Unplug

Turn off your phone and turn on your life with step-by-step instructions and success stories from dozens of people who've set healthy boundaries with their devices. The average American spends the equivalent of a full 60 days a year looking at their phone. It can become an all-consuming addiction that puts a strain on virtually every facet of our existence from the way we sleep, eat, and exercise to our ability to focus and make new memories. Most importantly, it takes us away from our lives, our relationships, and the real world. But although it may seem impossible, there is always a way to overcome digital distraction: you can always turn off your phone.



In Unplug, Richard Richard Simon lays out a plan to detox from your phone, including different breakup styles, things to do with your newfound time, lightly re-integrating a smartphone into your life, and finally, helping others quit. These tips and strategies are interspersed with success stories, including Simon's own story of turning off his phone for a whole year, plus those of 29 others, including a professional baseball player (Nick Castellanos), bestselling authors on digital usage and addiction (Cal Newport and Ed Spector, respectively), physicians who specialize in digital wellness, as well as ordinary folks including a principal, a pastor, and a couple who quit their phones together. Richard Simon is the senior director of online strategy at Georgetown Law in Washington, D.C., and is a former multimedia reporter at Baltimore's The Daily Record, where he won numerous awards for his use of interactive media. He is a fourth-generation Baltimorean, where he lives with his wife and three children.