As you say, one is a bit disoriented after a digital cleaning, I used to do it in December when I was on vacation from work, I had a phone but no internet.
Extreme experiences a couple of times: the first one when my son damaged my cell phone and I was without a phone for about 6 months. The other was about 3 years ago, when my android got wet and I lost it. I was almost 1 year incommunicado and out of the country, so my family knew about me when I went to a cyber and wrote emails.
RE: Disconnected by choice and poor governance