The deeper we get into 2024, the stronger the urge to throw my smartphone into a deep body of water becomes. My days are spent flitting between social media apps, checking Slack, replying to messages and memes from friends and family, and (the worst) doom-scrolling until my eyeballs feel like they could shrivel up and drop out. And I know I’m not alone.
is on our devices: friendship, work, music, our camera, maps, and notes. While that was considered to be a goal 17 years ago when stood up on a stage to launch the iPhone, thus careening society into a tech revolution and new timeline, in 2024 being offline is the ultimate luxury. It’s a notion that other people are cottoning onto as well.
What is a dopamine detox? One example of this is the dopamine detox trend that (ironically) took over our TikTok FYPs late last year. Basically, users “detox” or abstain from activities that give them a quick rush of the reward and pleasure chemical, dopamine. Shopping, social media use, and TV watching are just a few that can give us a rush of these feel-good chemicals as our brains respond to the stimuli.
The dopamine detox urges users to cut out (or cut back) on these activities for an extended period of time to “recalibrate” their brain’s stores of the chemical. Psychologist , the author of , says that the practice is not actually about reducing dopamine, but is just a catchy name for a cognitive behavioural therapy-based technique to help people reduce compulsive behaviours. While I tend to take TikTok’s pseudoscience wellness hacks with a pinch (okay, a handful) of salt, I was curious to see how much cutting back on screen-time and getting out into nature would help my chronically online brain.
That’s why, earlier this year, my partner and I packed our bags, bought two-days worth of groceries and drove out of Melbourne to an cabin. Getting off the grid Described as an “ancient remedy for modern times”, Unyoked is a company that’s urging people to switch off from our turbo lifestyles and appreciate the great outdoors. With wilderness cabins in the UK, New Zealand and Australia, the aim is for people to get out into the quiet of nature.
Our cabin, (named Arlo) was based in Hallston, Victoria just two and a half hours southeast of Melbourne. This was a relief to learn as sometimes the mental load of planning a weekend getaway that requires a day of driving, just to have to turn around and come right back for work on Monday morning isn’t it. As we drove further out of the big smoke and into winding farmland, I noticed my phone’s signal holding on to dear life.
Luckily, Unyoked provides an app with step-by-step directions on how to get to your destination that I’d screenshot before we dropped out completely. Out of habit, I still found myself refreshing social media as a passenger princess while my partner drove. But, close to our destination, it stopped loading things entirely.
Was I finally free from the shackles of ? I deleted my apps for good measure. We parked our car and found some wheelbarrows for us to walk our belongings up a hill to our accommodation. It was giving ’s iconic , tbh.
I also made a mental note not to invite my grandparents out here as the climb was steep. Unyoked actually rates its adventure level by hardness when booking so you know whether or not your calves are getting a spicy welcome. Arlo’s said it was a 300 metre hike with “mild spice” adventure.
Honestly, as an able-bodied young person, the climb to Arlo was fine and took about five minutes. Our cabin sat atop a hill on farmland. While we could see a few vehicles and a house far in the distance, Arlo was pretty secluded.
It was the perfect balance for a city slicker with no survival skills. The cabin had everything we needed for an offline weekend: a bed (important), a shower with hot running water (no camping bird baths here), a toilet (a drop toilet but a toilet, no less), a mini fridge, sink, and stove top. While we brought our own speaker to play music, the cabin actually had a cassette player and tapes.
Okay, vintage! My millennial partner may have had to teach me how to use it properly but within a few minutes we had a vibey mix on the go. Unyoked also provided us with an activity book complete with crosswords and bird watching bingo and a couple of reading books – one being about the benefits of nature, of course. Honestly, within minutes I was feeling said benefits already.
We arrived just in time for the sunset and popped a bottle of bubbles in order to celebrate being away from the world. In terms of phones, I was still capturing ~content~ for this article and social media so I wasn’t totally switched off. I think there’s something to say for the mental energy that social media voyeurism sucks out of you.
