The phone is now an extension of the self. It’s hard to just leave it without becoming an anxious mess. The only way I was able to break that addiction was when

The phone is now an extension of the self. It’s hard to just leave it without becoming an anxious mess. The only way I was able to break that addiction was when I bought a new Google Pixel that had a battery defect that forced it to drain itself each day. I got so used to the phone doing this that at a certain point I just carried around a dead phone. After awhile enough, I just left the phone at home. Soon much of my life started to feel more full. I’d get lost in a big city like Montreal and have to ask for directions in a language I don’t know. I’d lose touch with coworkers who wanted to go out at night and I’d randomly stumble into them. So much serendipity happens because I didn’t have my phone. Although I only have anecdotes of my experience, I think Nick Carr talks about these challenges in depth with his book “The Shallows”.