Op-Ed: Dumbphone Bliss Isn't Blissful for Everyone Around You

Stephanie H. Murray unplugged from her iPhone—and plugged herself straight into other people's. In a New York Times opinion piece, the Atlantic contributing writer describes swapping her smartphone for a "dumbphone" and getting much of what she hoped: less doomscrolling, more time with her kids, a mind that feels less cluttered. But in a world calibrated for apps and QR codes, her personal reset has offloaded the friction onto everyone around her. Friends and her husband now summon Ubers, pull up e-tickets, and scan menus for her; at school events and fundraisers, she's the one person who can't take payments, check group chats, or message the Airbnb host.

Other "dumbphone" experimenters tell her the burden fell hardest on spouses, teachers, and parents—often the very people they were trying to prioritize. Murray wonders whether opting out is a necessary inconvenience if society is ever to loosen its dependence on smartphones—or just a selfish luxury that others quietly subsidize. She hasn't gone back to a smartphone, "not yet anyway," but finds herself vacillating "between the belief that my current setup is too selfish to last and the conviction that it is too blissfully liberating to give up." Read her full essay at the Times.