Throwing My Phone Into the Ocean

Seven forty-five a.m. I pick up my phone, half asleep, and hit snooze on the blaring alarm. I open Twitter, and read up on what happened since I last checked at eleven thirty p.m. the night before. Then I check Instagram, and see who posted since I last checked at midnight. I open Spotify, pick a podcast, get ready and walk to work, where I manage the front desk. I scroll through TikTok and look up occasionally to welcome a professor or assist a student. I go back to scrolling again when they walk away. I put my phone down, type some words in an empty document, and pick it back up again when the light of a notification catches my eye.

I depend on my phone for nearly everything, before I even open my eyes in the morning — you can probably relate. I spend hours of my life on my phone — my screen time averages consistently above six hours a day. I often wonder what I would do without it.

My curiosity about my phone usage only grew when I read a New York Times article last December, profiling the “Luddite” teens of Brooklyn. The article followed a group of teens who disavowed smartphone technology, some even choosing to forego iPhones for flip phones. Together, they started a club where they put their phones away, and painted, read books or meditated rather than focusing on their tiny screens.

As a self-described “chronically-online” individual, I thought running my own phoneless experiment might benefit me. On a Sunday night, after a day spent acquiring double-digit screen time, I decided the time had come.

The Experiment

Realistically, I could not live without my phone. What was once a GPS, a physical newspaper, an MP3 player, a computer, a pager and a telephone has all become one. Rather than throw the whole thing into the sea, I decided to remove the parts of my phone that kept me glued to it.

I wiped Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, BeReal and even Pinterest off my phone. Next came the news apps. I had just one game on my phone, and I deleted that, too.

article and art by MEGAN LACRETA layout by ANNA SCHREINER

I kept everything I genuinely felt like I couldn’t live without — messaging apps and email for school and work, Google Maps for not getting lost— or felt like I could’ve had in a pre-smartphone world — Spotify is really just a Walkman app, if you think about it.

Monday was my first full day effectively phoneless. Even with nothing of interest on my phone, I kept finding reasons to open it. Bored at work, and not wanting to start homework at nine a.m., I found myself rereading old messages. Many times throughout the day, I caught myself opening my phone, swiping through home screens, and turning it off again when I came to the conclusion that there was nothing attention-grabbing to click on.

The next day was similar. I missed having a distraction readily available during any waiting period, awkward silence or moment of bore- went out with friends on Friday, and I didn’t have any desire to interrupt our conversation by opening my phone, something I tend to do almost mindlessly when I’m in a group. I also felt a little bit of freedom from my usually crippling fear of missing out. Without Snapchat and Instagram stories updating me on everyone’s whereabouts, I didn’t find myself comparing how much fun I was having to others.

The Results

I kept my experiment going for ten days. There were times I struggled, opening Instagram or Twitter through Safari when I was stressed or tired and wanted to shut my brain off. But ultimately, I do believe that I emerged with a new outlook on my phone.

First, I learned what I didn’t actually like about my phone. I hate the stress I feel on weekends, ruining my own good time by comparing it to what others posted on their stories. So, I deleted Snapchat for good. I don’t like how I could casually scroll on LinkedIn, and end up in a spiral about my career. So, I deleted it from my phone and only use it on my laptop when I need to for a specific reason. I don’t like how TikTok sucks me in for hours, so I got rid of it, simple as that.

dom. I worried about my social media, left unattended — what if someone messaged me and I was unintentionally ignoring them? As a person who prides myself on always knowing all the news, celebrity gossip and Internet discourse, what if there was something culturally important going on that I missed?

My first sin came on Wednesday. I was having a stressful day, and in a moment of weakness, I opened up Instagram through Safari. I scrolled, soaking in the beautiful, mind-numbing content. I realized how much I depended on that escape to ease my anxiety.

The next day, I overcame, logged off of Instagram, and resumed my experiment. By the time the weekend came around, I started to feel the perks of a less connected life. I

I also learned what I did like, and even underappreciated, about my phone. I found myself texting my friends more, sharing things with them instead of my story. I genuinely enjoy Instagram, but I have also learned that I’m capable of living without it if it’s distracting me or stressing me out.

I learned that I depend on my phone when I feel like I need to escape from the world around me. But, that escape isn’t necessarily into a better place.

I am not exactly a member of the Luddite Club. Functionally getting rid of my phone did not lead me to read more or make art or find inner peace. But, it did teach me about how to integrate it into my life in a more mindful way. My 10 sort-of phoneless days reminded me that I have the ability to disconnect from the more negative aspects of modern tech, without having to actually throw my whole phone into the ocean.