Remember the days of printed maps, dog-eared Lonely Planet guidebooks — of getting lost? Back in the pre-5G era, travel used to be as much about adventuring into the unknown as it was about collecting passport stamps. But today, with mobiles on hand 24/7 to navigate transport routes, book hotel rooms and check restaurant reviews, the mystery has vanished. Analogue travel has gone from the norm to an unthinkably exotic — even entertainment-worthy — prospect; just see the hit television series The White Lotus as example, where the guests are repeatedly asked if they want to surrender their phones.
But though we may fantasise about an old-school, zero-tech adventure, switching off isn’t easy. “So many of us hate the fact we’re online so much, but it’s so hard to turn off our phones due to fear of missing out,” says Hector Hughes, co-founder of Unplugged, a collection of digital detox getaways in the UK.
