Cuckoo Unwired: time to take a timeout! 

A broadband company telling you not to use the broadband? It may seem counterintuitive but that’s exactly what we are doing with our latest campaign.

🔐 Want more control over your internet? We’ll be here to guide you every step of the way with useful tools, tips and tricks that can help you take a break from your screens.

🌳 Want a complete digital detox? We’ll also be looking at ways that you can take a screen break, get out into nature and refresh your energy.

It's all going to unfold this year on our socials. Stay tuned.

You won’t have to look hard to find research and reports discussing the detrimental impact social media and web content can have; especially on young people. It’s a clear and present danger; one that regulators are actively trying to address.  

For our part, Cuckoo customers have eero secure included as standard which can be used to block content, create family profiles, set freeze schedules and other parental controls. 

Ofcom’s Online Nation 2023 report asked people to consider the impact of being online, 71% of adult internet users agreed that for them personally the benefits of being online outweigh the risks. The report also highlighted how children use the Internet to benefit their mental health, finding that 39% of respondents use the internet to relax and feel happy. 

Another study from Oxford Internet Institute (OII) analysed data gathered between 2006 and 2021 from two million individuals aged 15 to 99 worldwide and concluded that: People who had internet access or actively used the internet reported greater levels of life satisfaction and social wellbeing. 

More than that though, the Internet is essential for accessing many services – The Good Things Foundation, alongside digital poverty researcher Kat Dixon, released a periodic table of 'internet needs' which highlights the impact of not having access to decent broadband.

So a bit of broadband can be good, and it can help you feel connected. But finding balance, being aware of your usage and seeking time in nature is proven to ramp up your mental bandwidth.  

And best of all, you can feel the impact with just 20 minutes a day! A recent study found that spending just two hours a week in nature (or any urban green space) can lead to consistently higher levels of health and wellbeing. 

Being in nature is also proven to lower cortisol levels (stress hormone), improve your sleep and even make you more compassionate – the list goes on.

Whether it’s a 20 minute break from tech, your 2 hours a week in nature or a complete digital detox in a wilderness cabin, disconnecting from technology and getting active has so many proven benefits.  

To explore this further, we teamed up with Poetic Unity – a charity that “gives a voice to the voiceless” through poetry and spoken word -  to explore the power of the disconnect.

We commissioned two pieces of spoken word poetry to highlight the importance of connecting IRL, and also the impact that moving and nature can have on mental health.

London-based poet, Lara Grace Ilori, took us on a journey of disconnection and connection whilst Blaise Alexis Anglin explored the theme of digital detox and movement.

What we've learnt is that small changes matter, and finding just a single moment of clarity can have a unimaginable difference.

Sometimes the best approach to disconnecting is getting your hands in the mud. We spent a glorious summer day in the company of Earth Tenders, a black-led community garden in Dulwich to explore community and how getting your hands in the soil can reconnect us with what really matters.

We’ve talked about taking a break from technology, but could technology also hold the answers?

👨‍💻 Managing your internet with eero router

Our eero routers come with eero secure, which help you to control your home network settings. Offering parental control and content blocking to take away some of the worry.

You can also set user profiles to control who has access to what, and when. And block content – both website domains and apps.

📱 Using apps to stay healthy

From hypnosis to Hatha yoga, the app store is awash with apps for your mind, body and soul. The wellness tech industry is booming. See our favourites here .      

📜 A nod to the past

Haven’t you heard? Retro is cool. There’s plenty of out-of-fashion technology that can help you maintain better digital habits.  

An old-school alarm clock could help you get your mobile phone out of the bedroom.

A classic Casio watch could stop you from checking the time on your phone (if you're lucky it might have a calculator or world clock).

And if you want to go next-level retro you could join the dumb phone revolution.

A swim? A run? Internet-free family time? Some forest bathing, perhaps? We’d love to hear how you disconnect, follow us on social media and join in the conversation using #CuckooUnwired.

And, when you’re ready to reconnect, our ultrafast full fibre broadband will be here to deliver the speeds you need to stream, game and work. Fast, fair feel-good fibre!