It's stronger than them: like one out of two French people*, Valentine and Louis do not plan to be on vacation without staying connected.
For Valentine, a 25-year-old journalist, it's systematic: she scrolls through her Instagram news feed as soon as she
"is in a low moment"
.
When travelling, it can be in the morning while having her coffee, in transport, at noon when she waits for her meal in the restaurant, in the afternoon when she lazes on the beach, in the evening when she goes to bed... "
A little all the time”
, she sums up.
And often, coupled with the desire to scroll frantically, she feels the urge to post.
A beautiful landscape, an enticing dish, a sunset, a pretty outfit, her boyfriend… Everything is post matter.
"When traveling, it's an average of seven stories a day
," says the young woman.
For Louis, a 42-year-old entrepreneur, scrolling for hours is out of the question.
On the other hand, the forty-year-old needs to have his smartphone always at hand.
Vacation, or not.
“I realize that if I spend 15 minutes without looking at it, I will look for it,”
he confides.
His addiction: email notifications, messages, slacks and other media pushes.
"Besides, if I see that I have no notifications for several minutes, I will turn on my screen to check"
, describes the businessman who receives nearly 250 notifications a day and who cannot prevent them from being processed instantly.
“When I receive a message, I answer it immediately.
When I receive the push of information that interests me, I read the article immediately
.
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"Today, we consult our phone an average of 283 times a day"
But why the hell do we have such a hard time getting off our screens, even during a trip?
"In reality, it's normal",
deciphers Anne-lise Ducanda PMI doctor, member of the collective against overexposure to screens (CoSE) and author of
Toddlers facing screens: How to protect them
(1).
“Our smartphone algorithms were designed with the help of neuroscientists using a new science called captology.
It is the use of all the knowledge that we have of the human brain and its weaknesses, in the service of digital technology”
.
The brain is wired to detect the most salient points in its environment.
A sound, a noise, a light… This is what originally allowed him to escape danger.
The colors, the visual or sound notifications stimulate his attention, excite him, make him captive, addicted to these permanent solicitations.
Result: travel or not, vacation or not, heavenly beach or not, the smartphone has become the favorite activity of the brain.
"Today, we consult our phone on average 221 times a day"
, specifies the professional.
According to the ELABE study published in 2019, 60% of French people say they are unable to do without their phone for a day.
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digital detox
Faced with this,
“as with any addiction”
, Anne-lise Ducanda recommends imposing strict restrictions on use.
And precisely to start this drop in diet during her holidays, a strategic moment according to her,
"since the pleasure acquired by the telephone will be more easily compensated by other activities related to the holidays"
.
To do this, she recommends telling loved ones in advance, so that they are less of a source of solicitation, not systematically taking your phone with you everywhere (exit the beach and the restaurant, for example), switching your screen to black and white and if you have two phones (pro and personal), do not take the pro in your luggage.
A digital detox supposed to allow
"to reconnect with the people you travel with, to rest, to see your ability to concentrate increase tenfold and to occupy yourself differently"
, according to Anne-Lise Ducanda.
LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST - What are the risks of not putting your phone in airplane mode?
In 2021, aware of her addiction, Valentine deletes Instagram from her phone for one summer.
Result: if at the beginning, taking pictures of landscapes without posting them directly on the application disconcerts her, very quickly, she appreciates.
She even finds time to read and get bored.
“I felt like I had more time
,” she confesses.
Louis, he has never tried to limit himself but is not against the principle.
While waiting for his digital detox, when we discuss the date of publication of the article, he assures us:
“I will not fail to find out, anyway, I will have the push”
!
*
Methodology
: the survey was conducted online from May 11 to 17, 2022, by the YouGov polling institute, with a panel of 1,031 French adults representative of the French national population, aged 18 to 45.
(1) Toddlers facing screens: How to protect them
(Éd. Rocher), 18.90 euros.