Sconnessi Day, how wonderful a day without notifications would be

Pay attention to this when you are walking down the street or on any public transport. How many people are bent over, holding a smartphone, scrolling through a social network feed, watching videos, chatting or listening to voice messages? The majority, right? It feels like living in a dystopian movie, where humanity is subjugated to some form of dark power that paralyzes the mind and turns off attention. Scares. Then I see two people chatting with each other and I breathe a sigh of relief: we are still able to communicate without a technological filter, be it chat or voice. But how long can I feel safe from the fear that social relationships, face-to-face meetings, conversations and everything we call normality become the exception? As a non-digital native I often ask myself this, especially for the life that will come and that my children will live.

This is not about praising the pre-digital life of the handset telephone and the ADSL modem (it did Maccio Capatonda in his brilliant latest film The best of all worlds and if you haven't seen it, do so). Smartphones and digital devices have allowed us things that seemed like science fiction until 10 years ago, with unimaginable advantages. With the revolution of «swipe love», speaking of a topic that is very close to my heart, the army of the “shy” has been able to count on a revolutionary ally: Tinder and the like. And so on with remote calls, satellite navigators and now with artificial intelligence.

The infinite scroll

There is no doubt that with the advantages have come contraindications and distortions. What experts call it nomophobia, or the fear of remaining disconnected, is a plague that affects us all. When we forget our smartphone somewhere or forget it at home We are terrified of being left out, of losing vital information, of not responding to that message that could change our lives.. And then there FOMOor the fear of missing out, the other acronym that reminds us how fragile we are when faced with the fear of missing out on experiences that we consider unmissable, essential for our personal growth. Experiences that are the main narrative of some social networkswhich fuel the need to always be on top of things, to live in the eternal hype, in search of happiness and appreciation from likes. A vicious circle that plagues our self-esteem.

But can we really get out of the tunnel of smartphone addiction, disconnect from notifications and connect more with reality?

Sconnessi day: let's think about it!

The idea of ​​Sconnessi Day was born following the release of the film in 2018 Disconnected by Christian Marazziti. An irreverent comedy that aims to highlight the problem of dependence on the Internet and from smartphones. Exactly what happens in the film: the protagonist decides to bring all his relatives to a chalet without an Internet connection to fight their addiction.

The goal of Disconnected DayAnd raise awareness of the correct use of technology, starting with younger users who, in addition to often being misinformed about the risks of poorly informed navigation, consider smartphones and technology to be vital tools, which are difficult to give up even for just a few hours. The invitation of SconnessiDay is to turn off your cell phoneat least for an hour a day, every day, from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

Smartphone addiction: we are not in a good place

According to the most recent Global Digital Report, Italians on average browse online from different devices for around 6 hours every day, of which almost 2 hours are dedicated to social networks. If we then work in front of a computer, the permeability of private spaces and professional spaces becomes increasingly thinner: responding more and more quickly to emails and chats seems like a necessity to us and any departure from the screen which is perceived by those who do so as a serious breach.

Getting out of it is complicated and perhaps paradoxical. Going back to using our old Nokia, like some celebrities like Sienna Miller, Tom Cruise and Daniel Radcliffe, who said they don't own a smartphone, is really unrealistic and complicated. But living our digital life more peacefully, avoiding FOMO, nomophobia and web addiction, is possible: we just need to set virtuous habits and behaviors in motion.

Experts recommend practical and immediate methods: disabling chat and app notifications (this is the desirable first step), set a timer that limits the hours we spend in front of certain apps (Instagram and TikTok have throttling feature available.) And then some that concern our will: Force ourselves (or impose if there are kids involved) to postpone checking the notifications on the phone as soon as we wake up or using it at the table, reading a book on public transport or listening to a podcast, leaving the phone away from the desk, the table or the bed when it is not really necessary and set, even if only mentally, priorities for the messages we receive (How long can I wait before replying?). In short, going from compulsive to conscious use would already be a great deal.