I never thought I’d be a person who needed a digital detox. But cut to me, explaining to friends how I was going to turn off my phone and laptop for an entire weekend—beginning Friday evening and continuing through Sunday night—so I could spend more time with my pets. Their responses were pretty much all the same: “Really?” and “Do you think you can do it?” and even a resounding “HA!” It was safe to say that even though I didn’t think I was on my phone that much, the people who know me best seemed to see me as somewhat of a technology addict. But I’m not alone. A July 2019 Pew Research Center study found that approximately 80 percent of U.S. adults go online at least daily. What’s more, 48 percent of those ages 18-29 are online “almost constantly.” In my age group, 30-49, it’s 36 percent. As everything in our lives has shifted online—how we receive the news, connect with family and friends, and watch TV shows—it’s not surprising that the amount of time we spend on the internet is so high and continues to rise. Americans are becoming “obsessed with technology,” and that’s a problem, says Renee Solomon, Ph.D., a Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist and CEO/owner of Forward Recovery. “When people become obsessed with their phones and social media, they are not present in their lives with people and even their pets,” she says. “Everything aside from a digital outlet becomes secondary in terms of importance.” Which brings me back to what inspired my own tech-free weekend: my two dogs.