Is 2026 the year of soft unplugging?

Yes, it is, 2026 is already the year of soft unplugging. People have been daydreaming about unplugging a lot lately, with many claiming 2026 will be the year of unplugging.

However, completely unplugging from the digital world is considered a luxury, and regular folks can’t afford it. Almost every aspect of people’s lives requires digital input, from utility bill payments to shopping to entertainment, and even work. While getting completely unplugged will remain a distant dream for many, folks can work on soft unplugging, which focuses on minimizing people’s digital presence.

People have various reasons to want to spend less time in front of screens. Including reducing digital fatigue, lowering stress from digital noise, improving health, or simply being more present for their loved ones.  

Key takeaways

• The 2026 is emerging as the year of soft unplugging.
• Practical steps for reducing digital exposure include unsubscribing from unwanted mailing lists, deleting unused apps. And sanitizing social media feeds to regain control over the content people see.
• Digital fatigue and tech addiction are real and widespread issues that can have serious health impacts if unaddressed appropriately.
• Soft unplugging could lead to better health, privacy, reduced footprint, and positive societal shifts.

How to soft unplug?

Getting out of the Matrix is close to impossible, but there are ways for folks to clean up their digital life and bring some order to it. 

Unsubscribe from random mailing lists

One way to reduce digital noise is to invest some time in unsubscribing from random email lists. People often receive over 100 emails per day. Some of the emails might be important, but the majority likely consist of advertisements, news, offers, and… scam attempts. Unsubscribing from unwanted lists and moving scam emails to the junk folder will undoubtedly help reduce digital noise.

Get rid of unused apps and programs

People tend to forget to remove unwanted apps from their smartphones. Removing clutter from digital devices will help people soft-unplug, too

Windows users can head to the Add or Remove Programs section to clean up programs that are no longer in use on the PC. The same goes for Mac and smartphone users when it comes to apps. Different sources provide various numbers. But, in general, ordinary people tend to have approximately 80-100 apps on their smartphones, with only 10-15% used daily and less than half used monthly. On many occasions, cellphone users download an app to use only once or twice, but keep it on the device forever.

Decrease stress levels by sanitizing social media feeds

Unplugging would mean a person permanently deletes social media apps. However, those are still considered desirable sources of news and entertainment. So instead of letting an algorithm pick what an individual needs to see, that individual can modify the timeline with a little effort. Going through the “following list” and hitting that unfollow button would help people get rid of stress-causing posts or people. Folks are just one click away from never ever learning or hearing anything from a specific person or a publication. 

Digital fatigue is real, and people tend to spend about 5 hours a day on their smartphones. Scrolling, commenting, engaging, working, shopping… it is normal to feel exhausted after hours of scrolling. On some occasions, the browsing has been optional – i.e., the person could have gone out for a walk or done other things that bring meaning to a life.

Digital addiction is also a very real problem of the 21st century. Most social media apps, including Facebook and TikTok, are designed to keep users within their ecosystems. TikTok had to issue statements encouraging kids to use its platform less and to take breaks between scrolling and swiping sessions. However, it is not just kids; adults too fall for that trap. 

What are the benefits of soft unplugging?

Soft unplugging can have health benefits and even help save some money while increasing privacy and reducing the digital footprint left online. A person’s wallet would be happy if more storage space were actually available on digital devices.

Getting rid of all these unwanted bloatware programs or unused apps will make some room for other, likely more meaningful things. Getting rid of all these unused apps also prevents app developers from tracking phone owners. Unused apps still share phone user activities with the respective developers. Soft unplugging also means people would engage less on forums or social media. Which, in the long term, would prevent others (such as the government or future generations) from judging the comments left under articles or within the social media ecosystem.  

Technology brings convenience, but it comes with side effects such as burnout, digital fatigue, depression, and addiction. However, businesses are increasingly implementing forced unplugging. E.g: asking people to leave their smartphones before they enter a club or a music festival. And are actively engaging in activities beyond the digital ecosystem.

Even the government is seeing the damage and is actively trying to get people to be more active and live healthily because technology can cause mental harm, but could also be the reason for physical problems. Obesity rates would be reduced if people actually engaged in physical activity rather than scrolling for 5 hours a day. The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services has, on many occasions, expressed concerns about cellphone tower radiation and advised people to keep smartphones away from sensitive body organs, as technology impacts people not only mentally but also physically.    

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