Unplugging from digital devices is increasingly framed as an ultimate luxury in 2025. A growing slate of apps aims to reduce screen time and attention-grabbing features. Some tech leaders are attempting to reinvent the social internet with alternative platforms that emphasize different norms and moderation models. Examples include Bluesky's efforts to reshape social networking and Alexis Ohanian's new platform that centers a single behavioral rule. Personal experiments like Jason Kehe's year with a flip phone illustrate practical ways to unplug. Users now have more choices and agency to select tools and platforms that limit distraction and restore control.
As the summer comes to an end, we're thinking about what unplugging-the ultimate luxury-looks like in 2025. With a growing slate of apps aiming to reduce our screen time and some tech leaders trying to reinvent the internet as it was, where are we heading? WIRED's features editor Jason Kehe joins us to discuss how as users we are now best positioned to take the power back.
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