March 6, 2025

Leadership Message: National Day of Unplugging 2025

(SACRAMENTO)

Dear Colleagues,

Carol Kirshnit with her new puppy Quincy!

Many of us have our devices set up to notify us of our screen time usage. We probably don’t pay much attention to this data because we don’t really want to know how much time we spend glued to the various screens surrounding us.

Data from Nielsen (2023) states that adults in the U.S. spend nearly 60 hours taking in electronic media every week – a little more than 8.5 hours per day. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (2020), children ages 8-12 spend roughly 4 to 6 hours watching or using screens daily, and adolescents are online for around 9 hours daily. Most of our screen time is spent looking at TV and/or smartphones.

The National Day of Unplugging begins at sundown on Friday, March 7, and concludes at sundown on Saturday, March 8. This observance was initiated in 2009 by a non-profit organization to encourage people to step away from their electronics for 24 hours and focus on offline activities such as face-to-face conversations, reading, and several other pursuits that people can enjoy without electronic devices. The intention is to help people slow down, be more mindful about their use of technology, and prioritize their real-life connections with others.

Early celebrations involved small groups of people gathering for tech-free dinners. The movement has gained popularity and grown to include a host of unplugged events, such as organized hikes, lectures, cooking classes/demonstrations, and musical jam sessions, to name a few. Another key aspect of this campaign is reminding people that they can survive and even enjoy themselves without technology and electronics.

Why is this important?

Technology has made our lives significantly easier in countless ways. We can connect with people much more readily, regardless of where they are. We can access vast amounts of information and answer almost any question that comes to mind. There are apps available to simplify nearly anything we are trying to do. So, why would we want or need a break from all of this?

While technology can help us connect with people, especially people who are far away from us, technology can also be extremely addicting, as any doom scroller will tell you.

Folks who have taken a tech break report a variety of benefits from this practice. Typically, setting down our technology is associated with reduced stress and improved mood. While we may initially worry about what we might be missing, those concerns are quickly replaced with calmer and quieter feelings. Our lives become a lot simpler when we only need to focus energy and attention on ourselves and the people or events taking place in our immediate environment. We are also a lot more present and engaged when we set down our phones and tablets rather than being distracted by multiple input sources.

Stepping away from technology is associated with physical benefits, too. We are far more likely to get up and move around when we aren’t tethered to our electronics – and less likely to have neck or back pain from sitting for long periods of time while using our electronic devices.

How to celebrate the National Day of Unplugging

If you plan to celebrate, the first step is to notify people close to you that you plan to take a 24-hour break from electronics.

Then, turn off all your devices – put them away and out of sight if that will help you stay focused on being unplugged.

Things to do without your devices

The list is endless! You can play board games, cook a delicious meal, go for a walk, snuggle up with your favorite other being(s) and maybe a trashy novel, put together a jigsaw puzzle, take long beautiful hikes in nature, play music, garden, meditate – and so much more! There’s quite a lot we can do without our electronics, and I encourage folks reading this piece to think about how you can spend the 8.5 hours freed up by unplugging on March 7 and 8. Happy National Unplugging Day!