Is Tech Really Rotting My Brain?
We all know our phones, supposedly, are making us dumber and more boring and less healthy. But is that really true?
A QUICK NOTE! I’m working on something new for The Science of Better readers (workshops! communities!) and I want to get it right.
So, in the next few weeks, I’m going to send you a short survey with just a few questions. I’d love to hear what you think would improve your life.
Is tech bad for me?
Actually, most tech is good for you. A century ago, housework consumed about 58 hours per week. Today, it takes just 10 hours because of dish washers and microwaves. Technologies like air conditioning and indoor toilets have saved more lives than vaccines or antibiotics.
But you’re not thinking about those kinds of technologies! You’re worried about iPhones and TikTok and Insta! Too much screen time rots the brain, right?
Well, it’s nuanced. A study of 120,000 teenagers found that some screen time is better than none, but too much can make you miserable. People who spend about two hours a day surfing online are happy — but more than three hours is linked to anxiety and self-esteem issues.
What really matters is what you are doing online. Viewing ‘upward social comparisons’ — such as posts from beautiful influencers about their awesome lives — makes us feel terrible. Also, watching ‘video shorts’ trains our brain, at the neural level, to prefer rapid stimulus switching, which makes it harder to focus and easier to feel bored.
So what kinds of online activity make us feel better?
Looking at posts written by people we actually know. Like, in real life. And then having a conversation with them in the comments.
Learning something real (“what is turbulence?”). Bonus: You can’t learn something real in a video short! It usually has to be longer than 30 seconds!
Watching something that makes you laugh. Or watching a documentary. Or a show you love.
Basically, anything except short videos fed to you by an algorithm. When you make choices about what you see, you’re happy. When you abandon that choice to Facebook, you aren’t.
But how do I spend less time online? It’s hard!
First, you don’t have to change everything: Partial tech detoxes are just as effective as going cold turkey.
The key is to choose a few times, each day, when you won’t check your phone. And most important: Decide what you will do instead. (“Today, when I’m at lunch, I’ll read my novel instead of checking IG — so I need to carry a book with me.”)
Another important tip: DO NOT CHARGE YOUR PHONE IN YOUR BEDROOM. Tons of studies show that smartphone use in bed makes it harder to fall asleep, raises your heart rate, and injects adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. So power up in your office or the hallway and you’ll sleep better.
Other science-backed tips:
Set your phone to grayscale. It makes everything just a little bit more boring, and thus less alluring.
Move social apps to the third slide of your home screen. Or bury them in a folder.
Make a “whoever uses their phone first pays for drinks” rule.
Get a device like a halo or the Brick that disables certain apps in specific places (no IG in my bedroom) or on a specific schedule (no email before 9 am).
Try Screen Zen (sets time limits on certain apps), One Sec (forces you to take a breath, or explain why your going on social media, before opening an app), Clear Space (complete a centering exercise before opening an app) or Opal (sets app use rules and gives you a daily score measuring sleep, focus and screen time).
Finally (and strangely), don’t assume more outdoor time will cut down on phone use. One study tracking GPS location and phone data found that smartphone activity increased during visits to parks. Why? Because it’s easier to get bored in nature.
The lesson is: Don’t just abandon your phone. Instead, choose something else to do — and plan for it. (Remember when everyone used to carry a magazine?)
Okay, but what if I want to go genuinely hardcore?
If you really feel like your phone is taking over your life, you should get a Light Phone III (I got one for my kid). It has all the basics of a smartphone, like music and maps and texting. But it can’t host social media apps (and even if it did, they would look terrible.) You’d be surprised how easy it is to transition.
Or, you could always move to Green Bank, West Virginia — a federally mandated cell-phone dead zone, established in 1958, to protect a radio telescope. It’s become a vacation spot for people who say they are allergic to electromagnetic signals. And its the only place in America where being offline isn’t a personal choice — it’s the law. (To learn what it’s like to live there, check out this reddit thread.)
How do you limit your tech use? Are you worried you use your phone too much? (Or are you like, ahh, this is an overblown anxiety?) Let me know in the comments!
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It's refreshing to see this perspective: not "all screen time" is bad! I especially appreciated you highlighting the importance of agency. It's when we choose what *we* want to do (instead of letting it be decided by an algorithm) that we have the greatest feeling of satisfaction and empowerment.
I limit by tech use by having physical routines in the morning, when my thinking should be clear. I work out, walk, and write in Final Draft. I don’t allow myself to text or catch up before I finish my morning writing. I also have a physical planner. I’m not a big fan of apps because they keep us coming back to my phone. If it had a struggle, it’s that I can’t stand notifications. When I see a read bubble by gmail, I get distracted when I open my phone for something else. I just can’t stand the idea is unfinished tasks.