#DoNotDisturb: How I Ghosted My Cell Phone to Take Back My Life

by Jedediah Bila (Author, Narrator)

7 Hours and 54 Minutes

Have you ever looked at your email, then texts, then Facebook, then Twitter, then email, then Instagram, then Candy Crush, then texts, then Snapchat, then texts again, and now you’ve wasted the time you had set aside for more important things? 

Jedediah Bila has solved her own Obsessive Compulsive Tech Disorder, and she did it without throwing away her devices.


It's time to switch on airplane mode and settle into Jedediah Bila’s #DoNotDisturb: How I Ghosted My Cell Phone to Take Back My Life.

In this timely, entertaining and inspiring book, Jedediah Bila chronicles her chaotic, confusing, and all-consuming love-hate relationship with - her cell phone. Stepping back from the whirlwind of texting, social media, and an endless sea of apps, Bila questions how our relationships, character, and sanity have suffered from our deep dive into the digital abyss. Exploring the toll that tech addiction took on her life, Bila reveals her missteps and mistakes, including several upending, life-altering months swirling in an ex-boyfriend’s cell-phone-enabled double life, and how a low-tech millennial later stole her heart.

Travel with Jedediah through the embarrassing and catastrophic consequences of Ménage-a-Tech relationships, social media's Perception Deception, and the One-Potato-Chip-Problem of trying to resist Silicon Valley's hypnotic, slot-machine software designed to lure you in. Bila reveals how she navigated away from an unhealthy, oversaturated diet of tech junk food to striking just the right balance with technology to let her unplugged, real-life moments take charge.

In #DoNotDisturb, Bila applies her trademark no-nonsense, common-sense, personal responsibility and accountability-centered approach, warning us that if we don’t stop acting like robots, our very humanity is at stake.   

Through warm anecdotes and cold, hard truths, Bila reveals how she pulled her way out of the tech fog to keep her eyes focused on the life right in front of her. And how you can too.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Memoir, Business, Technology

Audible Audio

First published October 9, 2018

About the author

Jedediah Bila is an American two-time Emmy-nominated TV host, radio host, columnist, and author. She was a co-host on ABC's The View from August 2016 to September 2017. She is a former Fox News contributor. She describes herself as a conservative libertarian, and stated that she is a registered independent.

Reviews

[Aryssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Did it make me reflective on my own life? Yes. Did I miss the irony of reading this on a Kindle? No

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a funny thing to feel like you really agree with someone but really don't agree with the way she's presenting the idea. I 100% subscribe to the idea that we're all using our phones too much. I feel like my phone is reducing my attention span and making me feel distracted and dumber, and I'm not the only one. I hate when everyone at a wedding or a concert is holding up their phone, and I feel uncomfortable when I'm standing in line and see that every single person is looking down at their phone. I also think the performative nature of Venmo is creepy and wish I didn't have to see people I know in a professional setting thinking they were being clever by labeling payments as "sexual favors."

I want to spend less time with my phone, be unplugged more often, and I found myself often nodding along with the author.

But.

So many things about this book bugged me. First, the vocabulary: devices don't buzz. Ten years ago this was a thing, phones on vibrate but the vibrating was loud, but it's not really anymore. Also "tech" or "technology" isn't a word that just means phones or digital devices.

There's a weird fetishizing of things like heavy roller skates, paper books, and handwriting. Reading on my kindle may not be as charming as your heavy, dusty, dirty paper book. But guess what! It's easier on my hands and makes me read more. E-readers are not the problem--come at me.

The story about her grandparents meeting and how it wouldn't happen in the present age...yes it would. He was out shopping for other people. He was literally an instacart shopper.

The story about her not delivering an envelope to the World Trade Center on 9/11 because her boss couldn't email her to ask her to...they would have emailed what was in the envelope instead of sending her to deliver it.

She never acknowledges the benefits of some of our newer technologies and basically characterizes all online interaction as fake and detrimental.

When talking about whatever friend met a guy online, slept with him, and then never saw him again, "Bing bang boom done." We don't have time to unpack this, but for someone beating the drum of personal freedom, this seems pretty judgy.

My usual complaint that almost no author should read their own book. I always enjoy the neutral reading of a professional over the author.

Also OMG the never ending humble bragging.

That Marty McFLy story was pretty ridiculous.

