#107 What half a decade of no phone notifications has taught me
Going offline is having a moment—and, for me, that manifests as the instant wellness boost that is being (temporarily) unreachable...
This summer marks six years since I downgraded my phone into a portable landline. Hardly better than the clunky telephone permanently poised in the corner of my parents’ kitchen, often beside a list of numbers scribbled in Biro. That’s because, since 2019, I’ve had zero notifications on my device—bar the ability to receive calls in case of an emergency. This has been more drastic than an ad hoc ‘do not disturb’ since, without those pings that make your hairs stand on end or the sight of alerts flashing up on a screen, I’ve had to manually check the likes of my WhatsApp and email apps to pull me out of the real world. It has been bliss.
The impetus for my at-the-time unusual move? A newspaper piece I wrote that saw me sent off on the train to Swansea University to speak to Phil Reed, professor of psychology, who had been studying the impact of social media use on the body. He wired me up to a clever machine in his lab that measured, in real time, my heart rate and also my skin's electric conductivity (essentially how ‘interested’ or ‘anxious’ I am). The tests began with me being shown images of plants, which barely moved the needle on my vital signs. However, I was then told to look at my phone—and what happened next scared me.
A notification popped up informing me that someone had ‘hearted’ one of my Instagram posts. This very ordinary action caused my heart rate to jump from a healthy 60bpm to 100bpm (the level of a brisk walk, even though I was sitting down). Similarly, the skin sensitivity data revealed my body was suddenly alert and poised for action. As Professor Reed explained, I was experiencing the same ‘fight or flight’ response as if I was being chased through Wales by a lion. It dawned on me there and then that, considering how many times my phone was primed to get my attention throughout the day, this physiological and psychological reaction had become chronic.
In the intervening half decade, while headlines have shouted at us about the research correlating screen time to everything from poor self-esteem to disrupted sleep, far less attention has been given to the subtly harmful effects of always being on ‘high alert’ to the device that is rarely more than a few feet away from us. The trouble is, the aforementioned natural stress response—while great at ‘protecting’ you and keeping you ‘safe’—can contribute to elevated levels of cortisol (social media’s current hormone obsession) if it’s triggered too often. It has been linked to not only an increased risk of anxiety and depression, but also weight gain, headaches and skin concerns. I chose to opt out.
Feeling disturbed
However, I can guess what you’re thinking: is the ‘no notification’ life actually that practical in these modern times? It was something I also worried about at the start of own my personal ‘experiment’. Would I get FOMO not immediately responding to groups chats? Miss out on an exciting work opportunity in my inbox? Forget to put the laundry on? However, I can now confidently tell you that 99% of your life really can wait. For you to finish that coffee with a friend. That work meeting. That Pilates class. That night’s sleep. Even if you are the CEO of Heathrow Airport who probably should have just left his phone off silent. Because the 1% of life that depends on you being contacted ASAP can call you.
Of course, there have been times my ‘no notification’ strategy has messed up. I remember when, during my first year of living in Lisbon in a flat that was incomprehensibly pink from floor-to-ceiling but had no doorbell, I hosted a cheese and wine evening for some friends. I became so engrossed in conversation with an early arrival that I didn’t check my phone to see that the others had been waiting outside for almost an hour, having endlessly messaged and WhatsApp called (turns out it needs to be on a regular line). Still, I can count these occasions on one hand—and vinho verde and brie is a particularly effective way to say ‘I’m sorry’.
The comforting (or alarming) realisation you’ll have is that you won’t forget to eventually check your phone—believe me, those impulses are still strong—but you will do so on your own terms, when you’ve got the capacity to respond or action something. You start to disentangle yourself from being ruled by your device—a state which slowly crept up on all of us—and you’ll also be much less tempted to go on apps that don’t serve you. The BBC News app jingle that sends your mood plummeting. The string of reels that stifle your step count. The DM that entices you into an ad-filled scroll that dents your financial wellbeing (highly recommend this recent piece in The New York Times about the lure of social media marketing).
Screening process
I’m certainly not perfect. However, my screentime is a fraction of what it was and I’m far more intentional with the periods I am logged on. I know that my wellbeing is better for it—from greater productivity and less anxiety, to a healthier bank balance and more movement. These are some of the benefits I’ve seen others also discuss in 2025, because going offline is having moment. The latest Oxford Dictionary word of the year is ‘brain rot’, the actress Mikey Madison picked up an Oscar in March without a social media account, 'digital detoxing’ was a plot device in the latest season of White Lotus and sales of ‘dumbphones’ are soaring.
