A duty to help

Others say poor social media habits can be treated as a workplace problem. In London, Orianna Fielding founded the Digital Detox Company in 2014, after researching a book about unplugging. Fielding now works with companies to help employees navigate their social media use rather than leaving them to manage on their own. Programmes start with an in-person workshop and then employees go through custom online modules that cater to their own digital triggers, which include interruptions from social media.

“We’re reframing our relationship to technology,” says Fielding, who charges £600 ($748) per day on average. A firm’s executives can sign up for additional workshops that focus on increasing productivity, she adds.

Getting it right

Experts warn of over-relying on mindfulness or digital detox retreats without additional follow-up. Weekend or week-long detoxes, which often involve spending time in a natural setting to help users disengage from devices, can be a good first step, says Driskell.

But like other addictions, clients typically visit for at least six months to a year in order to fully understand how to manage their own behavior when not in a detox programme, he says. “It’s good to detox to get your mind away, but then you go back into the same life as before,” which can hinder progress, Driskell says.

When self-therapy works

Some firms are looking to attract social media users who aren’t quite ready for an onslaught of one-on-one therapy but who still want to try logging off.