I Quit My Smartphone for Five Months. Here’s What I Learned.
Don't reject technology. Use it intentionally.
Editor’s note: I know so many friends who are not exactly proud of their relationship with their smartphones, with downstream effects on many aspects of life, including physical and mental fitness. So, when Ayan Modi, who is working with us this summer, told me about his bold five-month experiment living without a smartphone, I asked him to write about his experience. That’s the piece today—a candid account of a 24-year-old's digital detox journey. (He has also documented it all in this video if you prefer watching.)
— Samarth Bansal (samarth@thewholetruthfoods.com)
Wake up. Reach for your phone. "Just five minutes," you promise yourself. Check WhatsApp. Scroll Instagram. Peek at LinkedIn. Before you know it, those five minutes have stretched into an hour. Rinse and repeat throughout the day. By nightfall, you're drained, unproductive, and swimming in digital fatigue.
Sound familiar?
This was my life, trapped in the endless cycle of scroll, like, repeat. Four hours daily, disappearing into the digital void. Put into perspective, that's a staggering 13 years of a 75-year lifespan spent staring at a screen. A sobering thought.
But awareness alone wasn't enough to break free from this digital stranglehold. It took a solo trip across Europe at 23 – what should have been the adventure of a lifetime – to realise I was more concerned with crafting the perfect Instagram story than actually living the story.
Enter Carl Newport's "Digital Minimalism," a book that didn't just diagnose the problem but offered me a radical cure. Newport argues that our constant connectivity isn't just a habit, it's an addiction carefully cultivated by tech companies.
"Humans are not wired to be constantly wired," he argued.
His solution? A digital declutter – a 30-day tech detox followed by a careful reintroduction of technology, but only on our own terms. Newport advocates for a philosophy of technology use where we question the value that each digital tool brings to our lives. It's not about being a Luddite, but about being intentional.
Inspired but sceptical, I started small. I left my smartphone behind when meeting friends, switched it off during work, and kept it away during workouts. The results were immediate and surprising. Conversations were richer, work was more focused, and workouts more intense.
These pilot tests made it clear that quitting my phone would be worth the effort, but I knew I needed to go further. After a month of mental preparation, I set myself a challenge: 7 days without a smartphone. If I couldn't make it, my smartphone would always be waiting for me. But I had to stay strong for those 7 days.
So, I marched to the nearest mobile shop and bought a Karbonn K140 Pop - a basic phone capable of only calls and texts. Little did I know that this simple decision would lead me on a 150-day journey of digital detox, self-discovery, and a complete reshaping of my daily life.
I. Life Without a Smartphone
This journey impacted various aspects of my life in ways I never expected. Let's start with perhaps the most surprising benefit: my physical fitness.
1) Physical fitness: From distraction to focus
Newport's concept of "High-Quality Leisure Time" became my guiding principle. With four newfound hours in my day, I faced a choice: succumb to despair or invest in personal growth. I chose the latter, deciding to repair my on-again, off-again relationship with the gym. For the next five months, I made a non-negotiable commitment: hit the gym six days a week.
The secret to my success? The very absence of my smartphone. On the gym floor, I found myself in a new world of focus. No music to distract, no notifications to check, no social media to scroll. Just me, the weights, and my goals. This change was transformative, revealing an often overlooked truth: distractions can significantly impact physical performance.
Without the constant digital interruptions, I experienced increased focus on form and technique, better mind-muscle connection, and more intense workouts. My sessions became a form of moving meditation, completed in just 45 minutes. The efficiency was startling, proving that less distraction truly leads to more productivity.
This newfound focus even led to an unexpected encounter. One day, I arrived at the gym to find it closed for a film shoot. After explaining my lack of WhatsApp to the receptionist, she let me in. I found myself working out alongside a Bollywood celebrity. When he offered to take a picture afterwards, my basic phone sparked a 15-minute conversation about digital minimalism – a moment I'll never forget.
2) Mental fitness: Confronting perceptions and motivations
While the physical benefits were clear, I soon realised that the impact of my digital detox extended far beyond my body to my mind. The absence of constant digital stimulation opened new avenues for mental growth and self-reflection.
An unexpected challenge was confronting body dysmorphia, a condition surprisingly common among fitness enthusiasts. Without Instagram's constant stream of 'perfect' bodies, I had to face my own perceptions head-on. The cycle of never-ending goals – from 4-pack abs to 6-pack, to bigger biceps – suddenly seemed less important.
This struggle led to a profound realisation: the 'why' behind our actions often matters more than the actions themselves. I began questioning my motivations for working out. Was it for aesthetics? Health? The endorphin rush?
Through this introspection, my relationship with fitness transformed. What was once a chore became something I looked forward to. Exercise evolved into a form of mental release and a space to build self-confidence.
The absence of my smartphone played a crucial role in this mental shift. Without music or podcasts during commutes or downtime, I found myself engaging in unexpected bouts of self-reflection. Every journey became an opportunity for introspection, examining life decisions both big and small with newfound clarity.
This experience highlighted a key tenet of Newport's digital minimalism: technology often shields us from moments of discomfort or boredom, which are crucial for personal growth. By embracing these moments, I grew in ways I hadn't anticipated when I first swapped my smartphone for a basic model.
3) Life's inconveniences: Navigating a world without smartphone comforts
As I embraced this new mindset and reaped the physical and mental benefits, I also had to confront the practical challenges of navigating daily life without a smartphone. Giving up my device meant surrendering conveniences I'd taken for granted: WhatsApp, Google Pay, and Google Maps.
