Sourced from NPR Mansee Khurana for LifeKit | June 11, 2022 5:57 AM ET
Picture this.
New York City. the year was two thousand twenty two…
A mother and her young daughter are on their way to the park when suddenly the mother stopped. Patting her pockets frantically, she turns to her daughter and says, "Sweetie, we have to go back to the car. I forgot my phone."
Already beelining toward the swings, her daughter turned to her mom and said, "Why?"
The daughter most likely had grown up around smartphones and iPads and yet didn't see the point in having them at this moment. The mom explained that she wanted to keep an eye on the time, and while her daughter couldn't understand why that was more important than being next in line for the swings, she eventually followed her back to their car.
NPR’s LifeKit used that witnessed moment to compile a dandy list of helpful tips to avoid such moments and help people learn to live in and embrace each moment.
We Are/Getty Images; NPR
Toggle the tabs for our favorite most reasonable/most interesting and/or challenging tips.
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When I make a plan for [true] human face-time, my phone isn't invited to join. It stays on silent in my purse. We eat, we walk, we go to the movies — we don't need a third wheel. — Talora Michal
I noticed a pattern of friends and family posting things online, and then us not having much to talk about when we would visit each other in person. You'd already seen all their vacation photos, where they were, who they were with, what they ate, right? So I went cold turkey and got rid of all social media platforms entirely. I experienced some serious FOMO at first, but now I don't even notice the difference. It's an opportunity to reach out more personally to family and friends to see what's new in their life, and for them to reach out to me more, too. — Taylor Seale
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For years I used to wake up in the middle of the night to look at or answer a text or email. I realized my quality of sleep and quality of life were being affected, so now I keep the phone in a completely different room when I go to bed. — Stuart Sutton
As I teach my teenage daughters how to drive, I test them on landmarks and street names in our neighborhood. Rather than dangerously reaching for a phone to search for directions, hopefully, they will instinctively know how to get around phone-free. If they take a wrong turn on the way to the mall, it may add 10 minutes to their drive, but they will learn not to take that route the next time. — Greta Bailey
(Great advice for anybody of any age… it’s called deal with it!)
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I keep envelopes addressed to my favorite friends ready to go. That way I can send some letters to brighten mailboxes for no reason whatsoever. — Stafford Wood
I keep a small stack of 3-by-5-inch notecards on my desk with a pen, pencil and a little wooden carrying tray. Any thought, no matter how wild or rational, is written down. Any emotion, whether good or bad, is written down. It helps keep me focused and engaged with the writing medium, and if I need to draw something or sketch, it's right there! This helps me keep tabs on my feelings without being fully distracted from whatever I was doing. — Nathan Venturini
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My husband and I are trying to decrease phone and internet use. One strategy we're using is to wear watches. (He wears his grandfather's and I wear my mother's). We were always tapping our phones to check the time, and then it was insanely common to find ourselves on an unintended trip down a rabbit hole. — Charlene Gaubis
Build activities you enjoy with analog technology. I have hundreds of vinyl records I still play in the background. I love cooking every day while listening to NPR's All Things Considered on my old analog radio. Jokingly, I tell my wife, "I need to start cooking with Michel Martin or Maria Hinojosa." — Sergio E. Serrano
Even more tips on analog living. Comic strip style.
by MALAKA GHARIB and MANSEE KHURANA
The world has changed a lot since everything went online. (People used to ask for directions!) If you ever feel nostalgic for the pre-internet era (or wonder what it was like), Pamela Paul, author of 100 Things We've Lost To The Internet, reveals a few ways you can reconnect with an analog way of life.
This comic was written and illustrated by Malaka Gharib and was inspired by Life Kit's episode on the topic.
