I read a story the other day about a guy who had become concerned that he was developing an unhealthy addiction to his iPhone. His name is Carlos Whitaker, and unlike me – another guy who has become concerned that he has developed an unhealthy addiction to his iPhone – Carlos wanted to see just how profound his addiction was. So, one day, Carlos left his phone at home and went off to live with Monks and Amish farmers for seven weeks. He went “cold turkey” in other words. Then he wrote a book about it. Also, because Carlos is a curious kind of guy, he had some scientists scan his brain before and after he ditched his phone, just to see if there was some physiological evidence that his iPhone was turning him into a mental case. Turns out, there was. Carlos’s iPhone was making him very unhappy, and Carlos is not alone. Millions of people are now addicted – not to their phones, necessarily – but to the feeling of control they perpetuate.
His new book is called Reconnected – How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and Amish Farmers Helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human. I read it and asked him to talk about why he wrote it, and how is life changed as a result. His answer is this week’s conversation, and I think it’s worth your time. https://bit.ly/TWIHI427CarlosWhittaker
Even if you watch it on your iPhone…