20 April 2025 - Just a week without phone usage
After the whle trade war and stock market tumbling, I decided to go a week without phone usage. I kind of just wanted a break, a digital reboot, and also just curious to see what would happen, what I would do instead and what other things and thoughts would catch my interest. Not super clear definitions on what was allowed and not, like I was allowed to use my phone for messages and google and stuff, but I would not be using any of the apps that I usually use (news, tumblr, bluesky, youtube, reddit), I would avoiding podcasts, and also try to avoid just switching my phone for the laptop. I also decided it was okay with one non-political youtube video a day, as a treat (appearently my go-to is Bernadette Banner and now I have a strong desire to make a poofy 18th century pirate shirt, whoops).
I guess I kind of rediscovered boredom. I’ve heard that boredom is kind of good for you actually? Don’t remember how exactly, but I guess creativity, and ability to focus or something. And it’s something we are faced with much less these days, distraction just a phone-tap away, so we are getting pretty bad at handling it too. And I guess it’s been a while for me too. Pacing around in the apartment, not knowing what to do, what I feel like doing, makes me think back to my childhood. I would pace around and then eventually complain to my mom and say I don’t know what to do, what should I do? I wanted her to say that maybe I could play some sims or other computer game, but obviously she never said that, she said I could read a book or something. I didn’t want to read a book…
But yeah, boredome makes you do the wacky. I bet with more time on Bernadette Banner youtube-diet I would for real go buy some linen fabric and get sowing. But also I mean look at me now, writing a blog post again. It’s been a while. (Okay I also have the easter holidays to thank for that, but still). And I haven’t read anything the weeks or months before, but just these past few days I’ve read about 1/3 of a book! (See, mom, I’m reading, be proud now!) It’s Axoims End, btw, the one by Lindsey Ellis. I borrowed it from my sister years ago but never got around to reading more than the first few chapters. But now I’m finally reading it and it’s really good, super intriguing, a real page-turner - which is a term I don’t use lightly - and I haven’t had that in a while. Can recommend.
But I also can’t wait to get back to the digital world again. I want to check news, I want to here the new podcast episodes about politics (even though I also dread it…), I want to binge my favourite yourubers, I want to scroll memes on tumblr. Like I would be excited to do it, I would do it on purpose, not just as a reflex. Tomorrow…
Funny thing is, I get the feeling I can’t have both. I mean both the phone stuff and the creativity-and-reading stuff. Even though there should be enough time for both - scrolling some memes for 20 mins and listening to podcasts on the way to work wouldn’t stop me from reading for a bit once I got home – it just doesn’t happen. I think that indeed, boredom is the key. Only after pacing around aimlessly for a while, demanding relief from the boredom, will I actually start something proper. And that first part just doesn’t happen when Content from My Phone is an option.
So this was a reminder to do this once and again. It’s a nice method to start doing those things I never get around to otherwise. And actually, this is not the first time I try something like this. At some point tI decided that every other weekend should be phone-free. And a small little secret: it was on one of those weekends (I think) that I started this very website.
Teehee
Full circle
;)