Joshua Buchwald Tries 1-Week Friction-Maxxing With Dumb Phone and 11.8-Inch E-Ink Tablet
Updated
Updated · Nine · Jun 1
Joshua Buchwald Tries 1-Week Friction-Maxxing With Dumb Phone and 11.8-Inch E-Ink Tablet
1 articles · Updated · Nine · Jun 1
Summary
A 1-week analogue experiment pushed Joshua Buchwald off his smartphone and onto a dumb phone, paperback books, an e-ink tablet and a record player to cut screen time.
The dumb phone removed doomscrolling but also exposed how hard daily life is without apps, digital payments and two-factor authentication, forcing him to keep an iPhone for some work and banking tasks.
An 850-page novel became his default commute distraction once the phone was gone, reinforcing his view that added friction can steer attention toward slower offline habits.
An 11.8-inch reMarkable Paper Pro handled note-taking and drafting with less eye strain than a laptop, while a Bluetooth-compatible record player helped replace evening streaming with more deliberate listening.
The trial's broader takeaway was not full digital withdrawal but using analogue tools and intentional inconvenience to curb compulsive phone use.