Ep 100Exposing the Biggest Modern Lie You've Already Fallen For
He ditched his smartphone and became the best hitter in baseball
Richard Simon
Exposing the Biggest Modern Lie You've Already Fallen For
with Richard Simon
Our time on this earth, it's a it's a finite, non-renewable resource.
More moments · 4
Try this · top 3
Quotes
“We were present, but really not truly present.”
“It was a big social experiment that completely went wrong.”
“It's like building a muscle.”
“Never before in human history have we not been able to be alone with our thoughts.”
“For the majority of jobs, a smartphone is not a requirement.”
“Now I only turn it on to do something that will enhance my life.”
“Everyone has an addictive personality, Richard.”
“Go for a walk for 45 minutes and don't bring your phone.”
“Time is our most precious non-renewable resource. Spend it like it's money because it is.”
Takeaways
- 1 Richard Simon, a Baltimore father who runs website strategy at Georgetown Law, kept his smartphone off for a full year and wrote Unplug about it, profiling dozens of people who did the same.
- 2 He realized how distracted he was after his first child was born. Average American adults spend more than 5 hours a day on their phones; he was at 3-4.5.
- 3 Every check releases dopamine. An addiction expert told him the pull works like increasingly potent cocaine.
- 4 Focus compounds: checking a message leaves 'attention residue', while a short walk is a healthy break. Chess player Wesley So built deep focus from 60 minutes to 6-8 hours a day.
- 5 Nick Castellanos swapped his smartphone for a $20 flip phone before the 2021 season, replaced post-game scrolling with quiet reflection, and had his best season: All-Star starter and Silver Slugger.
- 6 Shabbos alone isn't enough - he compares it to a smoker quitting one day a week. Many people are back on their phones right after Havdalah.
- 7 The first two or three weeks were hard (phantom vibrations at Disney). After that he felt like a better version of himself, and his wife and kids noticed he was more present.
- 8 The freed hours went to 'high quality leisure': golf, chess, long phone calls, walks, and time with his wife planning their life. He also spent less on impulse online shopping.
- 9 An on-call anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins uses a work phone at work and a one-way pager at home. Richard says if he can do it, most people can.
- 10 Teens who already have smartphones face real social costs if they're taken away. Richard is hopeful for today's younger children, as more families hold off.
- 11 The host shares that he switched to a flip phone in 2017 after a Rabbi Yissocher Frand shiur, and started his marketing company during the nearly two years without a smartphone.
- 12 True conversation beats text: a call lets you hear how the other person feels, while group texts can leave people out.