nokia 3310 selling seven times more than predicted. Leading the anti-smart-phone movement is electronics company Punkt, which designs sleek phones that can make and receive calls and texts... and do absolutely nothing else. Taking things a step further is the crowd-funded Nophone, a piece of plastic in the shape of an iphone that acts as a “technology-free alternative to constant hand-to-phone contact”. The perfect excuse for missing a call.