Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones

Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones

It’s hard to cultivate a deep life when you cannot go more than a few minutes without checking your phone. In this episode, Cal looks closer at the precise neural mechanisms at play that make the physical act of looking at your phone irresistible. Then armed with this knowledge, he explains why many popular remedies fail, and which specific responses are most likely to succeed. He then answers listener questions and discusses the five old-fashioned analog books (!) that he read last month.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: This is your brain on phones [0:02]

  • My 11 year-old is bullied for not having a smartphone. What should I do? [47:00]
  • How can I overcome my irrational urge to show off on social media? [55:39]
  • How is video game addiction different than phone addiction? [59:12]
  • Can I become addicted to messaging? [1:03:23]
  • Is it ok to use newspaper apps on my phone? [1:06:42]

CASE STUDY: A 5th grader drops her Apple Watch [1:13:51]

CALL: An aspiring photographer and Instagram [1:18:11]

SEPTEMBER BOOKS: The 5 Books Cal in September 2025 [1:22:51]

The Ice Limit (Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston)
The Burnout Society (Byung-Chul Han)
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (Cory Doctorow)
As a Jew (Sarah Hurwitz)
The Searcher (Tana French)

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

Thanks to our Sponsors:

rag-bone.com (Use code “DEEP”)
grammarly.com/podcast
mybodytutor.com
indeed.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.


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Ep. 331: Money and the Deep Life

Ep. 331: Money and the Deep Life

One of the most important but often overlooked elements of cultivating a deep life is the role of money. In this episode, Cal takes a contrarian look at this topic, arguing that the monetary cost of y...

16 Joulu 20241h 23min

Ep. 330: Tackling Social Media’s Hidden Dangers

Ep. 330: Tackling Social Media’s Hidden Dangers

Australia recently passed a world-first law banning social media use for kids under the age of 16. In this episode, Cal looks carefully at the arguments in favor and against this new law before detail...

9 Joulu 20241h 17min

IN-DEPTH: Greatness vs. Contentment (w/ Kendra Adachi)

IN-DEPTH: Greatness vs. Contentment (w/ Kendra Adachi)

This IN-DEPTH is brought to you by Defender. In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal welcomes the bestselling author Kendra Adachi to talk about her new book, THE PLAN, which introduces the innovative idea o...

5 Joulu 20241h 6min

Ep. 329: The Tao of Cal

Ep. 329: The Tao of Cal

We cover a lot of advice on this podcast, covering a lot of different topics. In today’s episode, Cal takes on the challenge of summarizing every big idea he promotes in less than five minutes. He the...

2 Joulu 20241h 17min

Ep. 328: Analog Mode

Ep. 328: Analog Mode

There’s a video trending on the internet at the moment arguing that its audience (presumably, young men) should disappear from the world to focus on going “beast mode” on their goals. Cal takes a clos...

25 Marras 20241h 29min

Ep. 327: Would Kant Use TikTok?

Ep. 327: Would Kant Use TikTok?

Almost everyone feels uneasy about their relationships with their smartphones. But the question is why? In today’s episode, Cal looks past the most common answers to seek a deeper understanding built ...

18 Marras 20241h 28min

Ep. 326: Time to Unplug

Ep. 326: Time to Unplug

During the election season our devices take a particularly hard tole on our health and happiness. Now that the votes have been cast and counted, Cal proposes it’s time to take a temporary but radical ...

11 Marras 20241h 32min

Ep. 325: Simple Focus Protocols

Ep. 325: Simple Focus Protocols

A common theme on this show is the importance of focus and the need to train the ability. This can be a long term project, but are there things you can do right away to improve your ability to concent...

4 Marras 20241h 26min

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