Ep. 390: What Happens When You Ditch Your Smartphone? + Assessing the Internet’s Latest Self-Help Sensation

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Education, Technology, Self-improvement

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 February 2026

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Everyone knows that excessive smartphone use can be harmful. But the question we don’t ask enough is what the advantages are of not using these devices. In the ideas segment, Cal examines the testimonials of four subjects who spent significant time without phones, to learn what they actually experience. Then, in the practices segment, he dissects the latest viral online self-help sensation to see if it holds up or is just fluff. Finally, in the Q&A segment, he tackles a surprising (and distressing) way in which technology plays a role in the violent ICE raids happening in Minnesota. Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia IDEAS SEGMENT: What (Really) Happens When You Ditch Your Smartphone? [3:07] PRACTICES SEGMENT: Assessing the Internet’s Latest Self-Help Sensation [31:53] QUESTIONS: What do the ICE raids in Minnesota teach us about technology and its impacts on our society? [53:17] WHAT CAL’S READING: Cal gives his weekly reading update [1:08:17] The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney (Michael Barrier) Links:Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at [calnewport.com/slow](https://www.calnewport.com/slowGet a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?youtube.com/watch?v=kzXOyW8Zumgyoutube.com/watch?v=gh5CYvi5E40youtube.com/watch?v=C-Iewo7zUFoyoutube.com/watch?v=5FI1gP_K5K0youtube.com/watch?v=FshYuO6Opwkx.com/thedankoe/status/2010751592346030461prospect.org/2026/01/27/ice-greg-bovino-minneapolis-one-battle-after-another-sean-penn/youtube.com/watch?v=elF0YmsCHvQ Thanks to our Sponsors: This episode is sponsored by Better Help:betterhelp.com/deepquestionrag-bone.com (Use code “DEEP”)calderalab.com/deepshopify.com/deep Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Those of us in the technology criticism space talk a lot about the harms created by smartphones.
0:09.1	And we all know what these are because we live with them.
0:11.2	I'm talking about constant distraction or a distorted view of the world or the dumbing down of our brains or the social isolation or the gambling, the porn, the videos, the random people, fist fighting.
0:22.1	None of this is good.
0:23.5	We all agree about that.
0:25.5	But here's an idea that I've longed believe.
0:28.2	It's not enough to just list the harms.
0:32.1	The problem is that phones also have legitimate uses.
0:35.7	And the harms, when considered considered in isolation don't really seem
0:39.1	so bad in the moment.
0:41.2	Your mind might very reasonably ask, is anything really all that terrible going to happen
0:46.4	if I look at TikTok for a little bit during my bus commute home?
0:50.9	So it becomes hard to convince your brain to put in the effort required for sustained
0:55.3	behavioral changes. And this is why we tend to fall back into our old phone habit. So what would
1:00.3	work better? I think we need to also explore the benefits of a life without all this digital
1:07.3	noise. We're wired to find motivation and positive images that seem very desirable.
1:12.5	This can inspire much more regular action over time than simply listing harms that you want to
1:18.3	avoid. What we need in this phone conversation, therefore, is a better understanding of what
1:23.4	goes right when you're away from that device.
1:27.8	So that's what we're going to explore today in our idea segment.
1:31.1	We're going to hear from real people who actually ditch their smartphones describing
1:36.9	what their life actually feels like.
	...

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