Could you give up your phone for a whole day? 

The charity CyberSafeKids is encouraging families to challenge themselves and take a 24 hour digital detox. 

Speaking to Lunchtime Live, listener Joe said he imagined younger people would struggle more than their parents. 

“I imagine if you put the question to cohorts of people that anybody over 50 wouldn’t have a difficulty giving up their phone for a day, two days, or even a week,” he said. 

“Whereas anybody under 40 would be totally bereft and lost without having access to their phone.

“To boil it down to what it is, it’s age and it has to do with the fact that what you’re accustomed to and what you’re used to.” 

Wishing you all a wonderful #CyberBreak! See you on the other side...#cyberbreak23 #digitalhealthandwellbeing #digitaldetox pic.twitter.com/oInT0Ddd5J

— CyberSafeKids (@CyberSafeKidsIE) October 20, 2023

Joe recalled that when he was growing up, many people did not have a phone and using one could be quite expensive. 

“When I was a kid, if you wanted to use the phone you had to go to a public phone box or if one of your neighbours, who might live quarter of a mile away, was lucky enough to have a private phone, you went there and you asked him, ‘Could I make a phonecall?’” he said. 

“And you paid them for a phone call in their hall because that’s where the phone was always situated.” 

No more landlines

Caller Cathy said “definitely couldn’t” give up the phone without a significant amount of preparation beforehand. 

“Years ago, when we were meeting out friends, we’d meet outside Bewley’s on Grafton Street and we’d say, ‘I’ll meet you at 12 o’clock and I’ll wait 10 minutes,’” she said. 

“So, it needed preparation. 

“Also, we used to have landlines, which we no longer have. 

“So, our mobile is like an extension of a landline.”

Main image: A woman and her phone.