Why taking a 2-week digital detox break was one of the best things I ever did for myself

Panic. FOMO. Relief. That pretty much sums up the wave of emotions I experienced in the first five minutes after realizing I couldn’t get a reliable cell or WiFi signal for nearly two weeks straight during my recent adventures in Alaska.

I hadn’t planned to take a two-week break from all my gadgets and screens, or really even take any time off from work at all when I traveled home to the Kenai Peninsula – where I grew up and most of my family still lives. Every summer, I make this journey home every summer and every summer, I usually experience some glitch in the whole modern tech experience. 

Until recently, my parents' internet service was dial-up caliber. Now they have a satellite tower on top of their roof to get speeds that make it “almost always” possible to do a video call without stuttering and freezing and having to dial back in every few minutes.