Canadian man takes son to Mongolia without cellphones for digital detox

A Canadian man went on a month-long motorcycle adventure across Mongolia with his son but left their cell phones to bond without the digital addiction. Jamie Clarke invited his son Khobe for a trip to Mongolia without the distraction of social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook.

Speaking to a Canadian news channel, Khobe confessed that the idea of leaving his phone behind for a month and not being able to communicate with anyone scared him. He said that his friends thought it was a ridiculous idea to leave the phones behind and they also put a bet about the day Khobe would crumble down. Though the duo was travelling without any communication line, The Garmin (GPS satellite communicator) helped their family keep a track.

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Jamie, as a father, felt partly responsible for his son’s digital attachment as he facilitated it right from his childhood days. He said he would play a "little Brick Breaker" on his Blackberry phone with his son right before bedtime and he slowly got hooked on to it. Jamie said that if he could time travel 15 years back, he would tell his younger self to not do it.

Khobe said that it was a “bizarre” experience initially and he felt that he was on a different planet altogether. Jamie recalled an incident where the duo had travelled for hours across a huge valley with their bike and he felt meditative. But as soon as they removed their helmets, Khobe said that it was a terrible experience for him and that he should not be left with his “own thoughts” like that. Jamie said that he ended up learning many things about his son’s life when he shared about his experiences at school, struggles with friends, and life in general.

Read: Mongolian Police Arrests 800 Chinese Citizens In Cyber Crime Probe

Problematic smartphone usage in youngsters

Recently, researchers found out that youngsters exhibit 'problematic smartphone usage' (PSU) and almost a quarter of them are so dependent on their mobile devices that they become "panicky" when denied constant access. The report claimed that 23 per cent of the people exhibited PSU in a way that is consistent with a behavioural addiction.

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