Brick, Month Offline, and the many ways to quit your smartphone addiction

In the last few months, a shady company called Stupid and Co. has been convincing people in Washington, DC, to give up their smartphones for the past month. It's part of a project called Month Offline, in which participants are given a flip phone and access to a support group to talk about algorithms, doomscrolling and why smartphones make us feel so lonely.

This isn't just another digital detox retreat. To me it sounds more like a hip social club. The home base is a so-called bar Hush Harbor, the first phone-free bar in DCand initially, the experience of joining involved calling a 1-800 number and leaving a voicemail application.

The local movement goes nationwide. There is now a website and an option to join a cohort from anywhere in the United States. For $100 you get the Dumb Phone 1, which is actually just a TCL flip phone; a new phone number with area code 404; and a curriculum of sorts to guide you through the month. There are also weekly dial-in radio programs that replace in-person meetings. The first in-person cohort outside of DC is also accepting applications: Month Offline Brooklyn starts in January 2026.

It all reeks of the same nostalgia that led to it the resurgence of CDs And the return of compact digital cameras. The idea of ​​technology that does one thing and doesn't take up our entire attention span is appealing.

“The phone certainly reinforces some of our avoidance tendencies,” said Grant Besner, a co-founder of Month Offline. “Simply replacing being bored with your own thoughts for a short period of time can be a transformative and truly positive experience in a person’s life.”

Month Offline is part of a new generation of solutions for your smartphone life. These include carefully designed smartphone alternatives, like the Light Phone 3. There are also the brickan NFC-enabled magnet that blocks access to certain apps when you tap your phone against it. You can also find many apps, like Freedom, One Sec or Forestthat will achieve similar goals. The overarching concept is that hiding from your phone for a weekend doesn't do much to change your habits long-term. You need to learn to use your phone more consciously.

“This is AA for smartphones”

I first learned about Month Offline from Brittany Shammas, a Washington Post reporter who participated in one of the DC-based cohorts wrote an article about the experience. What stood out in their reporting was the extent to which people weren't just quickly searching for a phone. They wanted community and connection.

“There were definitely elements that made it feel like a support group,” Shammas told me. “Sometimes people in the group would say, 'That's AA for smartphones.'”

After speaking to several other Month Offline participants, it was clear that some actually wanted to switch to a flip phone, while others simply needed a break from their iPhone. One of them, Lydia Peabody, said she gave up her smartphone for a month because she was struggling with her mental health and “scrolling.” [her] Life gone.” Then she switched to a flip phone and everything changed.

“I didn’t know life could feel like this,” said Peabody, who now works for Month Offline. “I didn’t even know I could exist this way.”

For those who don't want to take part in the challenge all month long, Month Offline organizers are selling a Dumb Phone 1 with the new phone number and cell service for $25 per month. They're also developing an app, Dumb Down, that makes it easier to sync calls and text messages between an iPhone and a flip phone. Switching to a flip phone is possible even without the self-help group component can deepen your existing friendships And Improve your attention span.

For about as long as smartphones have existed, there have been programs designed to help us stop. More than a decade ago you could spend hundreds go to Camp Groundedan adult summer camp in California where all digital devices were banned. The organization that sponsored it Digital detoxinspired groups around the world to help people unwind. The offline clubfor example, hosts phone-free events and retreats across Europe. There is even a special festival that takes place every year on the first weekend of March Global Unplugging Day. Verizon is a corporate sponsor.

But what was once a wellness trend is quickly becoming a full-blown social movement. After Jean Twenge asked: “Have smartphones destroyed a generation?“In The Atlantic in 2017, the idea that the use of technology had led to a mental health crisis among young people became mainstream. It didn't help when the Wall Street Journal reported a few years later that Instagram knew his product was harmful to teenagersciting internal documents. That was around the same time the “wait until the 8th” promise Keeping smartphones out of children's hands until they are 13 and some families has emerged even hired consultants to help them break their smartphone habits. Then came the pandemic, when everyone's lives became even more dominated by screens.

Today, phone bans in schools are a key legislative priority. Florida was first Ban phones from classrooms in 2024, and there are now 35 states with laws or rules Restrict or ban phones in schools. We don't know how this will impact education, but at least in one school district in Kentucky, the statewide phone ban was accompanied by an increase in numbers Books borrowed from the library.

One has to wonder what a ban on school phones for adults would look like. More than half of adults in the US fear becoming addicted to their smartphones. according to a 2024 Harris pollbut it seems unlikely that they all want to throw them into the sea. Spending a weekend on a digital detox retreat can be relaxing and exploratory even suggests that these types of interventions can help reduce the amount of time people spend on their phones after the program ends. Stay away from social media Definitely seems good for your mental health.

“Overall, there is now increasing evidence that digital detoxification can and does work,” he said Kostadin Kushleva Georgetown psychology professor who directs the Digital Health and Happiness Lab. However, much of the research focuses on eliminating a single feature, such as social media, Kushlev added.

Let me confess: I didn't spend the month offline. I didn't last a week with a Light Phone 3. A big reason for this is simply that it's not a good time for me to reorganize my digital life. Even though monthly offline organizers have made it easier, switching to a flip phone is difficult.

But I got a brick. Whenever I want to stop myself from reflexively scrolling through Reddit at night, I simply tap a small gray square on my phone and the app stops working. To get it to work again, I have to get up, walk around my apartment and tap it again. It sounds simple, just a bit of friction to snap me out of my daze. And that's all I need right now to feel more present.

Update, November 6, 9:25 a.m. ET: This story was originally published on November 6th and has been updated with news about the launch of Month Offline Brooklyn.

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