How would that sunset look in a picture for Instagram? Am I capturing a video of the kitchen in an aesthetic light? Should I get a shot of myself looking peaceful and relaxed so everyone can SEE how peaceful and relaxed I actually was?? Despite this voice in the back of my head making sure I captured the moment, the silence of notifications and pressure to keep checking for messages and emails dissipated. My partner and I sat on the deck, bird-watching and chatting until it got too chilly. We cooked dinner and fell asleep reasonably early, the glow of screens notably missing.
The full day The next morning we woke with the sun filtering through the large, square cabin windows. Lush. Given it was summer, this was crack-of-dawn o’clock.
I automatically went to go check my phone. Terrible, I know. It’s one of my most hated habits.
Everyone says it’s so bad for you but if it’s so bad then why does it feel so good? Riddle me that, TikTok wellness freaks. While I still picked my phone up, I could only tap around at the things that didn’t require signal, like some sort of starving pigeon looking for a crumb. It was pointless.
Instead I got out of bed, into some activewear and grabbed the yoga mat from the cupboard. Of course, I couldn’t stream an actual yoga class on YouTube so I resorted to just intuitively stretching in the grass. ‘Were my friends in the city doing this on a Saturday morning??’ I thought smugly to myself while positioned in downward dog.
I also had the classic holiday thought of ‘Maybe I can do this every morning when I’m back home’. Yeah, right. Breakfast was a camp-inspired fry up, all eggs and fresh veggies.
And afterwards, my partner and I read a book each as ’s drawling voice played from the cassette player. I didn’t miss social media at all. At one point, I just stared out of the window watching the wind move the grass.
I saw a cow grazing over on another hill. A bee pollinating flowers. This feeling was what Unyoked was built for.
Not having to be anywhere or ‘do’ anything. Co-founders (and twin brothers) and created the idea as two burnt-out city workers who were feeling the impacts of modern life and technological ubiquity. To explore the benefits of switching off in nature even further, Unyoked recently undertook , in collaboration with trail guide and hiking map app .
407 people took part in the study, which took place over eight months and three countries. The results were a good reminder on why we need to carve out time in nature. According to the study, just two nights in nature was 50% more powerful at improving wellbeing than mindfulness and meditation apps.
Unsurprisingly, 95% of participants reported improved wellbeing after their nature stay and burnout decreased by 16.1%. Without the quick fix of social media notifications and losing an hour to a doom-scroll, the day at the cabin felt longer.
My partner and I played Scrabble in the afternoon and, when the other person was taking their turn, were forced to just take in our surroundings rather than automatically default to checking messages and news. A response to boredom out of habit. We were more present and as a result, created stronger memories than if the board game had been interspersed with dings and beeps.
On our last morning, as we were packing our stuff back into the trusty wheelbarrows, I tried to take some habits from the dopamine detox back to the city with me. I wondered how long it would take before I re-downloaded my social media apps. How much news had I missed by being offline for two days? I lowkey felt sad about returning to my fast-paced world but it urged me to carve out more time for screen-free activities and nature.
It also made me sad that taking time out like this is considered a privilege. While each cabin price varies, a night at Arlo starts at $253 on weeknights and $313 on weekends. There’s also a two-night minimum booking on weekends making a weekend trip out to nature a minimum of $626, before you buy your fuel and food.
Of course, Unyoked was designed with corporate city workers in mind and a stint at a wellness retreat will set you back a more. There are other, cheaper options for getting out into nature and off your device which includes day-hikes, old-fashioned camping, and trips to the beach. Since returning from Arlo, I’ve taken to leaving my phone at home on walks.
I don’t need to take a picture of every part of my day and I’m sure whoever needs to contact me (if anyone) can wait an hour until I’m home. While most people can’t head into an uncontactable cabin in the woods every weekend, there’s no denying the instant impacts that getting out into nature has on our brains, bodies and relationships. As the weather warms up again, lock in a few outdoor activities.
Remind yourself that dopamine can come in the form of sleep, exercise and meditation. Resist the urge to document it all..
