November 2026

4 OFFLINE ON PURPOSE: WHY PEOPLE ARE RECLAIMING TIME FROM THEIR SCREENS The phone is one of the most useful objects most of us carry, which is exactly why it can be difficult to put down. It holds our conversations, calendars, cameras, maps, music, work messages, news, entertainment, and a seemingly endless sup- ply of something new to look at. That convenience has created a new kind of question: when does staying connected begin to feel like being constantly in- terrupted? A 2026 Pew Research Cen- ter survey found that just over half of U.S. adults said they spend too much time on their smartphones. The same survey found that sleep was the area where people were most likely to describe their phones as harmful. Those numbers do not mean phones are bad. They suggest that many people are becoming more aware of how much attention the devices can ab- sorb. That awareness is giving rise to a simple idea: being offline on purpose. It does not require delet- ing every app, buying a flip phone, or disappearing for a week. For many people, it means creating small periods when the phone is no longer the default activity. Dinner can be one of them. So can the first thirty minutes after waking up, the last hour before bed, a walk, a work- out, a conversation, or an afternoon spent working on something with your hands. The difference is subtle but noticeable. Without a screen filling every pause, boredom has a chance to appear. That sounds nega- tive until you remember what boredom can lead to. You look around. You think. You notice something. You start a conversation. You finish the book sitting on the table. You hear the entire song instead of skipping halfway through it. Being offline can also change how time feels. Ten minutes of scrolling can disappear without leaving much of a memory. Ten min- utes sitting outside, walking through a neighborhood, or talking with someone can feel more substantial because you were actually present for it. This is not an argument against technology. The same phone that distracts us can help us navigate a new city, photograph a great moment, discover music, manage a business, or stay close to someone hundreds of miles away. The goal is not rejection. It is control. One useful approach is to remove the easiest triggers. Turn off notifications that are not important. Move distract- ing apps away from the home screen. Charge the phone somewhere other than beside the bed. Decide that some meals, meetings, or creative sessions are phone free. The point is to make attention a choice again. Photo by | nappy