Unplugged: innovative ways to break from screen time overload
Vyrao has just unveiled Mamajuju, its eighth functional fragrance, described as an "eau de parfum for Grounding and Awareness" and designed to counteract the effects of excessive screen time.
Drawing inspiration from Australia’s iconic red earth, the scent blends sandalwood with saffron, cumin, nutmeg, cardamom, pink pepper, wet red clay, and calming olibanum to promote focus, deep-rooted calm, and emotional balance. Each bottle contains a supercharged Herkimer diamond crystal energized by Vyrao's healer.
Time to log off and "feel grounded, connected, awakened"?
Bob Sinclar seems to think so ("STOP USING YOUR PHONE IN CLUB 🙏") and so does sociologist David Le Breton:
"We are less and less together, but more and more side by side, our eyes fixed on our screens, no longer looking at each other."
In response to our screen-saturated lives, here are five creative initiatives spotted recently that encourage digital downtime, focus, and real-world connection.
1. Get a Receipt!
Researchers at AxLab, University of Chicago, explored how tangible receipts could encourage mindful tech use. Their experiment demonstrated that receiving physical receipts after watching YouTube videos helped users reflect on their screen time, suggesting that materializing digital activities can foster more mindful habits. Learn more about Attention Receipts here.
2. Be Caught in the Act
Antwerp-based Stolp launched the ‘Don’t Stop, Stolp®’ campaign across four cities, raising awareness about the need to pause from constant scrolling. Stolp sells Faraday phone boxes designed to block signals and promote a less distracted life with their motto: "Less pings & rings = more time for other things." Discover Stolp here.
3. Find Something to Do
In celebration of Global Day of Unplugging, dating app Hinge released a pocket-sized Phonebook packed with over 100 pages of fun and free ideas to help Gen Z connect in real life. The book even includes two pages you can "tap on" in case of emergencies. Get your Phonebook here.
4. Go Vintage
Two French tech cooperatives, Commown and TeleCoop, are exploring the idea of reintroducing public telephone boxes. The goal? Promote more mindful phone use and provide parents with an option to delay buying smartphones for their teens. Read about the initiative here.
5. Get Some Work Done
Meet BYOK (Bring Your Own Keyboard), a minimalist distraction-free writing tool with a monochrome LCD display and simple interface. It enhances focus and creativity while allowing writers to back up their work wirelessly to Google Drive. Discover BYOK here.
Bonus: Enter a Contest
In January 2024, Siggi’s Dairy launched a Digital Detox competition in the U.S., offering participants the challenge of ditching their smartphones for a month. Ten winners received $10,000 and a three-month supply of yogurt.
And as a second Bonus, a link to (Re)Act, a report from 2020 that explored themes like “endless feeds”, the challenge of “stopping the flow” and the growing need to actively carve out time for digital breaks. The insights from this report remain relevant today.