Exploring the Impact of Digital Detox on University Students' Psychological Well-

being: Formulating Strategies for Balancing Academic Life and Enhancing Overall
Wellness

Background of the study

Digital detox endeavors to tackle these concerns by empowering individuals to regain

control over their technology habits and cultivate healthier relationships with their
devices (Miksch and Schulz, 2018). In today's world, where we use digital devices a
lot, we're wondering how this affects how people feel. Whether it's using phones for
personal stuff or computers for studies, there's worry that it might not be good for our
mental health. Always being connected in our personal lives, has made some people
stressed, less able to handle emotions, and feeling out of balance between studies and
personal time. This study wants to explore how taking breaks from digital devices,
known as digital detox, can impact how people feel inside. By looking into these
things, this research wants to come up with practical ideas on how to balance studies
and personal life in the digital age. The main goal is to help people feel better overall
by showing how taking breaks from digital devices can have good effects. This study
aims to share useful knowledge that can help individuals, and those who make rules
about using digital devices, so that everyone can have a healthier connection with
technology and create environments that care about mental well-being.

Problem or General Aim

This study aims to explore the impact of adopting digital detox practices on the
psychological well-being of individuals. In today's world, the widespread use of
digital devices has become essential in both personal and professional spheres, giving
rise to worries about potential negative effects on mental health. The aim of this
research is to examine how digital detox interventions influence the psychological
well-being of university students, aiming to develop successful approaches for
balancing academic commitments and fostering holistic wellness within the university
environment.

Statement of the Problem

In today's world where everyone is always connected through digital devices, college
students struggle to find a good balance between their schoolwork and their overall
well-being. Using smartphones, laptops, and social media a lot can lead to problems
like feeling anxious, sad, or finding it hard to concentrate. But we don't know much
about how taking a break from digital devices, which is called digital detox, could
help students. This study aims to explore if digital detox can make a positive
difference in college students' mental health and help them manage their academic and
personal lives better. Specific questions that the researchers aims to answer are the
following:
1. In what ways does digital detox have a positive impact on stress levels, emotional
resilience, and contribute to an overall enhancement in psychological well-being?
2. How can the integration of digital detox practices into daily routines contribute to
the overall well-being of individuals?
3. How can practical strategies be formulated to apply digital detox practices and
uphold a balanced academic life in the digital age?

Methodology
 Research design
Qualitative Research
 Review Instrument
Survey Questionnaires/Interview
 Population
10 (university student)
 Sampling Techniques
Simple Random Sampling

Target Outcome/s
The study wants to help college students by giving them simple ways to control how
much they use their phones and computers. This can make them feel better mentally
and help them find a good balance between schoolwork and taking care of themselves.

 Strategies for Sustaining a Balanced Academic-life Harmony: Identify

effective strategies for balancing academic responsibilities with personal wellness
among university students.
 Enhancements to Overall Well-being: Learning about how taking breaks from
digital devices can make you feel better, not just right away but for a longer time.
 Practical Guidance for Individuals: Getting ideas based on evidence to help
people have a better connection with their digital devices and feel good overall.

Review Related Literature

Digital detox: An effective solution in the smartphone era? A

systematic literature review
Abstract

Smartphone use, e.g., on social network sites or instant messaging, can impair
wellbeing and is related to clinical phenomena, like depression. Digital detox
interventions have been suggested as a solution to reduce negative impacts from
smartphone use on outcomes like well-being or social relationships. Digital detox is
defined as timeouts from using electronic devices (e.g., smartphones), either
completely or for specific subsets of smartphone use. However, until now, it has been
unclear whether digital detox interventions are effective at promoting a healthy way of
life in the digital era. This systematic literature review aimed to answer the question of
whether digital detox interventions are effective at improving outcomes like health
and well-being, social relationships, self-control or performance. Systematic searches
of seven databases were carried out according to PRISMA guidelines, and
intervention studies were extracted that examined timeouts from smartphone use
and/or smartphone-related use of social network sites and instant messaging. The
review yielded k=21 extracted studies (total N=3,625 participants). The studies
included interventions in the field, from which 12 were identified as randomized
controlled trials. The results showed that the effects from digital detox interventions
varied across studies on health and well-being, social relationships, self-control, or
performance. For example, some studies found positive intervention effects, whereas
others found no effect or even negative consequences for well-being. Reasons for
these mixed findings are discussed. Research is needed to examine mechanisms of
change to derive implications for the development of successful digital detox
interventions.

Exploring the Impact of Digital Detoxification on Higher

Education Students' Learning The Impact of Digital
Detoxification on Higher Education Students' Learning
ABSTRACT

Nowadays, smartphones are ubiquitous. People spend many hours daily on their
smartphones or other digital gadgets. Unlike other electronic devices, smartphones
enable such functions almost anytime and anywhere, with numerous consequences for
our daily lives. Surfing social network sites or instant messaging can impair well-
being and is related to clinical phenomena like depression. The proliferation of social
networking platforms has resulted in a rise in usage frequency among young adults.
Digital detox interventions have been suggested as a solution to reduce the negative
impacts of smartphone use on outcomes like well-being or social relationships.
Keeping in touch with their smartphones during lectures hinders students’ learning
experience. The primary objective of this study is to assess how digital detoxification
affects student learning within higher education establishments. The research also
delves into the prevalence of digital detoxification among university students,
shedding light on their comprehension of social media detox and potential mental
health consequences

Reference/s

 Garg, Anshul & Singh, Amrik & Yanan, Jia. (2024). Chapter 8 Exploring the
Impact of Digital Detoxification on Higher Education Students' Learning The
Impact of Digital Detoxification on Higher Education Students' Learning.
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 Radtke, Theda & Apel, Theresa & Schenkel, Konstantin & Keller, Jan & von
Lindern, Eike. (2021). Digital detox: An effective solution in the smartphone era?
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