This week we’re chatting with Dr Charlotte Armitage, psychologist, psychotherapist and founder of No Phones At Home Day, which is on 20 January 2024.

Hi, Charlotte! If you could recommend One Good Thing everyone can do to improve their mental health, what would it be?

Put your phone down! We are all so used to spending too much time on our devices and we don’t yet fully understand the impact that these devices are having on our mental health and wellbeing. We are aware that social media can make us feel negative but there are more issues relating to device use. Being on our devices separates us from those around us and can compound feelings of loneliness and isolation, but what we need to make us feel good is in-person interaction, not online interaction.

Why is this your One Good Thing?

It encourages us to relate to people in person. We know that one of the biggest contributing factors towards feelings of happiness and longevity is the depth of the connections around us, therefore building real relationships can work wonders for our physical and mental wellbeing.

Putting down the device encourages us to seek out interaction in person. It forces us to do activities not related to our phones. These activities might involve going outdoors, meeting with others, being creative – all things that are good for our health.

One Good Thing: why you should take part in one phone-free day