Christine Rosen

When's the last time you went to a new place and you just wandered around without using your phone? Very few people will answer that they've done that recently.

When's the last time you went to a new place and you just wandered around without using your phone? Very few people will answer that they've done that recently.

I think it's that we're never truly there in each other's physical presence anymore. We might be there physically sitting around a table at a restaurant, but throughout the several hours of a meal with our friends or family, everyone's taking turns checking out mentally. They're checking their phone. They're looking down and, you know, sending a text to someone else.

I think it's that we're never truly there in each other's physical presence anymore. We might be there physically sitting around a table at a restaurant, but throughout the several hours of a meal with our friends or family, everyone's taking turns checking out mentally. They're checking their phone. They're looking down and, you know, sending a text to someone else.

And we know the brain is not designed to multitask, and we don't multitask well. Multitasking is a myth. And every time you shift your attention from the people right in front of you to the world on your phone, that is an act, I think, of deepened gratitude for the value of the human experience of people being together. So...

And we know the brain is not designed to multitask, and we don't multitask well. Multitasking is a myth. And every time you shift your attention from the people right in front of you to the world on your phone, that is an act, I think, of deepened gratitude for the value of the human experience of people being together. So...

It's become normalized in a way that worries me because it really does lead to very fractured interactions, anxiety in the professional context, a lot of miscommunication. It's not just kids these days and their technology. It's all of us. We've all become habituated to ways of checking out from each other that I think can be quite harmful over time.

It's become normalized in a way that worries me because it really does lead to very fractured interactions, anxiety in the professional context, a lot of miscommunication. It's not just kids these days and their technology. It's all of us. We've all become habituated to ways of checking out from each other that I think can be quite harmful over time.

Two things. The first is there are all kinds of things you can do to grayscale your phone. For example, you can eliminate all notifications. You can make the home screen be a very dull gray color. And I would recommend people do all of that, especially if they find themselves responding to every ping. Don't have those alerts.

Two things. The first is there are all kinds of things you can do to grayscale your phone. For example, you can eliminate all notifications. You can make the home screen be a very dull gray color. And I would recommend people do all of that, especially if they find themselves responding to every ping. Don't have those alerts.

Have times of day where you check that phone or check your email and be deliberate about that. very difficult to do, especially if you're a parent with young kids who you're kind of coordinating things. I understand that. So my second bit of advice, if you can't go totally grayscale, is to practice a little experiment.

Have times of day where you check that phone or check your email and be deliberate about that. very difficult to do, especially if you're a parent with young kids who you're kind of coordinating things. I understand that. So my second bit of advice, if you can't go totally grayscale, is to practice a little experiment.

And I experimented on myself with this, and I still try to do this as often as possible. Instead of picking up your phone in those interstitial moments of time throughout your day, when you're waiting at a stoplight, when you're waiting in line at school pickup to get your kids, when you're waiting for a meeting to start in the office, Don't pick up your phone. Do something else.

And I experimented on myself with this, and I still try to do this as often as possible. Instead of picking up your phone in those interstitial moments of time throughout your day, when you're waiting at a stoplight, when you're waiting in line at school pickup to get your kids, when you're waiting for a meeting to start in the office, Don't pick up your phone. Do something else.

If you're in your car, take a deep breath. Look around outside, listen to some music, something. Don't go for that phone. Or what I've started doing, and it's been a great pleasure, is carrying a book around with me again, which I always used to do. And the phone at some point replaced my book, but now I'm reading more.

If you're in your car, take a deep breath. Look around outside, listen to some music, something. Don't go for that phone. Or what I've started doing, and it's been a great pleasure, is carrying a book around with me again, which I always used to do. And the phone at some point replaced my book, but now I'm reading more.

The overwhelming effect when you do that is you start to notice how often you reach for your phone out of habit. And when you don't do that, how much, for me, it's just I remember things throughout the day better. I remember little details. I observe more. And it's heartening to think that these tiny little habits actually can lead to a better sense of well-being.

The overwhelming effect when you do that is you start to notice how often you reach for your phone out of habit. And when you don't do that, how much, for me, it's just I remember things throughout the day better. I remember little details. I observe more. And it's heartening to think that these tiny little habits actually can lead to a better sense of well-being.

So I would say grayscale your phone and try for 24 hours not to pick up your phone in those interstitial moments of time and see how you feel at the end of that day.

So I would say grayscale your phone and try for 24 hours not to pick up your phone in those interstitial moments of time and see how you feel at the end of that day.