Why Going Offline Might Save Us
The Science of Happiness
PRX and Greater Good Science Center
4.4 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 10 April 2025
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What happens when we replace sky-gazing with screen-scrolling? Discover how digital life impacts happiness and what Gen Z can teach us about reclaiming control over our well-being.
Summary: Smartphones have become our constant companions, but at what cost? This episode of The Science of Happiness explores how our digital lives are reshaping how we think, feel, and connect. From social media’s pull to the decline of face-to-face connection, we look at what we lose—and what we can regain—by stepping away from screens and into nature, quiet, and deeper connections.
Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.
Ways To Do A Digital Detox:
- Turn off your phone before bed to improve sleep and create space from screens.
- Wait to turn it on in the morning, noticing how you feel and stretching that screen-free time.
- Do meaningful work before going online to protect your focus and creativity.
- Keep notifications silenced unless you're expecting something urgent.
- Turn off WiFi and browsers when you need to concentrate deeply.
- Take regular breaks from screens to let ideas simmer and rest your mind.
- Practice reading books again and notice your attention span strengthen over time.
- Pause when you crave scrolling, and consider reaching out to a friend instead.
- Create your own digital detox plan or adapt one that works for you. Be sure to clearly write out your specific intentions, including how and when you'll follow through.
Today’s Guests:
ADAM BECKER is an astrophysicist and author of the book, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade To Control The Fate Of Humanity.
Learn more about Adam Becker here: http://freelanceastrophysicist.com/
JEAN TWENGE is a psychologist and best-selling author. She’s spent years studying how the digital world shapes our minds and bodies, and the way different generations experience life.
Learn more about Jean Twenge here: https://www.jeantwenge.com/
Related The Science of Happiness episodes:
Experience Nature Wherever You Are, with Dacher (Encore): https://tinyurl.com/aj34s585
How Exploring New Places Can Make You Feel Happier: https://tinyurl.com/4ufn2tpn
Why We Should Look up at the Sky: https://tinyurl.com/mpn9vj2t
Related Happiness Breaks:
How To Ground Yourself in Nature: https://tinyurl.com/25ftdxpm
Tap into the Joy That Surrounds You: https://tinyurl.com/2pb8ye9x
Pause to Look at the Sky: https://tinyurl.com/4jttkbw3
Tell us about your experience with taking a break from technology. Email us at [email protected] or follow on Instagram @HappinessPod.
Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/e7rhsakj
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | How many times do you go hang out with a friend and you find that your friend or you yourself |
| 0:10.0 | are stuck looking at your phone while you're with them? |
| 0:14.0 | It would have been considered incredibly rude not that long ago. |
| 0:17.0 | It's not even so much that it's rude as it is that it's bad for us. I think that one of the |
| 0:23.6 | things that's so pernicious about phones, social media, the tech ecosphere, it makes it difficult |
| 0:32.6 | to remember what the heck it was that you were doing in the first place when you picked up your phone. |
| 0:39.2 | I wear an analog wristwatch because I found that when I was looking at my phone to find out what time it was, |
| 0:45.4 | I would frequently fail. I would pick up the phone, see that I had three new texts and three emails, |
| 0:51.9 | respond to two of them, save the others for later, put the phone back, |
| 0:54.5 | and still not know what time it was. |
| 1:01.6 | Welcome to the Science of Happiness. I'm Dacher Kelpner. |
| 1:05.5 | These days, we spend upwards of 40% of our waking life online. |
| 1:11.1 | Our thoughts, feelings, and relationships |
| 1:14.4 | have been moved into digital spaces. |
| 1:17.2 | In theorist Anton Barbara Kay's words, |
| 1:19.5 | the digital media are a functional medium |
| 1:22.6 | of consciousness itself and a new way of imagining ourselves |
| 1:27.4 | in connection to others. And if we look closely, |
| 1:31.1 | maybe it's also shaping the way we think about ourselves. One of the biggest changes I noticed, |
| 1:36.6 | I thought that I was reading more slowly and reading fewer books because I was getting older. |
| 1:42.2 | And then when I started turning off my photo, I started reading books a lot more. |
| 1:46.2 | That's author and astrophysicist, Adam Becker, |
... |
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