Need a digital ‘detox’? Here are some tips for getting away from screens

It's digital detox week and we are paging Dr. Paul to get his top tips for parents to help their kids deal with screen time.

Screens dominate our lives and getting away from them can be difficult.

CTV Your Morning Ottawa featured guests this week with advice on doing a “digital detox,” turning off the computer, setting the phone down, and reconnecting with offline hobbies.

If you’re looking for a break from screens, here are some things to consider.

Good screens vs. bad screens

When it comes to screen time, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, CEO of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, says it’s important to make the distinction between good screen time and bad screen time, especially when it comes to kids.

“It’s not all bad, but the problem that we’re seeing is that the more you use social media, particularly social media, it becomes addictive,” he said. “And we know that children or teenagers who use it more than two hours a day have higher rates of mental illness, suicidal ideation, and psychiatric problems. So, it’s not to say that you shouldn’t be doing it, but parents need to be aware.”

Roumeliotis says screen time is going to be a part of our lives, and an all-or-nothing approach won’t help, so the important thing is to model behaviours you want to see in your kids.

“It’s not realistic to say you’re never going to use social media, you’re never going to go online. You need to be balanced. You need to look at what’s good for them, what’s bad for them. So, avoid things that are bad for them. Like I said, hours that are limitless in terms of scrolling, that sort of thing,” he said. “Balance it with things that are good. There are some good things that digital technology offers us.”

And set down some rules.

“During dinner time, there’s a screen off time, or those type of things. Make sure that at an early age you do that because once you do that at an early age, then it’ll sort of trickle into adulthood and teen years.”

Learning an instrument

Learning a musical instrument offers many benefits, says Dylan Dumitru from Long & McQuade.

“It can help your memory, it can help your muscle dexterity, it can build community if you’re playing with bands or groups or orchestras or anything, and it can help, especially with kids with pattern building and remembering fingerings and good brain activity,” she said.

From strings and brass to woodwinds and percussion, music offers a way to disconnect from the internet and reconnect with family and friends.

And it doesn’t have to be expensive. Dumitru says Long & McQuade offers instrument rentals.

“Parents sometimes think about buying but we say you can definitely rent because kids’ minds can change,” she said.

Curling up with a good book

A good book can stimulate your imagination and give you a break from the screen.

Cole Davidson, co-owner of The Spaniel’s Tale, says there’s something special about picking up an actual, honest to goodness book, and not an e-reader.

“You can’t replace the feeling of paper in your hands,” he said.

Some of the popular offerings for adults this season include the smash hit Heated Rivalry and Project Hail Mary.

“Heated Rivalry is absolutely still one of the top sellers and it’s such a wonderful success story for a Canadian author. We have the whole series in the shop and with the new book coming out next year, we’re already planning a midnight release party for it,” Davidson said.

“Project Hail Mary is really big, with the new moving coming out starring Ryan Gosling. That’s been really popular as well. And The Correspondent has been really popular lately. That tells the story of a woman who writes letters every morning to people in her life and people who have influenced her life, and it looks back on key moments in her life while she’s doing that.”

For kids, Davidson recommends Little Bee, which was written by a local author.

“Danny Neville is a local Ottawa author, and he saw a gap in the market for stories about children from untraditional families,” he said. “The main character sort of broaches the topic, in a child-safe manner, of surrogacy, which is not seen a lot in children’s books.”

The shop also offers other offline-friendly activities like diaries for journaling and puzzles.

“Villager is a great line of puzzles. It’s a Canadian company in B.C. and all of the artwork is done by women artists in Canada,” Davidson said.

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