how often do we miss out on real life
walk with me it’s day 173 the heat is
rising off the pavement I’m leaning on
my 150 pound push cart hiding my face
from the Sun after 2,000 miles of
walking across the United States
I’ve finally made it to the Western
Desert
I’m bearded I’m hot I smell like
gasoline and sweat and the land that I
walk on is vast endless and magnificent
but I don’t I don’t appreciate that
today cell phone service went out at
8:00 in the morning and I can’t stop
checking to see if it’s come back it
hasn’t and it won’t for another week so
I walk in complete silence for 12 hours
cutting across the most remote part of
my entire journey no people no cars no
houses no trees no gas stations nothing
and it starts to feel like torture all
day I’m checking for my phone my thumb
out of habit out of instinct out of
desperation reaches for the Facebook
Instagram snapchat logos I start hearing
phantom dings and rings and I begin to
lose my mind through withdrawal but as
the week goes on something begins to
change my iphone seems to lose strength
and I seem to gain something back I look
around me as I walk it’s calm
the miles and the days begin to pass in
peace
the Sun rises warm on my back circles
above my head and sets on tomorrow’s
horizon over and over and over again I
decided to walk 3,200 miles alone from
Washington DC to Los Angeles California
to research phone addiction in the
United States in the midst of
hyperstimulation I was numb and I was
deeply dissatisfied with how my phone
made me feel my journey was a way of
asking if other people were struggling
something that I did to ask this
question but it wasn’t until the desert
that I realized that I was also
researching my own addiction and I began
to ask these questions why is the
impulse so strong why is the urge to
check my phone so powerful why does it
consume my mind and my energy well the
answer is simple our technology is
designed to be addictive our favorite
apps care more about our screen time
than our well being they will do
anything to keep us engaged because
that’s all they need to survive
notifications release stress hormones in
our brains Vikes release dopamine that
thing that makes us feel really good
autoplay keeps us watching longer than
we really wanted to our news feeds beg
us to keep scrolling and our snap
streaks are designed to keep us on the
clock and the more time we spend on our
phones the more money snap
chat Instagram and Facebook make and so
the dinging and the ringing and the
reminders keep coming now when we’re on
our phones
it normally feels harmless we are not
always thinking that it’s hurting us but
as we’re on our screens as we’re lured
on to our screens time and time again
our mental physical and emotional health
is degrading if you want to see the
research just google it but you don’t
need the research to know that being on
your phone isn’t always good for you
imagine you’re in bed late at night on
your phone one video Auto plays to the
next and next and the next and you don’t
stop until suddenly you realize your
eyes are burning
your arm is numb and it’s past midnight
sound familiar no matter how stimulating
our screens are we all know that they
take more of our time than we’d like but
at least it’s free right Facebook
snapchat Instagram fortnight all all
appear to be free but that’s not really
the truth we pay for these apps with our
attention and ultimately with our
well-being as you laid in bed that night
your attention was caught in a trap and
when you finally pride yourself out you
laid in bed feeling empty exhausted
lonely and defeated it’s not your fault
you got outplayed but every day your
attention is being caught and sold
captured and so
and I think it’s about time that we all
break free the first thing that you can
do turn off all notifications accept
calls and texts notifications are
designed to pull your attention away
from real life and back to your screen
without them you get to choose when you
use your phone
second go greyscale if you can all
iPhones give us the option to toggle
between black and white and color three
clicks the home button and you’re back
without color we quickly learn how to
use our phones only when we need them
finally and most importantly do
everything you can to not use your phone
in bed by an alarm clock plug your phone
in outside your room and before long you
will be sleeping better and living your
days proactively instead of reactively
now these are just options for me I
traded in my iPhone for a brick flip
phone with no internet that probably
won’t work for you but you need to find
the system that does work for you
because no one is going to do this for
you I challenge you today to take one
hour
unplug see how it feels it might feel
like you’re missing out on something
when you want on your screen but
eventually you will realize that it is
the other way around
real life gives us something that our
phones never can when I shifted my
attention from here to here my whole
world opened up for the first time in my
life I felt like I belonged now the
step into real life or be controlled by
your phone thank you very much [Applause]
