How to Break Up With Your Phone

I didn’t pick up How to Break Up with Your Phone because I wanted to break up with my phone. I picked it up because I really wanted to break up with my TV. This book told me that I need to do both.

Up until moving into my new apartment, I hadn’t owned a TV since I was in high school and lived with my parents. Even then, at a certain point we didn’t really have cable, and there weren’t any streaming services (YouTube was still new-ish then).

I got a tv when I moved into my new apartment because it was bigger, and I was tired of inviting friends over to gather ’round my laptop to watch movies. But having YouTube, Netflix, Hulu and everything else right in front of my couch is just too tempting.

I love a good Netflix binge, but I don’t want to constantly be spending precious time waiting for a new episode to start. I also want to read more, write more, and focus on my IRL relationships.

Technology is kind of terrifying

The first half of this book breaks down why we are all so addicted to our phones. If you feel that you’d never be convinced to break up with your phone, think again. The author really digs into the science behind it all, how apps are designed to be so addicting, how our brains respond to being constantly stimulated, and the impact that constantly using our phones is having on our mental health.

As if all of that wasn’t terrifying enough, the chapter that really struck me was focused on how our phones are impacting our memories. How many times have you walked into a room, only to forget what you came in for the second you get there? Or picked something up, and instantly forget what you planned to do with that thing? Or reread the same paragraph of a book or article 2-3 times before you retain it, because your brain is so distracted. That happens to me more than I’d like to admit, and to be honest, it freaks me out.

It’s like our brains are melting! And according to this book, they kind of are! At least our long and short term memories and ability to focus for long periods of time are!

We can still save our brains!

Don’t worry, while part one is all about scaring you into a phone break up, part two offers some hope for the future.

In the second half of the book, the author breaks down the 4 week process of breaking up with your phone. I loved that the advice was more about treating our larger mental and emotional issues and not just “lock up your phone you silly millennials.”

While locking up your phone, and being disciplined about when and where you pick it up again, is apart of the process, the author also focuses a lot on mindfulness. She even offers some tips on meditating, to help soothe our super distracted and stimulated brains and regain our control over our attention spans.

Though the goal of the book is to encourage us to break up with our phones, it totally made me rethink my relationship to all of the tech and screens in my life. From email

I haven’t gone through the full 4 week phone breakup outlines in the book, but I will certainly report back when I do. I definitely recommend this book to any and everyone who uses a phone, even if you don’t think you have an overconsumption issue! When we understand how things are designed to work, it allows us to make smarter, better choices. If you’re going to use your phone, you should at least know the full effects of what you’re doing.

Are you ready to break up with your phone?