I’m ditching my iPhone for a month.

When I waited in line for the iPhone back on release day in 2007, I couldn’t wait to see how the technology would change my life.

At the time, I was still rocking my Sanyo Katana flip phone, which was the Sprint equivalent of the more popular Motorola RAZR. I also carried a fifth generation iPod Video with me at all times. Sometimes, I’d pop my Canon SD800 IS camera into my pocket if I figured I was in for a rowdy evening.

All those devices were used to help me stay connected and enjoy my time with those around me. But at the same time, I was connected to a bunch of people around the world who I only knew through a computer monitor.

That was fine by me, because in the mid 2000s, the internet was a respite from “real life.” The vast majority of people in my physical proximity hated computers, so I’d spend most of my day hanging out with friends and family, and then spend my evenings chatting with other likeminded dorks online. It truly felt like I was able to experience the best of both worlds.

The last few years, post-pandemic, have shown me that humans require cooperation and close physical proximity to survive.

The internet can do so much, but it has yet to replace physical proximity, and as far as building cooperation with each other, well… just look at how great social media is doing these days to see how well the internet is addressing that need.

Today, the internet isn’t a place for just nerds anymore. Everybody is on the internet. The iPhone caused those two worlds to collide in a way nobody could have anticipated. Today, our way of life depends on the internet, which means the internet is quickly becoming inescapable.

And lately, I’ve been reflecting on what sort of toll that is taking on me.

My iPhone took all those disparate devices and rolled them into one, which is undeniably cool, but it also turned my entire waking life into a trip to the casino, which is undeniably not cool.

The slot machines? That’s my email app. I check it at least ten times an hour, hoping for a “yay you’re hired!” jackpot, but far more often, I see “lol you owe me money still.”

The craps tables? That’s social media. Sometimes, I’ll roll an 11 and see something from a friend on LinkedIn who had a major career achievement or a post on /r/AskHistorians that teaches me something interesting (like Did President Andrew Garfield ever eat lasagna?). Unfortunately, the odds are much better that I’ll roll snake eyes and see something that makes me feel like a complete failure or that I’m living in a dumpster fire of a society.

The blackjack table? That’s my beloved RSS reader app. Even though I explicitly opt into these feeds, I still often leave the table with the impression that everybody else out there has it way better than me, and that I’m not doing anything real.

Even when I want to use my phone to do something positive (like look at pictures of my kids), it doesn’t take long for something to pull me into the quagmire of filth that makes my anxiety reach unsustainable heights.

So I’m deciding to do something about it. I can’t keep breathing pumped-in oxygen and slamming down free whiskey sevens. I need to leave the casino.

I’m gonna spend the month of August without an iPhone.

I’m certain that it will suck for me. As a technology addict, I’m sure my brain is gonna go nuts without the incessant dopamine hits that come after one of the hundreds of times I pick my phone up every day.

Some silver lining for me is that I’m not the first person to recognize this problem and do something about it. Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism has been a great book for me while contemplating this move, and if you feel the same way as what I shared above, I recommend giving the book a read.

There’s also a YouTube channel called Digging the Greats who normally posts great videos that break down classic albums and songs, but recently, he’s been sharing his own journey of using a classic iPod for a month too. I swear I had this idea before he did it, but it’s encouraging to see how it’s been an almost entirely positive experience for him.

In case you were wondering, I’m not giving up my phone altogether: I’m switching over to a Light Phone II.

The Light Phone is intentionally designed to be used as little as possible. It handles the critical things expected of an adult in 2024: texting, phone calls, and driving directions, and even has a bonus MP3 player included.

Its key feature is an e-ink display. If you’ve used an e-reader before, you know how slow these displays can be to refresh and use. That’s perfect, because I don’t need it to watch videos or play games or anything. It’s just there to communicate with my loved ones and navigate me as needed. That’s it.

The big unknown for me at the moment is how I’ll deal with photos. I want to pick up a camera like the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III, but I kinda need an income again before justifying that expense lol

So yeah. That’s my grand experiment this coming month.

I must admit it feels odd that four issues into a newsletter about tech optimism, I’m coming to you with an article that boils down to “ope, actually, I’m ditching most of my tech”. After considering that contradiction for several weeks (as evidenced by my last post date), I’m no longer framing this move as hypocritical.

I’m still bullish on tech and its potential to make our world a better place for everyone… but I think it’s easy to think that the solution to any problem is simply “tech”.

I’ve coached hundreds of business owners on that exact thing. You can’t create an app and dust your hands like “yeah, we’ve got an app, all of our problems are solved!” Technology can help to solve problems, but technology in and of itself is rarely the answer.

The recent hype surrounding AI proves that point. Can anyone name a product that has been improved by throwing AI on top of it? I personally can’t.

But I can tell you that there are several problems that were previously unsolvable which can now be addressed using large language models, and that’s what gives me hope.

It’s time to end my seventeen-year experiment with being perma-connected to the internet. I’ve been online for so long that I’ve forgotten what it’s like not to be constantly plugged in. And I’m honestly pumped to see how this experiment impacts my anxiety… hopefully it’s for the better. 😅

I’ll keep you posted with how the experiment goes in future issues. If you wanna touch grass with me next month, gimme a shout!

Links worth reading

(For those who aren’t aware, I share all of these links on my blog. While I encourage you to subscribe to the feed in RSS, I’m assuming most people aren’t interested in my thoughts on custom CSS frameworks that look like old Nintendo games or what Conan O’Brien thinks about agony. If you want more of me, then please check out my blog!)

AI is doing unexpected things, like helping those who are coping with the loss from a miscarriage. AI is also doing lots of expected things, like enabling a host of hucksters to steal other people’s data to train their models. Whatever you do, just don’t mention AI to this guy unless you want a good pile driving.

The advances we’ve seen with AI can basically be boiled down to “nerds figured out interesting patterns between numbers”. If you’re curious what those interesting patterns are, you might like this article which explains the concept of embeddings using Pokémon data.

A lot of normal people can’t grasp what the big deal is with AI because they’re not sure how to get ChatGPT to do anything useful. Maybe it’s because normal people don’t know what to type into an unassuming text box?

Carrying on from my main message today, Cal Newport asks if it is time to dismantle the technopoly. Maybe there’s a way we can still regulate it like we regulate smoking and nutrition labels, informing people when they’re on social media that they are consuming ultra-processed content like they’re chomping down on Oreos. (And to my kids: I’m sorry, but no smartphones for the foreseeable future.)

Meanwhile, the IndieWeb marches on, providing a haven to those who want to opt out of the instability of platforms like X and Facebook. We’d love to have you be part of the solution! And don’t worry if you aren’t sure how to contribute, just be yourself. After all, the best parts of the internet are weird.

Newsletter #4 in the books! As always, if you have a minute, please reply to this newsletter and let me know what you think. Even if it’s just a simple “this is fine,” it really means the world to me.

Better yet: help spread the word! Forward this email to someone who you think might dig it.

I’ll see you in a couple weeks with an update from the Light Phone experiment. Until then, take care!