Could you go a whole weekend without your phone? That’s exactly what newlyweds, Venetia and Max La Manna do every week. With an ethos of ‘disconnect to connect’, they’re encouraging others to go without their mobiles for the two-day stint in order to reap the benefits of spending quality time doing the things you love, with the people you love. And with research showing that 38 per cent of British adults believe that they use their smartphone too much, more than half admitting to using their devices while walking, and a further 4.5 million still using their mobiles while crossing the road (deloitte.com), we think they’re definitely on to something here. We caught up with them to find out why it’s about time we all logged off.
Venetia: Offline 48 started when Max and I took a digital detox last Christmas. We were spending our first Christmas together, and as we both work online a lot, we decided we would take a break in order to be able to spend more time with each other and our familes. We had the intention of going offline for around three days, but that turned into four, five, six, seven, up to 10 – we just absolutely loved it and noticed so many benefits. It was easier to sleep, we felt more present, our mental health improved and we looked better. I was eating intuitively, rather than thinking about what Instagram would think of my plate.