walk with me it’s day 173 the heat is
rising off the pavement I’m leaning on
my 150 pound push cart hiding my face
from the Sun after 2,000 miles of
walking across the United States
I’ve finally made it to the Western
Desert
I’m bearded I’m hot I smell like
gasoline and sweat and the land that I
walk on is vast endless and magnificent
but I don’t I don’t appreciate that
today cell phone service went out at
8:00 in the morning and I can’t stop
checking to see if it’s come back it
hasn’t and it won’t for another week so
I walk in complete silence for 12 hours
cutting across the most remote part of
my entire journey no people no cars no
houses no trees no gas stations nothing
and it starts to feel like torture all
day I’m checking for my phone my thumb
out of habit out of instinct out of
desperation reaches for the Facebook
Instagram snapchat logos I start hearing
phantom dings and rings and I begin to
lose my mind through withdrawal but as
the week goes on something begins to
change my iphone seems to lose strength
and I seem to gain something back I look
around me as I walk it’s calm
the miles and the days begin to pass in
peace
the Sun rises warm on my back circles
above my head and sets on tomorrow’s
horizon over and over and over again I
decided to walk 3,200 miles alone from
Washington DC to Los Angeles California
to research phone addiction in the
United States in the midst of
hyperstimulation I was numb and I was
deeply dissatisfied with how my phone
made me feel my journey was a way of
asking if other people were struggling
something that I did to ask this
question but it wasn’t until the desert
that I realized that I was also
researching my own addiction and I began
to ask these questions why is the
impulse so strong why is the urge to
check my phone so powerful why does it
consume my mind and my energy well the
answer is simple our technology is
designed to be addictive our favorite
apps care more about our screen time
than our well being they will do
anything to keep us engaged because
that’s all they need to survive
notifications release stress hormones in
our brains Vikes release dopamine that
thing that makes us feel really good
autoplay keeps us watching longer than
we really wanted to our news feeds beg
us to keep scrolling and our snap
streaks are designed to keep us on the
clock and the more time we spend on our
phones the more money snap
chat Instagram and Facebook make and so
the dinging and the ringing and the
reminders keep coming now when we’re on
our phones
it normally feels harmless we are not
always thinking that it’s hurting us but
as we’re on our screens as we’re lured
on to our screens time and time again
our mental physical and emotional health
is degrading if you want to see the
research just google it but you don’t
need the research to know that being on
your phone isn’t always good for you
imagine you’re in bed late at night on
your phone one video Auto plays to the
next and next and the next and you don’t
stop until suddenly you realize your
eyes are burning
your arm is numb and it’s past midnight
sound familiar no matter how stimulating
our screens are we all know that they
take more of our time than we’d like but
at least it’s free right Facebook
snapchat Instagram fortnight all all
appear to be free but that’s not really
the truth we pay for these apps with our
attention and ultimately with our
well-being as you laid in bed that night
your attention was caught in a trap and
when you finally pride yourself out you
laid in bed feeling empty exhausted
lonely and defeated it’s not your fault
you got outplayed but every day your
attention is being caught and sold
captured and so
and I think it’s about time that we all
break free the first thing that you can
do turn off all notifications accept
calls and texts notifications are
designed to pull your attention away
from real life and back to your screen
without them you get to choose when you
use your phone
second go greyscale if you can all
iPhones give us the option to toggle
between black and white and color three
clicks the home button and you’re back
without color we quickly learn how to
use our phones only when we need them
finally and most importantly do
everything you can to not use your phone
in bed by an alarm clock plug your phone
in outside your room and before long you
will be sleeping better and living your
days proactively instead of reactively
now these are just options for me I
traded in my iPhone for a brick flip
phone with no internet that probably
won’t work for you but you need to find
the system that does work for you
because no one is going to do this for
you I challenge you today to take one
hour
unplug see how it feels it might feel
like you’re missing out on something
when you want on your screen but
eventually you will realize that it is
the other way around
real life gives us something that our
phones never can when I shifted my
attention from here to here my whole
world opened up for the first time in my
life I felt like I belonged now the
step into real life or be controlled by
your phone thank you very much [Applause]
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