Deep Questions with Cal Newport Ep. 390: What Happens When You Ditch Your Smartphone? + Assessing the Internet’s Latest Self-Help Sensation
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Feb 2, 2026 They explore what people actually experience when they stop carrying smartphones, highlighting reports of reduced anxiety, clearer thinking, restored boredom, and noticing beauty. Practical tactics are offered to reclaim phone-free benefits without total abandonment. The host also scrutinizes a viral self-help essay to see why it spread and which ideas stick. A segment examines how technology intersected with recent ICE raids in Minnesota.
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Positive Vision Beats Only Listing Harms
- Listing harms of smartphones isn't enough to change behavior; showcasing positive benefits of phone-free life motivates action more effectively.
- Cal Newport proposes exploring what goes right without phones to inspire sustainable change.
Woods Trip Cut Anxiety Fast
- David Boland spent five days in the woods with no phone and described reduced anxiety and deeper presence with people around him.
- He reported not thinking about distant people and feeling calmer and more engaged with immediate company.
Yearlong Quit Revealed Mental Clarity
- Wheezy Waiter quit his smartphone for a year and after three days noticed fewer digital rabbit holes and clearer thoughts.
- He spent more time reading and being present in conversations instead of chasing online searches.