And finally, the cover looks ridiculous. I think it's supposed to look like she just dropped her phone on purpose but one, that's not how a hand looks when it releases something and two, it's just hokey.

Basically, I want to read this same book but with better writing.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up around technology; before everyone was glued to their phones, I spent many an hour playing computer/video games or watching television. If I wasn't doing that, I was reading magazines or manuals about my devices and games, or researching my favorite shows and stars online.

Now that tech addiction has gone mainstream, Jedediah's book is rather timely; people's tendency to incessantly stare at their phones is ruining their lives, as she shows here. After reading this book, I started to wonder: Maybe I should spend less time on my iPad and Mac; I do tend to use them quite a bit every day!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it enjoyable and beneficial, primarily because most of the literature that is easily found is about how digital devices are affecting young people, when the effects on adults are just as worrisome. I enjoyed some of her personal stories, but halfway in it was getting repetitive—rehashing the same points with different illustrations. I was convinced of the PROBLEM after the first few chapters, and would have appreciated more common sense advice about SOLUTIONS, especially concerning the attention and focus problems caused by our constant accessibility to WAY more information than we really need on a daily basis. That being said, I did glean a few ideas for practical actions that I’m going to implement in my own life.

[Erdenezaya Ch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life 2.0 орчиндоо амьдарч буй хүмүүст хэлэхэд хүнд биеэр мэдрэх, гараар тэмтэрч үзэх мэдрэмж зайлшгүй хэрэгтэй.
Утсаа тавиад бодит амьдралаа мэдрэхэд цаг хугацаагаа зориулаарай. Яагаад гэдгийг энэ номноос мэдэж болно.

[Arthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author brings out the simplicity of life that is overtaken by technology these days. The impacts of smart phone and social media, positive and negative, are well known to most of us. However, sometimes technology wins over human will power. The author talks about her journey of regaining control of her life and small steps she took towards being present in the moment and not allowing the mobile technology to take over. Listening to the bird sing on Spring mornings, observing the world around you, taking the best pictures of mother nature's beauty through the lens of our eyes and not through a smart phone camera, are a few that we end up missing in this busy smart technology filled world.

REALIZATION is the first step. If you do not realize what the smart gadgets are doing to our social life and time with friends and family, we are not going to take any steps towards correcting certain habits. Then take baby steps towards curbing unnecessary pickups of the gadget. You will tend to fall back into older habits, but catapult out as soon as you realize.

SELF-AWARENESS is the key to take the good from tech and leave behind that is not. In today's world everything is available on the palm of one's hand in the form of smart phones and apps. Depending on the apps, one could have their time consumed by going down the rabbit hole of browsing one social media app to another or use it cautiously to further one's interest and knowledge. I say "cautiously" because the subject still has the ability to engulf you into the contents on the screen. Ultimately, your screen time increases regardless. The author also talks about the impact of screen time and not doing things the hard way on the brain neurons. I am taking one step further to turn off spell check on my MS Word software.

Reading this book was a reaffirmation exercise. There were parts of the book which could have been concise and I wanted to just skip. By the time I reached the end of the book, not only did my screen time usage dropped, so did my urge to keep checking my phone every now and then.

#DoNotDisturb is a good one time read and you will realize what you have missed in this digital world.

[Chelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I completely agree that we are all too reliant on our phones and they have not made us happier. She does a great job explaining how we are missing out on life because we are looking down at our phones but does very little to explain how she ghosted her phone and how it's made her a happier person.

[S Bryan Bkht · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would like this, but it just kept making me distracted, ironically. As I read it, I felt like I was "just pushing through it". I'd pick up my phone just to spite her. I think at some points it's pushing too hard to send the message about being present. I am a firm believer that we have to find out own balance and today's technology is something everyone is catching up on because it came into our lives before we could blink and then it changes so often, we are on constant catch up mode. Even businesses and media can't keep up with the ever-changing enviornment of social media. I don't agree with her section about cutting people out when they won't be connected or present. As adults, we should be able to have conversations so that people know we want them present. It's ironic that she claims she focuses on having people around her that are "present", but communication is one of the main reasons any relationship fails and that includes sharing with people that you want their attention. It's give and take though. I don't want to also hang around people who make me feel like there are rules. Again balance. We all have to find it and we all have to be the kind of people that understand it. It's hypcritical for her, or anyone for that matter, to claim about being present and removing people that show they can't be when it should take a bigger person to understand you were once there yourself and so maybe sharing that concern would better the relationship instead of just cutting it off. If you can get the free read, then do it, but I wouldn't recommend it as a top read.

