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Give Your Tech a Time-Out

Take a mini-vacation from your screens. Here are four ideas for offline alternatives. 

December 2024
by Joey Bartolomeo | Illustration by Jeffrey Mangiat

It’s winter break. It’s the perfect time to relax, catch up on sleep, and . . . ping! ping! ping! What’s that? It’s your phone with another notification. Relaxing? Not so much. The purpose of a vacation is to take a break from your routine. It’s hard to do that when you’re glued to a screen. That’s why this is the perfect time to give your tech a time-out. 

Don’t worry, we’re not telling you to go screen-free forever. But taking a mini tech break can have big payoffs. “Tech breaks can especially be beneficial when it comes to healthy sleep patterns and social interactions,” Lucía Magis-Weinberg says. She’s a professor who studies the impact of digital technology on kids. Your time away from your screens will set you up for a successful second semester when you return from your winter break.

Ready to get started? Read on for some ways to replace your favorite online activities with IRL alternatives. Then ask friends or family members to join you on your screen-free vacay. The less left out you feel, the more fun your tech mini-break will be. 

Pro tip: Start your tech break ASAP. Studies have shown it can take about two weeks for you to stop feeling the urge to reach for your phone. Your new habits will need a while to form as well, so try to do at least one offline activity every day of your break.

Online Habit #1: FaceTime

FaceTime is a great way to connect with people far away. But how many times have you and a friend basically listened to each other breathe over FaceTime while you’re both doing other things? It’s easy to get distracted when the other person is just pixels on a phone screen.

Offline Alternative: Face-to-face meetups

Make plans to take a walk with a friend, neighbor, or relative who lives nearby. “Taking a walk provides a way to connect with each other and talk without interruption,” says Kaitlin Tiches. She works at the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital. Tip: Be sure to keep your phones in your pockets so you can focus on each other.

BENEFIT:

Face-to-face interactions can help you create memorable moments and stronger bonds. Being in person can lead to great chance encounters. You can share a laugh for years to come about something funny you saw or did together. 

Online Habit #2: Social Media

You may think watching funny memes and GRWMs over and over is harmless, but staring at endless streams of short videos online can be addictive. Watching these videos can trigger your body to release dopamine, a feel-good hormone, which makes you want to watch more and makes it hard to put down your phone.   

Offline Alternative: Books  

Sure, you read all the time for school. But you might not have read for pleasure since you were a little kid. Go to a local bookstore or library, or browse your own bookshelf for a novel, graphic novel, comic book, or nonfiction book. If you’re stumped for a title, try a book that was made into a favorite movie. You might like it better than the film! Tip: To make it social, form a reading club with family members or friends. You can all read the same book, then get together to discuss it over pizza or snacks. 

BENEFIT:

Reading is a great way to give your imagination a workout. That’s because you bring the story to life in your head instead of seeing it on a screen. And by reading for 20 or 30 minutes each day, you’ll train your brain to focus longer—which will pay off in school. 

Online Habit #3: Texting

Firing off a “Sup? U OK? TTYL” to a friend might seem like an easy way to show someone you care about them, but switching up your mode of communication can be a nice surprise. 

Offline Alternative: Send a postcard or letter

Buy a postcard or take out a blank piece of paper and write a note to a friend. It doesn’t matter if you live just around the corner—your friend will be thrilled to get actual mail. Not sure what to say? Describe the view out your window, tell them what you ate for dinner last night, or remind them of a fun time you had together. If you’re out of town, tell them what you’ve done and seen on your trip so far.

BENEFIT:

Writing things by hand has been shown to be more beneficial for your brain than typing on a phone or computer. Remembering how to form letters and then having the words come out on paper takes work. Writing down information by hand can also help you remember it better too.

Online Habit #4: Video Games

Role-playing video games and sports games are definitely fun ways to pass time. But the fun doesn’t have to end once you turn off your device!

Offline Alternative: Board games and card games

If you like competition and strategy, you can get them from IRL games too. Scrabble, Monopoly, Clue, and Risk are classic crowd-pleasers. Modern board games that involve themes and decision making, such as Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride, are also exciting. If cards are more your thing, get a group together for a hand of gin rummy, Go Fish, or blackjack. You can add to the excitement by betting on each hand with pretzel sticks or jelly beans.

BENEFIT:

Research has shown that playing board games with others enhances your social and emotional skills. Games also can improve your reasoning and abstract thinking. And playing card games that involve adding, like blackjack, will keep your basic math skills fresh. 

Tech Breaks of the Stars

Ashley Park

The Mean Girls musical star uses a disposable camera to take pictures she can’t retake: “In our digital age, there’s pressure to make things look perfect, but I love a candid moment.”

 Stephen Nedoroscik

The medal-winning Olympic gymnast solves a Rubik’s Cube while waiting for his turn to compete. “It’s a way for me to kill time and is a stress reliever as well,” he’s said.

 Selena Gomez

The actress and singer said her break from Instagram made her more present: “I would get real phone calls from people. It’s more human.”

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