Have you ever made a list of everything you do on your phone? Not just a list of apps, but of everything you do with every app you use. If you're like me, that list has dozens of items, including many daily activities. Think of how different your life would be without those things.

Your list is a map of your life in the digital world. Most people in wealthy countries today lead two lives: one physical, one digital. These lives need not have much to do with each other, many people prize their digital life the most. I was one such person. Like many Zoomers, I grew up preferring my digital life. It was my real life in a sense. The physical world was merely a medium of access. This improved as I got older, but it's still the fundamental stance I'm coming from.

At the start of 2025, I still felt disturbed by how much I was in thrall to screens. I sought freedom. I wanted to stop living a parallel life and exist for once fully present in the real world— if only to see what it's like.

My new year's resolution was to go analog.

Going Analog

I resolved to live by the following rule:

"I will not use any technology with a display screen"

This rule is strict. It bans computers, including embedded computers, so no drivign. Cell phone use is out of the question. This all sounds nice and dandy as far as it goes, but as a CS student it's unclear how I would be able to work if I followed this rule. A total purge is impossible. Challenge failed, right? Not quite yet. I believe it's much better to walk a few strong steps along a good road than to never start because the end is far away. Just looking at the scenery along a noble path is noble. The rule became: "I will seek out and prefer screenless solutions wherever they improve my life."

This seems too wishy-washy at first glance, but it produced strong results. I came to see going analog as more of a direction to aspire to rather than a constraint. I abandoned my cell phone, I read only physical books and newspaper, and I socialized almost exclusively in person. These were only the starting changes. During this period. I learned enough about screenlessness to write a series.

These essays aim to be a guide to how to live without screens.I hope to document the psychological effects, which are profound and mostly positive. I want to better understand what life was like before screens took over the world.

Allowed Tech

While the rule is strict, it permits more technology than you might think at first. Radio, vinyl and cassettes are all fine. So are landlines (the house where I live sitll has one). In fact, most pre-1960 tech, and a great deal of pre-1990 tech, is all allowed. This is far from severe ludditism.

The Effects

That being said, it's still a long departure from normal contemporary life. I needed to rethink almost everything I did in life. I had to make significant lifestyle changes.

The most important single change was abandoning my phone. Keeping it in a little place in my home meant I barely used it at all anymore. I regained my ability to focus during lectures. My social urge became much stronger; since I couldn't stare at my phone while waiting for something, I usually struck up a conversation with nearby people. I felt the best advantage each time I sat down to rest after class. Usually before, my first instinct would be to pull out my phone and look at random stuff for about 30 minutes before I actually started to work. Now if I'm too tired to work immediately I just stare at a wall or walk around for a minute or two before looking at my list of tasks for the day.

It wouldn't be fair to not talk about the disadvantages. Phone-only activities and events grow like mushrooms nowadays, and these can be annoying. The societal expectation for us to have our phones on us at all times is surprisingly strong. However, since I still brought my laptop to school every day, I was able to avoid most significant problems.

I don't think the analog life is superior in every way. It comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. The important point is that it's different, and despite what most people told me when I started it, it is possible in 2025. I want to make it clear that you have a choice. This is the story of what happens when you choose differently.