{"id":1165275,"date":"2026-08-23T19:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T19:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1165275\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T19:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T19:03:18","slug":"divorcing-devices-how-digital-detox-helps-hongkongers-carve-out-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1165275\/","title":{"rendered":"Divorcing devices: how digital detox helps Hongkongers \u2018carve out moments\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">In the second instalment of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on Hong Kong\u2019s growing wellness trends, Fiona Sun looks into how residents are embracing digital detox, as experts warn that excessive screen use is linked to anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">For Robert Broad, stepping away from electronic devices has become part of a self-care routine he developed after the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The 56-year-old recalled how spending long hours in front of screens while working remotely affected his physical and mental health and reduced the time he spent with family and friends.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cI became a lot more anxious, I wasn\u2019t sleeping as much, I gained weight \u2013 all of those things started to snowball and take a toll on me and my relationships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Determined to restore a sense of balance, Broad began with small, manageable steps that could develop into lasting habits.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">When he returns home from work, he puts his mobile phone in a drawer. He has disabled news alerts and keeps notifications on only for his parents and anyone who may need to reach him in an emergency.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">He has also switched his phone to greyscale to make it less appealing and checks his emails in batches rather than as they arrive. He stops checking them at 8.30pm each day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the second instalment of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on Hong Kong\u2019s growing wellness trends, Fiona&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1165276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4317],"tags":[14785,11305,29693,105,3749,11304,388,218,6111,59150,3809,16,15,2488],"class_list":["post-1165275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-covid-19-pandemic","tag-digital-detox","tag-electronic-devices","tag-health","tag-hong-kong","tag-internet-addiction","tag-lifestyle","tag-mental-health","tag-mobile-phone","tag-screen-time","tag-smartphone","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wellness"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117146380045764353","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1165275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1165275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1165275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1165276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1165275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1165275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1165275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}