This weekend (from sundown TODAY, March 6 to sundown TOMORROW March 7) people around the world will take part in Global Day of Unplugging, a 24-hour invitation to step away from screens and reconnect with the things that tend to get pushed aside by constant connectivity.
The idea is simple: put down your phone, close the laptop, ignore notifications for a while, and spend the time relaxing, reflecting, being active, visiting the outdoors, or connecting with people face to face.
Of course, “simple” doesn’t always mean “easy.” Many people find the first few hours surprisingly uncomfortable. But once that initial reflex to check your phone fades, something interesting tends to happen: attention deepens, time feels slower, and conversations become more present.
We just published a new article exploring what actually happens during a 24-hour digital detox, based on the common experiences people report when they unplug.
You can read it here:
If you’re planning to participate this weekend, consider this a small community experiment.
Try unplugging for part of the day — or the full 24 hours — and then come back here and tell us:
- What was the hardest moment?
- What surprised you the most?
- Did anything change in your mood, focus, or sleep?
Even a few hours offline can reveal something interesting about our digital habits.
Curious to hear who’s planning to give it a try.
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So beautiful that you are promoting this. My family of four, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, will all be participating.
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@nikkirodney I’m also participating 
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@urszula: Does Global Day of Unplugging allow for making and receiving telephone calls?
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@kirkmahoneyphd It depends how strict you are about it. When this day was originally created, in 2009, by the non-profit group Reboot and the Sabbath Manifesto, drawing inspiration from the Jewish tradition of rest (Shabbat), so the idea was to UNPLUG totally. If you’re familiar with how Shabbat is kept, using phones is forbidden because it involves creating an electric circuit, which is categorized as a form of “building” or “kindling”.
HOWEVER, I’m not Jewish, so I’m a bit more flexible with this rule. I do use the phone, if I need to get in contact with someone, I will call & text. BUT I don’t go ONLINE (whether on my phone or laptop). This also involves sceens that connect to the internet- like watching Netflix or HULU
So, tomorrow, I have plans to go rampage through vintage shops with my friend & then grab lunch. I will call her to let her know that I’ve arrived at our designated spot & then I will probably not use my phone, unless someone calls me.
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Thanks. This matches my weekly Friday-sunset-to-Saturday-sunset goal, in which I avoid using computers and watching television. My cellphone cannot access email or the Web, but I do sometimes use it for calls and text messages in that period each week.
The signature on my email messages to friends and relatives says this:
I ignore email from Friday evening to Sunday A.M. and otherwise read it
only 2-3x/day. Please CALL me for anything urgent/personal/complicated!
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