Last summer I read a great book, How to Break Up With Your Phone, by Catherine Price, and went on a 30-day phone detox by following the guidelines in the book. I can't say that I'm “addicted” to my phone the way that many people seem to be, but I definitely felt the need for more peace and separation from all things digital. I'd heard Catherine Price interviewed on my favorite meditation podcast, Dan Harris' 10% Happier Podcast. and what startled and scared me the most was her comment that the very design of phone apps is to entrap its users into not being able to resist them.
I sometimes have a hard time resisting dessert, but there isn't anything particularly sinister about a hot fudge brownie sundae. But the thought of an app designed to keep me scrolling–that was really uncomfortable to think about.
Today I read an article from tech columnist Kevin Roose,“Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain.” Great title! But it's also a great article. Since last summer, my phone usage has crept up again, mostly because I've felt compelled to attend to my book marketing activities while out and about, and it's easiest to do with my phone. I think I'm going to start the detox again, however, to see if I can improve upon my current time spent on the phone. I have maintained a strict morning routine of all-analog (paper calendar, bullet journal planner, etc.) before attending to digital communications (email, Slack, etc.), so I think I'm a little bit ahead there. But as Roose points out, constant reliance on a phone to distract you serves to train you into being unable to pay attention to books and movies, and makes you antsy when you're standing in the checkout lane or waiting for the bus. I don't want to be that person. I never used to be that person! It doesn't feel good, and now we know it really isn't good.
It's interesting that I love technology and I love how much I can do with it, but I also want to master it, rather than have it dominate me. I love electronic music, but I also spent many years learning to play instruments, and still believe that this mastery is good for the human soul. Perhaps it's simply another example of the ways in which we don't have to be tribal, all-or-nothing, either this or that. I can be both digital and analog. But I want to be in charge.
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