Digital detox: setting phone-free hours that actually work

Geelong’s Barwon Health has reported a 22 percent jump in stress-related mental health presentations since 2024, and local GPs are now prescribing something unexpected: time away from screens. The advice, backed by a growing body of research, is to start with just one phone-free hour a day, not a weekend-long detox.

The push comes as data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that adults in Victoria now average 5.7 hours of recreational screen time daily, up from 4.3 hours in 2020. For those under 30, the figure climbs past seven hours. The link between heavy use and symptoms of anxiety and depression is now well established, especially for social media and news apps.

Local solutions, real places

At the Geelong Waterfront parkrun, which starts Saturday mornings at 8am on the Eastern Beach promenade, participants are asked to leave phones in bags or cars. The event’s organisers say the rule helps runners focus on the 5-kilometre course along the Barwon River walking trail. Since it launched in 2023, attendance has grown to more than 180 regulars, and many say the enforced disconnection is a feature, not an inconvenience.

Over at the Eastern Beach rock pool, the City of Greater Geelong has installed a small “phone-free zone” sign near the changing sheds, encouraging swimmers to store devices before heading into the water. While the initiative is voluntary, council data from the first quarter of 2026 shows a 12 percent increase in reported satisfaction among visitors who stayed for more than two hours, suggesting that longer, uninterrupted leisure time has value.

Barwon Health’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, based at the McKellar Centre in North Geelong, now includes a “digital boundaries” module in its stress management workshops. The program, offered free to residents, recommends setting two specific phone-free blocks each day: one during a morning walk, the other during an evening meal.

What actually works

Research published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions in 2025 tracked 1,200 adults over 12 weeks. Those who committed to a single, repeatable phone-free window each day-like during their lunch break-reported a 34 percent drop in self-rated stress levels. The group that attempted full weekends without devices showed no significant improvement, often because they felt anxious about missing important calls or messages.

For Geelong residents wanting to test the approach, the key is to tie the break to a consistent location or activity. The Barwon River walking trail, for instance, has more than 15 kilometres of path between the Queens Bridge and Balyang Sanctuary. A 30-minute walk there, done daily, can serve as the phone-free anchor. Likewise, the Geelong Botanic Gardens, with its entry on Queens Park Road, offers a quiet setting where phones can stay in pockets.

Screens in bedrooms are another target. Barwon Health’s workshops suggest turning off all devices at least 60 minutes before sleep, and leaving them in another room overnight. The practice, dubbed “the charger in the kitchen rule,” has been linked to improved sleep quality in trials run by the Sleep Health Foundation, which found a 41 percent reduction in insomnia symptoms among participants who adhered to the regimen for three weeks.

Start small. Pick one hour tomorrow, leave the phone on silent in a drawer, and walk the path along the Barwon to the Eastern Beach rock pool. For those who need a stronger nudge, the Geelong library on Little Malop Street loans out “dumb phones” for a two-week trial-no internet, just calls and texts. The waiting list, as of July, is at 14 people.