12 Hours of Bliss Because My Smartphone Died

It was a lazy, summer Friday night in August. I had no plans. My wife did, so she was out of the house. I was left to hang out with our dog.

Instead, it appeared disaster struck. My smartphone, already on its last legs, decided then and there to stop working. In an instant, it was dead. I tried to restart it. I tried to charge it. I searched Reddit for different fixes. Nothing worked.

I knew on this Friday night that I would not be able to replace my phone until Saturday morning at the earliest, since the closest store didn’t open until 10am. How would I survive?

My worries evaporated in about five minutes as I suddenly felt a freedom I had not felt in years. There was nothing to check on my phone. There were no distractions. There were no notifications. There was no scrolling. There was no searching about a random movie that popped into my head. It was just me, my dog, and our television screen.

That’s when something remarkable happened. My brain started working again. It was a feeling I remembered from a long time. As I watched a game on tv, my mind wandered. Not to somewhere on the Internet, but somewhere into my memory and imagination. 

It feels embarrassing to admit, but I was taken back to years earlier, when I first moved out on my own. The Internet existed, but my laptop needed to be plugged into the modem. I had a cell phone, though it didn’t yet play videos and social media was only in its infancy. 

There was an honest-to-goodness feeling of pure nostalgia sitting there, petting my dog, and simply losing my mind to thought.

Of course, my wife returned home that night panicked because I had not responded to any of her texts because I couldn’t. I had a few friends and family members likewise annoyed I didn’t respond to texts until the next day. It was a very small price to pay for a new lease on life.

Does that sound hyperbolic? It should be, because it is. My life changed after those 12 hours because it revealed the depth of despair that my phone had brought me.

My work life had become a steady routine of checking my phone for emails. It’s an absolutely horrible way to live or be productive.

My personal life had transformed into everything being related to my phone. I use it for music. I use it to watch videos. I use it to read. I use it to kill my boredom or occupy mind. Turns out, I need that boredom. I want to occupy my own mind.

Yes, I got a new phone the next morning, how could I not? It is almost literally impossible to function in this society without one. Hell, I need my phone to get into buildings where I live and work It pays for things. It holds my tickets. It’s far too much.

So, no, I can’t completely eliminate the smartphone from my life. Still, I’ve been able to fully comprehend the way it took hold over me and how I need to fight back.

Do I occasionally get lost in my phone for hours doomscrolling or playing stupid games? Yes, yes, I do. I’m proud to report that happens a lot less frequently than it used to. 

I’ve made a conscious effort to put my phone down when I’m outside and it’s been jarring. 

I went to the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga this year with my Aunt & Uncle’s family this June. As I watched a race from the apron, it dawned on me how I was one of the few not holding up a phone trying to take a picture or video of the moment.

I’m a huge fan of old college football clips on YouTube – my greatest vice when it comes to time-wasting – and it’s become very clear how the lack of phones and content creation made those moments stand out. Every single person in the stadium is focused on the action during the biggest plays, not staring at their phones.

It can be even simpler than that, even today. I’m fortunate to now live within a few blocks of a picturesque riverwalk. Since we’ve moved in the past few months, I relish the opportunity to sit on a bench by the river and simply sit there. As I do, I see how many people around me are heads down on their phones.

It’s equally jarring when I walk our dog, as I never look at my phone while doing so. He’s the best dog in the whole wide world, why would I focus on anything else?

Every time I do, I’m struck by how everyone else is looking at a phone as they walk. They miss sidewalks and light signals. They trip over cracks and sticks. They bumped into others or light posts. It’s become an increasingly sad state of affairs.

When I think about the world becoming a better place, I truly believe it can’t happen until we break free from our smartphone addictions. Unfortunately, smartphones are  designed to start addictions, and no one in power seems to care if the worker class wastes away staring at that little screen. If anything, that’s exactly what they want us to do.

I’m no one important. Besides, it would take a lot more than even one important person to create change. But I am someone, so I can start myself. 

I’ve always tried to model best behavior, even if no one else follows my lead. That’s why I’m on year 6 of a one-man Amazon boycott and we’re apparently the only family that actually deleted Spotify when they paid Joe Rogan too much money.

I’m good on my own island. Especially if that island has no smartphones to distract me. 

Follow me on Bluesky