I was asked to report on this new ‘offline’ shift—one that is evoked in the brilliant, hugely popular Catherine Shannon essay titled ‘Your phone is why you don’t feel sexy’—for the current issue of Women’s Health. In the piece, I speak to numerous inspiring women who are logging off in slightly different ways—from spending weekends doing #Offline48 to switching to dumbphones outside of the office and even getting rid of their laptop. They include Daisy Morris, August Lamm and Venetia La Manna, who all touch upon the topic in their respective newsletters. Read my WH piece online (or, better still, buy an IRL copy of the magazine to enjoy in print).
Our smartphone ‘addiction’—which a 2023 study by the Universities of Toronto, McGill and Harvard found that around a third of adults are at risk of—has become even more of a talking point since I filed the copy back in early April. There was the viral TikTok in which a woman holds a clear plastic ‘methaphone’ as a way to reset her relationship with her device. We’ve also had the rise of the term ‘digital minimalist’ as a badge of honour, as per this piece in The Times, and even more Adolescence-adjacent discussions about how to protect younger generations. That includes reports of a coalition of London schools sending parents suggested screen time limits for children from birth to the age of 16.
Most fascinating still, for me at least, were the unlikely effects of the Portugal and Spain-wide power cut in late April. I happened to be away at the time, and upon speaking to friends afterwards when everything was back up and running, I had been half expecting them to say it had been a total nightmare to be totally disconnected (after the cell towers and everyone’s devices eventually lost power). However, instead, the majority have been almost rose-tinted about those 12 hours of reading by candlelight and being fully present while sipping wine with friends. Get a little taste of what happened in The Times by an on-the-ground fellow Lisbon expat, Alex Holder, a journalist and founder of the city’s Salted Books.
Double tick
The overriding sentiment seems to be that it’s incrementally better for our bodies and minds the more we log off. However, that’s not to say we should totally vilify our devices—with many experts I spoke to for the article at pains to point out that it’s not necessarily being online itself that’s a bad thing (for example, as a point of connection and source of information), it’s how we spend our time while logged on. Indeed, recent research has even indicated that digital devices may sharpen rather than dull the brain in later life. Your takeaway should be that it’s how you use your device—and this is wherein lies the problem.
As you’ll be aware, it’s much harder to pick up and put down your phone than if it were, let’s say, a book. Researchers shared with me in the piece about how our devices (and the apps they are home to) enlist clever mechanisms to keep us cognitively engaged—tapping and swiping away—and surreptitiously getting us into the habit of checking Vinted on autopilot. I can’t help but consider notifications to be the ‘gateway drug’ to being sucked into the online ether. Especially in weaker moments of least resistance, like waiting for public transport or just before bed. For anyone wanting to spend more time offline, I’d recommend re-evaluating your notifications as your first step. Here’s my tried-and-tested advice for doing it right:
The basics—turn off all notifications in your phone settings except for calls. You do not need to be reminded to drink more water or stand up to stretch your legs. You are not a child (unless you are). Listen to your body.
Communicate well—let all the important people in your life (partner, kids, parents, boss, BFF and so on) know that if they really need you that instant, they can still reach you the old fashioned way. Otherwise you’ll get back to them when you can.
Reality check—if you’re waiting for a call from the doctors or the DPD driver, they can still get through to you. Although, it’s amazing how much official day-to-day communication, from restaurant reservations to fixing the washing machine, is done without a human these days.
Set boundaries—I’m fortunate that as a freelancer I don’t have to be connected up to something like Slack or Teams, which can make getting into the flow seriously tricky. If your work requires you to be on such platforms, talk to your superior about having certain windows of time to check notifications. Got a work phone? Put it away once you’ve clocked off.
Remove distractions—I’ve not used a fitness tracker/ smartwatch for years but, if yours comes with a screen, truly consider whether it’s helping or hindering your wellbeing. Perhaps think about a screen-free option like an Oura or WHOOP instead.
Eliminate ‘clutter’—keep your phone screen as minimal as possible to make your device less enticing to pick up. For instance, I have zero widgets, place all my apps (only the essentials downloaded) on the second home page and have stints in ‘greyscale’. If you have an Android, try Minimalist Phone which seamlessly turns your device into a dumbphone.
Have thoughts? Tell me in the comments below. Otherwise, thank you for reading—until next time!
*This article contains some affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. As always, I only recommend things I really rate
Greyscale is the best//worst thing, when I do it it really does help me stay off my phone!