"I was standing there, frozen in front of the shelves, phone in hand, scrolling through food lists that led to recipes that sucked me into the latest health trends. Ten minutes earlier, I'd come in for a bottle of almond milk. Now I was knee-deep in articles about the "five fruits to reverse aging" and a thread debating which pasture-raised vs organic eggs. My cart sat empty, my body stood still, but my thumb kept moving."
"It wasn't really about the phone. I wasn't addicted to notifications, apps, or algorithms (or maybe only slightly). I was addicted to escape - escape from the endless lists waiting at home, escape from the grief I hadn't processed, and escape from the pressure to keep showing up as if nothing was wrong. After the Palisades fire, nothing was the same."
A person recognizes in a grocery store that phone use had become an escape from exhaustion, grief, and pressure. Scrolling replaces action, leaving tasks undone and the body immobile while the thumb moves. A stranger's question reveals the deeper need: relief from feeling behind and overwhelmed. Displacement after the Palisades fire shattered routines and safety, creating constant reminders, paperwork, and the work of rebuilding life. Outward movement masks inner collapse. The phone functions as a doorway away from processing loss and fatigue, signaling a need for permission to rest rather than strict detox measures.
Read at Business Insider
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