Richard Simon, a frum web designer who lives near Baltimore and works in Washington, DC, shut his smartphone for an entire year. He now shares the surprising, and ultimately life-altering, lessons he learned along the way in the hope that he can help others detox from their cellphones and change their relationships with them.
Since we’re going to be talking about weaning ourselves off of smartphones, I must ask you what kind of device you’re using to speak to me.
I’m calling from my work phone, which is basically a Zoom line from my laptop. I don’t use a smartphone or even a cellphone. I’ve set up a system with my team members so they know how to get in touch with me. For example, when I’m home and working remotely, they know that I have a home phone and a work phone, and they also know that they can chat with me over GChat or send me an email. I’m more reachable today even without my cellphone than any person was 20 years ago.
I see from your area code that you’re calling me from Washington, DC.
That’s just my work number. I work for Georgetown University in Washington, where I direct the website strategy for Georgetown Law. That entails the content, design and user experience of the public-facing Georgetown Law website.
As the biggest law school in the country, we get hundreds of thousands of views from prospective students every year, so we want to optimize their website experience as much as possible, from admissions to the financial aid section to career strategy, clinical programs and institutes to help “sell” the school as best as we can. I’m the full-time dedicated website person on our communications team. I’ve been there for 15 years. But I live in Pikesville, Maryland, which is near Baltimore.
Did you grow up in the Baltimore area, or did you move there for the job?
I’m a fourth-generation Baltimorean. I grew up here, went to college here, and worked for a local newspaper coming out of college. I was in journalism for two years and then transitioned to higher education. When I first started on the communications team at Georgetown Law, I commuted by train five days a week. These days, I’m in much more of a hybrid role.
A lot of people who have offices in Washington reside in the Baltimore area.
In terms of the frum community, there are so many of us who take the train down to Washington for work.
You’re working to design and formulate content for a website, but if a person visits that website on a computer, you don’t see it as just as hazardous as accessing it with a smartphone?
For me, a computer is certainly a source of high dopamine. You can do just about anything on a computer, but the key piece for me is that you can eventually step away from it, especially if it’s wired. Any phone, whether or not it’s a smartphone, is a constant companion that’s always on your mind. If you’re in the grocery store or at a minyan or with your kids at the zoo, if your phone is on and it’s in your pocket, it’s far too tempting for you to not be fully present and in the moment. Do I fall into some traps and rabbit holes on the computer? Absolutely. But when you’re done with the task you wanted to accomplish, eventually you’re going to have to step away. Anytime I leave the house or even just the room where the computer is tethered, I don’t have that distraction.
You were a regular smartphone user at some point, correct?
I was using a smartphone just like anyone else. The average American spends five hours a day on his phone, although I wasn’t quite at that level.
Were you using it for both recreation and business?
I was using it almost exclusively for personal reasons. If there was a call from a colleague I would pick up, but that was only a small percentage. Ninety-nine percent was personal.
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