Unplugged for Connection: Whole Village’s Digital Detox Week
In recent years, Whole Village has been actively preparing for a harmonious and resilient future through the development of a five-year strategic plan. After much careful reflection we distilled our focus into 10 broad goals. One goal, “To facilitate and enhance spiritual, personal and community connection”, was assigned to a subcommittee which has been working to design a plan to achieve this goal.
Time scarcity emerged as a significant hurdle, with residents already balancing personal responsibilities and community commitments. Adding more events risked contributing to burnout. So, we aimed to support our residents’ mental health along with spiritual and personal growth while being mindful not to strain an already full schedule with more meetings, workshops etc.
The concept of a “digital detox” came up and appeared to marry well with the time scarcity quandary and the goal in general. The detox was envisioned as a quiet, restorative period to encourage rest, mindfulness and reflection. We approached the idea with a spirit of optimism and critical experimentation.
The proposal was for all residents to choose first, whether they’d like to participate and next, how they’d like to engage. The week after New Year’s, quiet for most of us and before back-to-school, was selected. It could, for example, entail simply not using social media or to be more extreme, giving up the use of phones and computers altogether.
At Whole Village, digital tools play a central role in our internal communication. Our WhatsApp group is a hub for discussions alongside specialty groups like ‘Fowl Play’ (for the chicken crew, often featuring dancing chicken GIFs), the ‘Garden’ group (currently hibernating), and ‘Night Chickens’. We also frequently use email – typically 5-10 per day. These might be meeting minutes, a forward of an agricultural or intentional community’s email of interest, or simply a community meal invitation.
The digital detox week was meant to offer an opportunity not to disengage from community life, but to approach it in a new way that could also provide a reprieve from excessive use of technology. But, as we discovered, not everyone had the privilege of disconnecting. This experience revealed the varying degrees of freedom and obligation residents have when it comes to disconnecting – influenced by work, family needs, and unexpected situations. For some it was vital to be connected and reachable at all times – one resident’s parent was undergoing surgery and required phone communications. In another instance a community member had some major appliance-related issues that required immediate support from the internet – hampering their digital detox intentions. Some were surprised to discover that they were overdoing it at all.
Unsurprisingly, the impact of giving up technology for one week did indeed have a profound bearing on how that time unfolded. I found it impacting everything from my relationships to meal preparation. On the first day, I stumbled upon a spirituality/self-help section in the library – a section I hadn’t realized existed, even though we had discussed creating one in our long-term planning. This discovery increased my gratitude and reminded me of how much can be overlooked when life moves too quickly and is focussed on screens.
This brief yet powerful experiment underscores, from this author’s perspective, the transformative potential of intentional digital disconnection. By stepping away from our technology that is now so integral, we can create space for unexpected connections with ourselves, each other and our surroundings. Incorporating this practice into our annual rhythm could be a meaningful step toward fostering the harmony and resilience we envision for Whole Village.
