If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books?

"Here's a thought many of us have these days: if only we weren't on our damn phones all the time, we would surely unlock a better self-one that went on hikes and talked more with our children and felt less rank jealousy about other people's successes. It's a nice idea; once a day, at least, I wonder what my life would be like if I smashed my phone into bits and never contacted AppleCare."

"The unrest about smartphones and social-media addiction has been growing for years and shows no signs of abating. I have felt the panic myself, and so, this past July, with a book deadline looming, I got off of social media. The break started with X, which was my biggest problem, but, by the end of August or so, Instagram, TikTok, and pretty much anything that allowed me to argue with strangers had been deleted from my phone."

"The plan worked, more or less. I finished a draft of the book on time. But the other imagined effects of a social-media detox never quite materialized, at least not in a noticeable way. I was especially hoping that I would start reading more books, because I have found that enviable prose prompts me to try to write my own, not necessarily out of a sense of inspiration but rather out of fear that if I don't hurry up and start typing, I'll fall behind."

Smartphones and social media occupy large parts of daily life and create a belief that abandoning them will unlock a better, more productive self. Temporarily quitting social platforms can cut screen time and help complete tasks such as finishing a book draft, but the anticipated spillover benefits—reading more, improved family time, greater creativity—often fail to materialize. Envy and the attention economy shape behavior, and enviable prose can motivate writing out of fear of falling behind. Real, sustained shifts in habits and deeper engagement with books require different incentives and recognition that books are slower, less optimized experiences than internet content.

Read at The New Yorker