What technology would you be better off without, why?
If you asked me to list the technology that drains my happiness the most, my mind jumps to the usual suspects.
I could blame social media and the infinite scroll that destroys my ability to focus. I could blame the loss of privacy from smart home devices listening in on my living room conversations. I could even blame workplace chat apps like Slack that keep me on high-alert.
But those are just symptoms. If we really want to cure the digital fatigue we are all feeling, we have to look at the root cause. We have to look at the delivery mechanism.
If I could un-invent one piece of technology, it would be the Smartphone.
From Tool to Tether
It is hard to believe it has been less than two decades since the shift happened.
When Steve Jobs walked onto the stage in 2007, he introduced the iPhone as three things combined: a widescreen iPod, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communicator. At the time, it felt like magic. We were handed a supercomputer that fits in our pockets.
The rest of the world scrambled to play catch-up. We collectively took the leap from “dumb” phones to “smart” phones.
But somewhere along the way, the dynamic flipped. The device was pitched as a tool to help us manage our lives. Instead, it became a tether that keeps us bound to the digital world.
The Cost of a Computer in Your Pocket
The problem is not the internet itself. The problem is the portability of the internet.
Because we have this powerful device on us 24/7, we have invited every other technological vice into our private moments. We don’t just check social media at our desks. We doom-scroll in line at the grocery store. We carry tracking devices that monitor our location just to use free apps.
We have lost the ability to just exist in public. Instead of keeping our eyes forward and meeting people, we swipe on dating apps while walking down the street.
A World Without Smartphones
Let’s run a thought experiment. What would the world look like today if mobile phone technology had peaked in 2005?
Technology would not have stopped. Computers would still be incredibly powerful. In this alternate reality, we would still have laptops and tablets.
But there is a major difference between a smartphone and a laptop. A laptop requires a bag. A tablet requires two hands to use comfortably. You have to make an intentional choice to pack them. You have to sit down, open them up, and connect to Wi-Fi. There is friction involved.
Because of that friction, you generally wouldn’t pull out a laptop while waiting for a traffic light to change. You wouldn’t whip out an iPad while walking to the bathroom.
The Return of “Logging Off”
In a world without smartphones, “going online” would still be an intentional act. You would sit at your desk or open your laptop at a cafe. You would do your work, talk to your friends, and read the news.
Then you would close the lid.
The moment you walk out your front door without that bag, you would be free.
Because you couldn’t take the internet with you in your pocket, you would have the ability to disconnect. The anxiety of the news cycle and the pressure of work emails would be left at home. They wouldn’t follow you to dinner. They wouldn’t follow you to the park.
Reclaiming Our Humanity
I truly believe that if we reverted to “dumb” phones, many of our modern crises would shrink.
Think about the epidemic of screen time among the younger generation. Without a screen in their pocket, younger folks would be forced to look up. We would all be forced to endure boredom again. Boredom is the soil that creativity grows in.
In the waiting room at the doctor’s office, you wouldn’t see twelve people hunched over glowing rectangles. You might see people reading magazines. You might see them staring out the window. You might even see them doing something terrifying. They might be talking to one another.
The Takeaway
We can’t un-invent the smartphone. The genie is out of the bottle.
But realizing that the portability is the problem gives us a clue on how to fix it. We don’t need to delete every app or smash our computers. We just need to practice leaving the “smart” part at home.
The next time you go for a walk, leave the phone behind. Treat it like a landline. Step outside, look up, and remember what it feels like to be disconnected.
johnro 
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