Rekha Chaudhari*

Founder-World Digital Detox Day Zep Foundation, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

*Corresponding Author:Rekha Chaudhari, Founder-World Digital Detox Day Zep Foundation, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Received: May 06, 2025; Published: June 09, 2025

Abstract

In the anxiety-generation century, the phenomenon of digital overexposure has evolved into a multidimensional crisis that intersects with mental health decline, cognitive overload, social fragmentation, and cultural dislocation. As hyperconnectivity becomes the default mode of life, World Digital Detox Day (WDDD)—a nonprofit movement founded by Dr. Rekha Chaudhari and supported by 72 countries ambassadors—has emerged not merely as a wellness event but as a global cultural intervention.

Celebrated annually on December 10, WDDD now operates in 72 countries, impacting over 7.5 million individuals worldwide. The initiative has created structured educational and behavioural impact models across 126,400 schools, engaging 2.64 million children and 5.1 million parents through certified digital detox education, digital manners modules, and analog wellness protocols.

This paper theorizes WDDD as a transnational soft power movement—a modern example of cultural diplomacy rooted in wellness ethics. Drawing on empirical research published across peer-reviewed platforms (JHSTC, SAGE Advance, ResearchGate, and NLM/PMC), the paper investigates how analog practices—including screen-free rituals, digital fasting, mindfulness routines, and family-based tech breaks—function as forms of emotional sovereignty and micro-resistance to digital addiction.

The study also analyses WDDD's use of a global ambassador network, public engagement campaigns, school and university partnerships, and grassroots-led awareness to shift norms at scale. The initiative’s symbolic and policy-level impact is further validated through its growing influence in governmental dialogues and judicial spaces, such as its Supreme Court petition in India.

Ultimately, WDDD is positioned as a living cultural artifact and a replicable global model of soft power—one that reclaims agency, strengthens neuro-social resilience, and inspires emotional and ethical reconnection in the digital age.

Keywords: Digital Detox; Soft Power; Analog Wellness; Child Digital Rights; Cultural Diplomacy; Emotional Sovereignty; Digital Fasting; WDDD

References

1. Alter Adam. “Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked”. Penguin Press, (2017).
2. Nye Joseph S. “Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics”. Public Affairs (2004).
3. Twenge Jean M. “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” The Atlantic (2017).
4. United Nations. “Convention on the Rights of the Child”. UN General Assembly (1989).
5. Chaudhari Rekha. “Digital Fasting and Emotional Sovereignty: A New Era of Analog Wellness”. Journal of Holistic Science, Technology and Culture (JHSTC) (2022).
6. Chaudhari Rekha. “Offline is the New Luxury: Globalizing Analog Consciousness through World Digital Detox Day”. SAGE Advance (2023).
7. Chaudhari Rekha. “Digital Manners and Ethics: Behavioral Transformation in Indian Schools”. ResearchGate (2023).
8. World Digital Detox Day. “Global Impact Summary Report 2023”. WorldDigitalDetoxDay.com, Zep Foundation.

Citation

Citation: Rekha Chaudhari. “World Digital Detox Day as Cultural Soft Power: Reframing Global Wellness through Analog Consciousness". Acta Scientific Clinical Case Reports 6.7 (2025): 09-12.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Rekha Chaudhari. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.