Flipping Off Phones
5/8/202652 min
On this week’s episode of “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel talks with his Atlantic colleague Kaitlyn Tiffany about what our phones are doing to us. Tiffany recently wrote about swapping her iPhone for a flip phone as part of a movement called “Month Offline.” Kaitlyn talks through her personal experience: the joys and inconveniences of a dumbphone and the difficulty of unplugging completely. Warzel and Tiffany talk about the growing smartphone backlash, legal cases against “big tech,” and how, even if many people are convinced that their phones are a problem, the science remains far from conclusive regarding direct harm. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
Hank joined BJ's Wholesale Club the day he became a father of 30.
Charlie Warzel· Host0:03
I coach football.
Speaker 10:04
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Charlie Warzel· Host0:13
And that's just pre-game.
Speaker 10:14
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Speaker 30:29
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Kaitlyn Tiffany· Guest0:59
There's been this sort of clamor for something to happen for long enough that even people who wouldn't really care to be reading the news of tech policy every single day will be internalizing this idea of, like, social media and smartphones are really bad for us, um, and I should be trying to use mine less.
Unknown speaker1:25
[upbeat music]