Boomers call it a digital detox. Gen Z calls it analogue living. It’s the same old desire to unplug from tech and live outside the screen. Turns out, there are reasonable boundaries that actually work. Here are some.
Because of all the things we need our phones for, “It’s also impossible to completely disconnect.
“But we’re too anxiously attached to our devices,” says Mumbai businessman Siddharth Bhimani, 38.
Scroll to a halt Three years ago, Bhimani was looking to ways to switch off after his daughter — then five years old — complained that he was always on his phone. So, he got a Nokia flip phone to use on the weekends. He’d switch off his iPhone and only pick up emergency calls on that second number. “There’s something calming about knowing no one can contact you. The day she and her partner booked bus tickets to attend the protests, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. “All of a sudden, I felt so empty. Odedara downloaded an app that turned her phone black-and-white, so she would be dissuaded from looking at it. It freed up her hours dramatically, giving her time to sketch, read and connect with artists. “We don’t talk enough about this side of digital detoxing — learning what to do with yourself when you’re not doomscrolling. Pull the plug Some self-confessed phone addicts (aren’t we all?) have resorted to extreme measures.
For freelance music writer Harita Odedara, 23, the trigger for going analogue was the student protests in July. She lives in Himachal Pradesh and was on her phone for 12 hours a day, liking and sharing Reels in solidarity. Business manager Ayan Modi, 26, was on a solo trip in Europe in 2023 when he realised that he was more focused on uploading photos and Reels than enjoying his grand adventure.
It was instant “mental decluttering” over those two days, he says. She restricted short-form video content and set “social media hours” during 6pm to 8pm. Then, a challenge she still hasn’t accounted for: All the “uncomfortable emotions and feelings that come up when you aren’t looking at a screen,” she says. Back in Mumbai, he experimented with going off his smartphone completely for seven days “just to see what happened”.
He got a dumbphone, a Karbonn K140 Pop, began using cash for payments, and went MIA online. That one week turned to two, then a month. And before Modi knew it, he’d spent five months without a smartphone. He requested his boss to call him if a task was urgent. Even after he returned to using his smartphone, the benefits carry over. He’d rather play music on a record player or the radio than pick up the phone. The clean break isn’t for everyone. Even after keeping her phone far away (or another floor of her house while she worked) the FOMO was real. “I had to get out of the spiral. No devices, no talking, no books, music, games, nothing. Just meditation. “When I came back, I realised I could leave my phone unattended for an hour or more. “I still have to be on social media for work. But at least I’m no longer so attached to it. Cut the cord Bhimani, when he uses his Nokia, relies on his wife’s phone to make online payments or to use GPS or book tickets for events. He’s missed client calls and delivery OTPs. “Get a dumbphone only if you’re okay putting up with these inconveniences. Missing work updates hurts less when you run your own business and aren’t reporting to a higher-up. It’s harder if your job requires you to be present online. It might be hardest for women who rely on online trackers to let loved ones know they are safe. For those considering cutting down screen time, Bhimani advises starting small: Perhaps two hours after work, or just on Sundays. Get comfortable with leaving the phone at home for short outings. Or get a phone dock and hang it up on the wall like a landline.
Malvika Fulwani, a 34-year-old clinical dietician, averages 15 hours of screen time a day. Her way out was 10-day Vipassana retreat in Nashik. I now put it in DND mode from 10.30pm to 6am,” Fulwani says. From HT Brunch, October 24, 2026Follow us on www.instagram.com/htbrunch
Because his job at the time involved tracking sales data and crunching numbers, all he needed was his work laptop to stay updated on developments in his field. Because my phone was not around to distract me, “I felt more focused at work.
He’s more conscious about his spending and instead of idly scrolling, he tries to “actively consume only long-form content, such as 25-minute YouTube content or podcasts”. “The world isn’t going to end if you don’t check your notifications all the time,” he says.
