This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: How we feel about taking a break from our screens could tell us something important about the way we behave online, according to new research from the University of Bath and Goethe University Frankfurt. Researchers have developed the first validated scale specifically designed to measure people's attitudes toward temporarily reducing their digital consumption, finding considerable differences in how positively people view the prospect of switching off.
The researchers say measuring these attitudes provides a new way to investigate our increasingly complex relationship with digital technology, including what makes people want to disconnect, why some are more receptive to the idea than others and whether that willingness ultimately translates into changes in behavior. More than eight in 10 participants were positive about the idea of a digital detox, suggesting a widespread appetite for switching off, although the study did not test whether they subsequently did so. Published in Psychology & Marketing, the research found that attitudes toward digital detox were associated with characteristics including mindfulness and self-control.
They could also help predict how much time people subsequently spent watching online videos. From work emails and instant messaging to social media, push notifications and AI-driven recommendations, digital technology increasingly competes for our attention. Digital detox, deliberately reducing our use of digital devices for a period of time, has emerged as one response to this constant connectivity.
Goethe University Frankfurt professor Jan Landwehr said, "Many people feel overwhelmed by the constant digital information flow and experience a need to switch off. We developed a scientifically validated measurement scale to make this vague positive attitude toward reducing digital activities measurable. And we find that a vast majority of our participants have a latent need to detox from digital activities." The team developed the Attitude toward Digital Detox (ADD) scale, a seven-item measure of how positively people feel about temporarily reducing their digital consumption.
Across seven studies, the researchers tested the scale with a mix of participants, including adult U.S. residents recruited through online research platforms, university students in Central Europe, members of Reddit communities focused on online and offline activities and consumer-behavior experts from European universities. Goethe University Frankfurt professor Torsten Bornemann said: "The scale could now be used to explore when and why people want to reduce their digital consumption and whether changing attitudes toward switching off might ultimately help people take greater control of their relationship with technology." Svenja Winkler et al., In Favor of Digital Detox: Developing the Attitude Toward Digital Detox Scale, Psychology & Marketing (2026). DOI: 10.1002/mar.70256 Provided by Goethe University Frankfurt am Main MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content.
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