A day in the life of a digital upwaasi!

Swipe, tap, pay — your favourite food is delivered at your doorstep in a matter of minutes. The same goes with socialising, booking tickets, watching movies, fixing a doc appointment, paying bills and what-have-you. All you need is that device which makes you and me ‘smart’ — a smartphone. Indeed, smartphones have made our lives easy and us lazy. Think you can get through a day without your smartphone or any other digital devices? Something like an upwaas — cutting off your digital consumption for a day completely.Call us a wet blanket, but on World Social Media Day, today, we ask, no, make that urge, you to take up the digital upwaas challenge, initiated by Chennai-based digital marketeer, Sorav Jain. Conceived as a Sunday-only activity, we have had some who took up this digital detox challenge, recently. They tell us about their digital-abstinence experience, and even score themselves out of 10.
‘I was itching to check the phone; I broke the challenge’
I knew it was going to be difficult not to check notifications on the phone. So, I switched off the data in the morning. But my resolve lasted only for 8 to 10 hours. After that I had to give up the challenge as thoughts of checking notifications kept coming to my mind. The more I tried diverting my attention, the more my mind kept drifting in that direction. Interestingly, I was worried about not being able to check my social media pages and not about work-related calls and emails.
Sonu Kumar,
24-year-old businessman
‘Though I found the challenge really hard, I completed it’
Yes, I took up the challenge on the first Sunday of June. Though I found the challenge really hard, I completed it. I did a few things to keep my mind away from the phone. I informed people in advance that I wouldn’t be online, switched off the phone, spent a lot of time with my family and even started reading a book. But still the thought of checking the phone lurked in my mind. I somehow resisted the temptation. Generally, I am someone who checks my Instagram feed every 15 minutes. So, I was happy that I managed not to use my phone the entire day.
U Swarnapriya,
28-year-old social media executive
‘I didn’t feel the usual Monday blues’
Generally, I spend most of the time on phone. And hence, digital upwaas was a mammoth challenge for me. Though I managed without the phone the entire day, I ended up watching TV. So, I wouldn’t say that I won the challenge. But let me tell you, I found time for a lot of other things, which I generally give a miss. I played cricket, started reading a book, and so on. I wouldn’t mind taking up the challenge again. I felt completely refreshed the next day, after spending one entire Sunday without phone. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel the usual Monday blues.
Ashutosh Bhandari, 23-year-old content writer
‘I felt unsettled, but got through!’
I thought my online consumption was very minimal. But I was wrong and I realised that only after taking up the challenge. However, I did manage to complete the challenge. I wanted to put myself to test and see how it impacted my daily life. To my realisation, I felt very unsettled without my phone. By afternoon, I went out to meet my friends to keep myself away from digital distractions and came back home late, intentionally. I had two realisations from the challenge — that I was addicted to digital platforms in some way and the fact that I could utilise the time I spend online for more productive things. Henceforth, I will try and restrict using my phone; maybe not use it after 8pm.
Nikhil Pradeep
25-year-old business developer
‘I was at peace without my phone for 12 hours’
Usually, the first thing I do after waking up is to check my phone. I am always eager to check how my post, which I would’ve uploaded the previous night, is doing. But when I took up the challenge on the first Sunday of this month, I did manage to keep myself away from my phone for about 12 hours. I would have continued the upwaas, but I started getting too many calls from my clients. Therefore, I gave up the challenge. But I was at peace as long as I didn’t use my phone.
Prabhakar Alok
24-year-old, digital marketeer
‘I don’t think I will take up the challenge again’
Honestly, I did a pathetic job with the challenge. It was super difficult for me because I am really addicted to social media. So, I wanted to give up the challenge halfway. But since I had already posted on my social media pages that I would be taking up the challenge, I stuck to the challenge and completed it. I wanted to share my experience on my social media handles. But throughout the day, I felt that something was missing all the time. Being a Sunday, it felt even more terrible as I couldn’t reach out to my friends to plan things. I felt as if I was under some kind of house arrest. I don’t think I will take up the challenge ever again.
Rena Singhi
21-year-old MBA student
‘I wanted to see how many realise they’re addicted; hence this challenge’
Many psychiatrists whom I spoke to told me that a lot of people these days come to them because of digital addiction. That made me curious to find out how many of them realise that they’re digitally addicted. Hence, I came up with this challenge. Though I am a digital marketeer, I always ask people what their screen time uage is. Though I launched it, I myself found the challenge quite tough. I took up the challenge on the first week of June and now, I’ll try it today, the last Sunday of the month.
Sorav Jain
who initiated the Digital Upwaas - The Digital Detox Challenge