Week 9: looking back
Dear Friends,
This is my newsletter where I write weekly about deleting all of my social media accounts and getting rid of my smartphone.
This week marks both the end of a two-week holiday and the second month of my life ‘offline.’
I thought I would take this opportunity to look back at the experience and some of the wonderful people who have shaped it.
If you want to share this newsletter, or read any previous episodes, click this LINK.
As always, feel free to respond to this email – I’d love to hear from you.
I hope you enjoy reading.
Week 9: looking back
Two months without a smartphone, two months without using any of my social media accounts, without aimless scrolling, without FOMO, without Google Maps, Linkedin, Instagram, or Twitter.
I got rid of my phone and deleted my social media accounts on the 8th of May.
Two months is a long time. It’s actually exactly how long I expected to last on this project. I figured I would be able to sustain two months - with a moderate level of difficulty - before getting my iPhone back and rejoicing as my life returned to normal.
I pictured myself texting all the friends I had lost touch with over the last couple of months and saying something like “I’m back!!!!!” and then throwing some big party as we all danced in the mighty glory of social media-enabled social contact.
But it’s funny. Here I am writing this email, two months into my self-enforced social embargo… feeling, well, really good… time has slowed its relentless march, and I’m more connected to my close friends than ever, I feel more autonomy over my attention expenditure, have nurtured some new hobbies, found lots of new music, and - to be honest - am nauseated at the thought of getting my phone back.
To put it simply, I expected getting rid of my phone to be a big inconvenience; something I would have to cope with. But instead - from the very start - it has significantly improved my well-being and made life easier.
So, at this two-month milestone, I thought it would be nice to look back and run through the experience and the people who helped shape it. Then, next week, your regular transmission of journal + interview will return.
***
It all began with an interview with Joe Hollier, the co-founder of Light Phone.
When I started this project I got in touch with Joe and told him my plan. He liked the sound of it and sent me one of their Light Phones - a beautiful device, designed to be used as little as possible.
Two months in, I still use the Light Phone every day, to make calls, set alarms, and listen to music.
Joe and I spoke for a while, and toward the end of our discussion, I asked for some advice on how to live well without a smartphone. He made a point that has really stuck with me: “the most success [in quitting smartphones] we see, is when people have hobbies. Whenever you get that moment of idle boredom, that would normally be filled with Instagram, you can instead re-route your attention to your hobby. For example, when I get home, all I want to do is jam out on my piano.” Joe continued, “Learn how to be with yourself, that’s what the Light Phone is all about.”
Instead of getting into the piano, I have been developing the hobby of exploring; leaving the house with only my Light Phone, a good album, some headphones, and my bike, and just riding around aimlessly, exploring new places and seeing if I could get home without asking for directions.
(as I go I’ll link each past episode)
And that was the focus of the newsletter in my second week: navigation
It was based on a conversation with Tristan Gooley, natural navigator and author. Tristan said: “There is no other activity that will take you from understanding the shape of a building; to understanding the pattern in the stars; to picking up a scent on the breeze; to the shape of a cloud; to the way somebody crosses a road. It is the only thing that I'm aware of that is holistic, deep and a fun puzzle.”
He gave me some great tips for finding my way around London, including the one I use the most: almost all TV antennas in London (on the top of most buildings) point southeast.
A vital tool in my newfound navigation toolbox also became: talking to people. I found that I regularly needed to stop on the street and ask people for directions. The more I did it, the more instinctive it became.
As time passed, and I spoke to more and more people, I found that ‘instinct’ was essential; you have to speak with people as soon as the thought pops in your head, the longer you wait the weirder and more difficult it gets.
I focused on this in my third week: talking to strangers.
I spoke first with Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley, who supported my hunch that phones were damaging our ability to communicate with each other. Then, I spoke with Nicholas Epley, Professor of Behavioral Science at Chicago Booth, who explained that his research found that talking to strangers is good for the well-being of all involved. And actually, people really like being spoken to… but nobody does, because we think people don’t like being spoken to. This begins to explain the baffling paradox of London being a city so full of people, yet so devoid of communication.
While the experience of being without a smartphone had been almost entirely great, there were some hiccups.
When speaking with friends about this project, they would often ask me what the hardest thing had been. I always said banking. Monzo is really great on the app, so great that perhaps Monzo doesn’t invest enough in email/phone customer service… all my savings remain stuck in Monzo and without a phone it’s seemingly impossible to fix this.
My fourth email covered this difficulty, along with other challenges.
But a phone call with Charles Radclyffe - digital ethicist and columnist - reassured me. Charles is a veteran in the somewhat bizarre world of dumb tech, having spent the last three years without a smartphone. Charles reminded me why I should keep going.
And onwards I went, to what became my favourite episode so far…
It was supposed to be an episode about sleeping better without a phone, and for the episode, I spoke with Dr Ben Carter, Reader at King’s College London IoPPN (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.)
But, the focus changed when Ben - like many of the researchers and professors I have spoken with - struggled to make a concrete point about the harms of social media and phone use. This - I realised - was symptomatic of a larger issue: there is a gross lack of transparency on user data on platforms; data vital to understanding the effects of social media on people’s minds. (My colleague Luke has since done some more in-depth reporting on this issue: LINK.)
If we could grant legitimate researchers access to this data, it would be a huge step in the right direction, and researchers like Ben may be able to categorically say things like “high phone use results in lack of sleep.”
***
As week 6 approached, the joy of navigation combined with the skip in my social step yielded a renewed fervor for London, I found myself to be more comfortable than ever in this big city.
As I wrote this, I was waiting for a new album - Jackson C. Frank (2001 Remastered Album) - to download onto my phone. An album recommended to me by a friend, that I had purposely not listened to yet… I’d been saving it, and planned on listening to it during a bike ride around London. There is something wonderfully cinematic about blasting around the city with music roaring through my headphones.
I touched upon this feeling in my sixth week; the pleasure of finding new music without algorithmic recommendations.
A conversation with Ben Ratliff, music critic at the NYT, helped me discover the world of radio shows, music recommendation newsletters and asking friends for new music.
For this bike ride, I also brought my sketchbook… with the aim of ending up at some park somewhere, sitting around and doodling for a little while; a hugely relaxing and satisfying practice, especially when the subject is little bits of nature. This new hobby came as a result of a conversation with Ali Foxon, and was the focus of my 7th email.
When we spoke, she told me: “Sketching involves mindful observation, slowing down, and letting the thoughts in your head settle. Doing that calms your whole nervous system and connects you with your surroundings. When you observe and draw features of your local area, it really grounds you, and to top it off, the act of observational sketching actually improves your memory… and it only takes a few minutes!”
A pretty calm way to spend a Sunday, before returning to work after two weeks of glorious holiday.
***
The past couple of months have made me feel more independent. More than ever before, I have grown to enjoy my own company and remain content when spending a day alone; interacting and experiencing the world. That being said, seeing friends feels great. Last week I was lucky enough to go visit St Andrews for my delayed graduation - it was there that all my friends gathered for the first time in a year.
For the whole week, I hardly made any plans - I would just walk into town, bump into old friends, and spend the day with them. And so it felt appropriate to punctuate the time off with a newsletter full of photos of some of these beautiful people. So, I bought a cheap little digital camera and took lots of photos. Check back on the last episode using the link below to see these pictures.
And so here we are, all caught up. It’s been - and I really mean this - a life-changing two months. I’m looking forward to seeing how long it will go.
Thank you to everyone who has been reading it. I have really been blown away by the response and all the emails I receive from you guys. It means a lot.
Keep in touch.
Love,
Sebastian