Screens and the constant stimulation they provide have become ubiquitous in our society alongside the rise of the internet, with the average American having around four to five hours of screentime each day, equaling 2.5 months per year.

Survey results published by Reviews.org in January showed that 43% of Americans consider themselves “addicted” to their phones, and the average U.S. citizen checks their phone once every five minutes while awake.

Richard Simon, an Orthodox Jew and Baltimore resident, decided he was going to do something about the screentime he felt was putting a strain on his work and personal relationships.

“I observe the Sabbath. And the digital Sabbath is very popular, and I was always grateful to be offline from Friday night to Saturday night. But it’s like telling a cigarette addict, ‘Don’t smoke one day a week.’ It’s very noble that the cigarette addict stops smoking for one day a week, but they’re just going to be hacking away the other six days. And that’s what I experienced,” Simon said.

Simon had been trying several “hacks” to help reduce the amount of time he was spending looking at his phone, but nothing was working. So, he decided to do a yearlong phone detox, where he turned his smartphone off completely.

Simon said that the experience was “transformative,” as he got back so much of his free time that he could then spend doing activities with his wife and kids, learning Torah and playing chess, among other things.

Simon also used that newfound time to connect with other people who were also going through similar digital detoxes, and he interviewed them for a book he was writing, titled “Unplug.”

“I was like, ‘Let’s see if I can find these people.’ And what I found was truly some of the most inspiring stories,” Simon said. “I was so inspired to be talking to these people who all transformed their lives, but did something in a much more holistic way, which was not hacking it, not doing these shortcuts, but turning off their smartphones as the first step.”

Notably, some of the people Simon interviewed were in technology-oriented professions, and Simon himself directs digital strategy for Georgetown Law. The detox process was not about an aversion to technology. Instead, it was focused on reclaiming time in daily life and rewiring the reward centers in the brain.

“Dopamine, it’s one of the most powerful molecules in the brain, and ultimately, the smartphone is like the ultimate shortcut machine,” Simon said. “[There’s] also the constant companion model of the phone each time you check it. It’s sort of like you get that reward over and over again. Each tap is just more and more satisfying, and it ultimately is a dopamine hit each time you check it, and each time you put it away in your pocket, your brain is still thinking about it.”

Simon said that the first few days with his phone off were hard, as he experienced some physical withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, effects he said were common with the people he interviewed.

But in today’s tech-rich age, phones are not the only source of quick dopamine. Simon said that, when people turn the phone off, they search for “high-dopamine replacements,” which, for him, was his laptop. He added that the way to get around this issue is to optimize the home environment so that all the possible replacements, like a laptop or TV, were in one room.

“Why is that significant? It means that when you get home with your family and your kids after school, whatever it might be, it signals to them that the kitchen is a place for eating. It signals to them that the den is a place for high-quality leisure, a signal to them that the bedroom is a place for sleep,” Simon said.

Despite having his smartphone off for a year, Simon kept it with him occasionally in case a true emergency happened. He said that once the detox has taken effect, it becomes clear what “true emergencies” are that require a smartphone.

Now that the year mark has passed, Simon has relaxed his policy, but he still abides by an “off by default” philosophy and only turns his smartphone on in situations that will enhance his life, like using GPS on a road trip.

Restrictions on cellphone use are now also taking place in Baltimore City and County School systems, which are implementing bell-to-bell cellphone bans for the 2025–2026 school year.

Simon said he expects students will experience relief by not having phones during school, and he hopes that it will allow for more interpersonal connections between the kids. He added that he considers bell-to-bell bans “low-hanging fruit,” and it’s important for parents to think about what behaviors they’re modeling at home with their phones.

Reflecting on his detox journey, Simon said that becoming comfortable with boredom and solitude was an important step in his personal growth. He added that he was also able to grow Jewishly and become more mindful.

Simon said it’s important to recognize that our time on the Earth is a finite, nonrenewable resource, and to find ways to make the most of that time.

“I think that’s really a Jewish principle in terms of making the most of every single day, whether it be for Torah learning, whether it be through tefillah and davening, to repairing the world, you really want to make the most of that time. So certainly, in terms of me being an Orthodox and observant Jewish person, I think that my decision to go with smartphone detox, I think [those values] definitely helped inform that decision,” Simon said.

bhamelin@midatlanticmedia.com