In India, where UPI transactions and digital wallets are the norm, I reverted to cash. No more "GPay me" to settle expenses; I had to pay friends on the spot. Without Splitwise, I manually tracked debts. This shift had an unexpected upside: I was no longer bombarded by targeted ads, and my spending narrowed to books and outings with friends.
Google Maps' absence hit hard. Every journey became an exercise in memorization and landmark-spotting. I even lugged my laptop to a new lunch spot once, unable to memorise the route. (Pro tip: you can download offline Google Maps on your laptop!)
Surprisingly, these inconveniences led to a flourishing social life. Friends made extra efforts to include me, many of them calling to confirm plans and ensuring I was in the loop. This thoughtfulness revealed who my true friends were, easing my long-standing insecurities about friendships.
The digital detox even reshaped how I formed new connections. At a friend's birthday party, I hit it off with someone new. When she asked how to contact me without social media, I jokingly suggested email. To my amazement, she actually emailed me the next day! We exchanged over 100 emails in five months, forming a genuine friendship. Who knew email could replace Instagram for making connections in 2024?
This experience underscored a key theme of digital minimalism: by removing the crutch of constant connectivity, we open ourselves to more intentional, meaningful interactions.
II. Returning to the Digital World
Despite the challenges and inconveniences, my digital detox had profoundly positive effects on my life. However, I knew that complete abstinence from smartphones wasn't a long-term solution in our connected world. The question became: how could I reintegrate digital technology without losing the benefits I had gained?
After 150 days of digital detox, returning to a smartphone was both exciting and daunting. The transition was abrupt, but the lessons learned during my detox proved invaluable. My screen time had dramatically decreased from 4 hours to 1.5-2 hours daily—a significant achievement that I was determined to maintain.
To prevent sliding back into old habits, I developed several strategies that have helped me maintain a healthier relationship with technology:
1) Phone-Free Workouts: I leave my phone at home or switch it off during gym sessions. This not only eliminates distractions but also allows for a deeper mind-body connection. Challenge yourself to work out without music—let your thoughts be your soundtrack.
2) The "One Second" App: This free app acts as a mindfulness trigger. Installed on all social media applications, it prompts you to pause and consider whether you really need to open the app or if you're just scrolling mindlessly. This simple intervention has saved me countless hours of unintentional social media use.
3) YouTube Without Recommendations: YouTube's algorithm is designed to keep you watching. The DF Tube extension removes recommended videos, allowing you to watch what you intended without falling into a content rabbit hole. This approach helps maintain the platform's educational and entertainment value without the time-sink.
4) Scheduled Social Media Time: Designate specific times and places for social media use. For example, avoid using your phone at your work desk, and instead, use it only in designated areas like the office kitchen. This spatial association can help reduce impulsive checking. The "One Second" app can also track your app-opening attempts, allowing you to set goals like limiting Instagram checks to 30 times per day.
These strategies all share a common thread: they create a moment of pause, a small hurdle to overcome before engaging with our devices. This brings us to a fundamental principle that underpins not just digital habits, but habit formation in general.
III. The Power of Friction
At the heart of successful habit formation—whether building new ones or breaking old ones—lies a powerful concept: friction. Understanding and manipulating friction is crucial in reshaping our relationship with technology.
Consider working out: creating a mini gym at home reduces the friction of going to a gym, eliminating excuses. Similarly, filling your pantry with healthy snacks increases the friction of eating junk food—you'd have to go to the store to buy chips, adding an extra layer of effort.
This principle explains why traditional "digital detoxes" often fail. Quitting Instagram for a day, a week, or even a month is temporary because reinstalling the app takes mere seconds. There's not enough friction to prevent backsliding.
My experiment with a dumb phone worked not because of iron willpower, but because of the friction involved in reverting to old habits. To scroll through Instagram for just five minutes, I'd need to insert a SIM card, charge the smartphone, and perform numerous other tasks. The effort required outweighed the momentary urge to scroll.
However, my experience also taught me that completely quitting smartphones isn't the answer in our hyper-connected world. While the detox was a profound reminder of what it means to be human, it wasn't sustainable long-term. Smartphones have become essential assets, offering conveniences that free up time and enhance our lives in countless ways.
What I didn't anticipate was how my digital detox affected those around me, especially my parents. Communication became challenging, limited to emails and calls. I realised that sometimes, the most important function of a smartphone is the "Home WhatsApp Family Group"—a simple feature that can make life infinitely easier.
The challenge now is to find the right balance. How much friction can we introduce into our digital lives to reap the benefits of both the digital and analog worlds?
The answer will be different for everyone. It might mean using apps like "One Second" to create small moments of reflection before engaging with social media or designating phone-free zones in your day. The key is to be intentional about introducing friction where it serves you and reducing it where it doesn't.
In conclusion, my 150-day journey into digital minimalism wasn't about rejecting technology, but about learning to use it more mindfully. It taught me that the path to a healthier relationship with our devices is through thoughtful, intentional use—and creating a life where we control our devices, not the other way around.
And now, when I wake up and reach for my phone, I do so with intention and awareness, transforming what was once an unconscious habit into a conscious choice.
Really interesting read. I often find myself away from my phone when I'm with my family and then I think to myself, if it wasn't for connectivity with them, I'd jump at doing away with a phone.
Sounds good but as someone who has gone through multiple phases of digital deprivation and failed, I have pretty much given up at this point. The only thing that works occasionally is to leave my phone and go an activity (like your gym example) which I do when I go to bed (with only a book), or when I write (leave the phone inside the bag or in another room). But otherwise, being not-busy with something always reverts me back to the phone which is terrible.