A Collective Digital Detox: The “OFF February” Challenge Gains Momentum
A new initiative, dubbed “OFF February,” is encouraging individuals in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States to disconnect from social media for the entire month of February. The movement aims to address growing concerns about hyperconnectivity and its impact on mental and social well-being.
The challenge centers around removing social media applications from smartphones, creating a deliberate pause in constant digital engagement. According to the movement’s initiators, the goal is to regain control over one’s attention, reduce the pervasive influence of screens, and re-evaluate our relationship with technology.
Victor Fersing, founder of the media outlet La Fabrique Sociale and the French lead for the OFF movement, explained the genesis of the challenge. “This initiative stems from a simple observation: our lives are increasingly mediated by screens,” he said. “Screens have infiltrated all facets of our daily routines, perhaps a little too much. We know that these applications are designed to capture our attention and collect our data, not to improve our well-being. Their excessive use tends to degrade our mental, physical, and social health.”
Fersing emphasized the difficulty of disconnecting individually. “The problem is that it’s very difficult to do it alone. If you leave Instagram but all your friends remain there, you find yourself isolated. Many would like to reduce their use of social networks, but they don’t succeed because everyone around them remains connected. We are not always on social networks by choice, but because we don’t really have a choice.”
OFF February, proposes a collective framework of 28 days to reduce social media use and reinvest the time gained in other activities – such as spending time with friends without constantly checking notifications, reading, or simply enjoying the world around us.
The initiative’s approach of removing apps from smartphones, rather than completely deactivating accounts, was chosen for accessibility. “We wanted this challenge to be accessible,” Fersing stated. “Completely deleting social networks or temporarily deactivating accounts would discourage many people, as they are too ingrained in daily life. Deleting the applications from the smartphone targets the most compulsive uses, linked to the economy of attention.”
A recent Ipsos BVA study revealed that 64% of French citizens expressed willingness to participate in a digital detox, highlighting a broad consensus on the need for collective action to address screen addiction. Fersing noted this finding, stating, “It doesn’t surprise me. In the discussions I have with young people, parents, or citizens, there is a strong consensus: our relationship with screens is problematic.”
France is also considering prohibiting social media access for those under 15, a step Fersing supports, though he believes it is insufficient. He argues that the platforms’ addictive nature makes it problematic to expose children to them, especially given how their attention is treated as a commodity. He also pointed to the need for greater regulation of advertising and the business models of these platforms, as the problems they generate extend beyond just younger users.
Fersing doesn’t anticipate cooperation from major tech companies, often referred to as GAFAM. “We shouldn’t expect anything from the GAFAM,” he said. “Without a balance of power, they won’t change their interfaces or their business model, and they will continue to capture the attention of users to enrich themselves. This balance of power must come from civil society, with movements like OFF, and from political leaders who, under pressure from citizens, must be firm in changing the legislation.”
The challenge encourages participants to reflect on their digital habits and explore alternative ways to spend their time, fostering a more intentional and balanced relationship with technology.
