Sometimes the pop culture we love just teens hits differently in retrospect.

Maybe it's a tabloid story we couldn't get enough of or an illicit student-teacher relationship

on our favorite show. We're Suzy Banna-Karim and Jessica Bennett,

posts of the new podcast in retrospect, where each week we'll revisit a cultural moment from

the past that shaped us and probably you to try to understand what it taught us about the world

and our place in it. You're the first person that I've talked to about this for years and years.

Listen to in retrospect on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your favorite shows.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is about becoming more aware of how you are using your phone.

Before you pick it up, ask yourself, what for? Why now? And what else?

These questions come from journalist Catherine Price, and I learned about them from a New York Times

interview with Laurie Santos, who is a Yale psychology professor and the host of the podcast,

the Happiness Lab. Santos recommended using Price's questions to become more mindful about your smartphone

usage. Here's how they work. The first question, what for, is about why you are picking up

your phone? Are you using the phone to find out what the temperature is so you can grab the right

weight jacket? Or because you want to see how people responded to an Instagram story you posted

half an hour ago? Or is it to check your email? Because you worry there might be a message from your

boss, even if it's after hours. Pay attention to the practical or emotional needs that are prompting

your phone usage. Then ask yourself, why now? Why is this the moment you chose to pick up your phone?

Because you were feeling self-conscious, sitting at a table alone while you waited for your friend?

Because you were bored? Because you were avoiding starting a difficult work project?

...