Digital Detox: Do You Switch Off on Holiday?

Traditionally, going on holiday was all about getting away from it all and enjoying a break from the stresses of everyday life – but not anymore it seems.

While 65% of us attempt a digital detox when we’re away from home, more and more of us are finding it harder to switch off completely. After all, who can resist a quick Tweet, a sneaky beach “selfie” or a quick check of work emails?

If that sounds familiar – read on. You’re definitely not alone.

Admiring the (On-Screen) View

The days of relaxing on a beautiful beach, oblivious to the goings-on back home are well and truly behind us. A massive 90% of Brits on holiday admit to spending up to four hours a day on their smartphones or tablets – or in other words, less time spent admiring the scenery and more time staring at a screen.

Smile for the Social Network

Are you one of those people who post their photos to Facebook within minutes of taking them? A recent survey by the Post Office shows that one in three people stage holiday photos in order to appear as happy as possible on social networking sites. Much of this activity involves taking ‘selfies’ and posting them on Facebook or Twitter and, yep, Instagramm-ing photos of food.

We Want Wi-Fi

Forget the hotel swimming pool and the view from your balcony; connecting on holiday has now become one of the most important aspects for people choosing where to stay. In fact over a quarter of travellers (27%) refuse to book a hotel if it doesn’t have free Wi-Fi access. It’s not just the hotel: 30% make a point of choosing restaurants or bars that allow them to get online.

Working Holidays

It’s not just social networking sites that we’re bothered about, we can’t forget about work on holiday either. Get this: 70% of us feel the need to keep in touch with the office while on our travels, with one in five of us actually packing a laptop to try and reduce our workloads. Perhaps this is down to the fact that 60% of holidaymakers return to work after a two week holiday with over 250 emails to respond to – ouch!