I’M DOING A ‘DIGITAL DETOX’

I WAS shocked to see that last week I was averaging four hours a day on my phone, mainly spent doing emails or doom- scrolling the news.

But in fact I’m typical — this is precisely the amount of time we Brits spend using our mobile devices, up from three hours in 2019, according to market researcher, Statista.

Nonetheless I’ve decided it’s time for a digital detox. Studies suggest that cutting back on digital time can improve your sleep, relationships and mood.

First, decide which activity you want to reduce or eliminate. For me that’s the hours I spend reading the news, so l will cut back.

Then set a goal: mine is to halve my smartphone use. Ironically, the great thing about smartphones is they can tell you exactly how long you spend on them each week, so I’ll be able to track how I’m doing. Finally, encourage your family to tell you off if they see you using your smartphone, especially when eating meals or watching TV together.

My nearest and dearest are particularly keen to help out with this.