I'm Gen Z and don't use a smartphone or social media. It's made me more extroverted and led to deeper friendships.

"I experienced a piecemeal degradation of my life that was hard to notice because I grew up with instant messaging and advanced social media like Instagram reels. I still remember one night, as a 14-year-old freshman in high school, when I was up until 2:30 a.m. trying to finish an assignment. I just kept picking up my phone, scrolling, doing a little bit of work, and then getting distracted again. I really thought it was my fault that I couldn't focus."

"It took me years to realize that my smartphone was the center of gravity around which other things orbit. It set my mood for me in the morning, depending on what my algorithm happened to feed me. It made me more obsessed with myself, curating a perfectly aesthetic feed on Instagram while also disliking myself for doing it. In college, I was in a toxic relationship of deleting apps like Snapchat and TikTok, only to redownload them during a bathroom break."

A personal tech history began with an iPod Touch at age nine, Facebook at ten, and a first smartphone at twelve. Widespread early exposure to instant messaging and advanced social media caused gradual cognitive and emotional decline that was difficult to notice. Late-night homework was frequently interrupted by compulsive phone checking, producing misplaced self-blame for inability to focus. Smartphone algorithms influenced mood and promoted self-obsession with curated social feeds. Repeated cycles of deleting and reinstalling apps exemplified a compulsive relationship with platforms. Transitioning to an app-compatible flip phone and later to a pared-down Light Phone eliminated constant online presence and restored calmer mental states.

Read at Business Insider