Ayana, a luxury Balinese resort has enforced a policy that can only be described as the stuff of nightmares for millennial travellers. A total ban on mobile phone use around the pool area. That’s right, no Instagram stories at the swim-up bar, refreshing work emails or catching up on celebrity gossip at this poolside paradise. Instead, guests are encouraged to laze on a lounger, swim, read a book or even go totally old school with a game of Jenga. Yes, they actually have a box of Jenga for you to play with if all else fails.  

The pool in question is called the ‘River Pool’ a tropical oasis filled with trees, flowers and absolute silence. The resort is aiming to create a place of tranquillity, where guests can truly relax and live in the moment. To ensure the pool is a peaceful haven for all guests, the use of mobile phones, cameras, iPads and really any electronic devices is limited between 9-5pm. If you’re desperate to catch the magic of the river pool on camera, rise a few hours earlier from 7-9am or head back a little later from 5-7pm when the ban is lifted.  The resort website has enforced the ban as part of a greater campaign called ‘In the Moment’ where people can experience the beauty of the pool and their vacation for themselves, not behind a lens.

Our growing inability to disconnect from technology has become a global phenomenon, worthy of it’s own title ‘nomophobia’, also known as the 21st century disease. A recent survey of American travellers by OnePoll found that more than 20% of holiday makers confessed to checking their phone at least once an hour on their last vacation. Worse, nearly 8% said they checked their phones over 20 times per hour. It therefore comes as no surprise that research has documented an  insurgence in ‘digital detox holidays’ where people are forced to take a break from their phones, usually by cutting off Wifi access and cellphone service. 

A forced untethering from your mobile device may be the key to ending obsessive scrolling. If Ayana resort’s mobile ban sounds hellish, never fear. Social media addicts can still snap up a storm at the resort’s 11 other breathtaking pools, including the Ocean Beach pool and the Ayana main pool.