5 Ways To Unplug And Reconnect This Spring

In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community.” The advisory highlights how technologies like social media, smartphones, virtual reality, remote work, artificial intelligence, and assistive tools have become woven into nearly every part of our lives. 

With 1 in 3 U.S. adults reporting that they are online almost constantly, the risk of negative mental impacts continues to grow. Technology has the power to bring us together or pull us apart. Most of us have felt that familiar sting of FOMO after scrolling through someone else’s highlight reel.

Social connection is essential to our wellbeing; however, spending hours on our devices often replaces the meaningful, messy, in‑person interactions we actually crave. So, I decided to delete my social media accounts a few years ago. While this terrified me, it showed me how much we need each other. If you want to spend less time online and more time reconnecting, here are some tips:

1. Schedule time in nature

Set aside a day, or even an hour each week, to step outside. Practices like forest bathing can reduce stress and lower cortisol levels. Nature quiets the mind, restores attention, and lifts mood. 

According to attention restoration theory, natural environments allow our brains to rest from the constant demands of directed attention, unlike ads and notifications that hijack our focus. We can clearly see this in Blue Zones – regions like Monepello, Italy – where people surrounded by water live exceptionally long lives because of how connected they are with nature and people. 

One of my favorite poets, Wendell Berry, captures this beautifully. In “The Peace of Wild Things,” he writes: “I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief… For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”  

Take a cue from Berry: find a pond, patch of woods, or a quiet field, and simply sit.

2. Delete the apps that drain you

It’s much easier to stay off your phone when you don’t have the most tempting apps. I deleted Netflix while working toward personal goals. While I love TV, it doesn’t always love me back. The satisfaction we feel after binge‑watching is tied to dopamine, and when the show ends, the dopamine drops, too. It leads to that empty feeling afterward? finished a series and thought, “Now what do I do with my life?”

3. Join groups or events that fit your personality

I joined a casual walking group for women, something that’s been a simple but powerful antidote to loneliness. Our world can feel transactional and hyper‑capitalistic, and even Wendell Berry critiques how profit often outweighs the wellbeing of people and the planet. Community is a quiet rebellion against that.

4. Get involved or try a new hobby

Instead of doomscrolling, channel your energy into something that matters. Write to a local representative, volunteer, or explore a new interest. In a representative democracy, your voice does matter. We also “vote” with our dollars: every purchase shapes the world we live in. Use that power intentionally.

5. Tell your friends and family

Let people know you’re taking a break from your devices. Setting healthy boundaries helps others understand you’re not ignoring them. You’re simply choosing presence over constant connection.

It’s important to spend time with people face-to-face to truly foster connections. One of my favorite films, “Cast Away,” captures this perfectly: Tom Hanks’ character survives because of his connection to Kelly, even from afar. 

We need each other…in-person. 

Photo by Yura Fresh on Unsplash