[Craig Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jedediah Bila wrote #DoNotDisturb: How I Ghosted My Cell Phone to Take Back My Life after she came to the realization that she was spending far too much time--wastefully--poking around people' social media pages and not living her own life. Messages or alerts from friends of friends and exes of exes would buzz on her phone and she would jump to attention, her Pavlovian stimulus fully charged. These distant people demanded (and got) her attention even though what she got out of their posts or alerts was entirely useless information. Bila would stare into her phone all day and into the night. #DoNotDisturb shares her story of how she got her life back when she turned off her phone. She didn't only get her life back when she did so: she also got a husband. Talk about a reward for turning off your phone!

I approached this book with the prejudice that I was going to rip into the author and all cellular-obsessed people like she used to be. I still am going to be merciless in my condemnation of 95% of the population as weak and impulsive lazy non-thinkers. I use that percentage based on Bila's assertion that 95% of the American population now owns a cell phone. I do not believe this figure. I think that Bila just chose the highest percentage she could find when researching how many Americans who currently had cell phones. The larger the figure, the more dramatic the effect. My own opinion--opinion, mind you, not anything based on my own research--is that this percentage is about twenty points lower. In any case, the number of people who have a cell phone far exceeds the number who don't. And they're ruining the peace and quiet of those around them.

The disappearance of quiet is nothing new. I work in a public library, an institution that long ago ceased to be an empire of shushing. Our library used to have a no-cell phone policy. Can you imagine anyone enforcing that now? What sound irritates you the most? For me, it's that five-note high-pitched bird tweet that signals a new Twitter message. I hate that sound. It is too loud, too frequent, and always invasive. As I turn into a crabby old man I have no compunctions telling people who are being too loud on their mobile phones "You have a mobile phone. Be mobile." I must admit that I stole that line from a TV show. I recall watching Hyacinth Bucket walking around her house with her new cordless phone just because she could. I wish cell phone users would realize they don't have to be anchored to one spot--like landline users such as myself--when they are having a conversation. Noise, interference, interruptions...all part of the modern world and I realize that fighting it would be a losing battle. Some steps have been made to restore the peace, and I do appreciate the phone-free train cars I have travelled in. Bila however had to come to the realization that she couldn't wait for other people to design phone-free train cars for other aspects of her life. She had to restore the peace herself. And one way to do that was to go phone-free.

She couldn't stop her phone use on the spot. She had some weaning to do. First of all she dropped scores of Facebook people (they weren't "friends" at all) and deleted some apps entirely. Bila grew amazed at how less stressed her life was when she wasn't devoting so much of her time in other people's lives. She could appreciate the blue sky, and the different shades of blue within it. She was aware of people, animals, sounds and not centred on her little screen as she shuffled from place to place. It was as if she had discovered the real world for the first time:

"...I now had my eyes open to it all and had made the decision to put my phone away. I was like the sober friend in a room full of drunk people, the only one seeing things clearly."

Bila had an epiphany when she rejoined the real world and started to live life again in the moment. Her personality and overall outlook changed immediately. She was happy to walk around Manhattan, looking up, not down. She was living life in the moment, appreciating sunsets and not obsessively taking photos of sunsets. She was enjoying the beauty and serenity of sunsets, and not taking selfies with sunsets, or editing or filtering her photos of sunsets before posting them on Instagram. She is not kind to people who seem to let the pleasure of the moment pass them by for the sake of social media:

"Back then, before these digital doohickeys dominated our world, we lived the lives we were living, instead of constantly trying to capture a perfect representation of those lives to post on social media, for us to then check obsessively for views. Or likes. Or whatever. Over and over."

She has no sympathy for parents who would prefer to watch their children's concert through a tiny phone screen versus watching the wide scope of the event in an auditorium:

"When I'm at a cousin's kid's middle school chorus concert, seeing all the parents there with their phones up in front of them, recording, taking near-constant photos and selfies, texting them, posting them on social media instead of actually listening to and feeling the music, I wonder...is anyone ever actually just where they are at the moment, in the moment? Do we even know how to do that anymore?"

When I saw the original lineup of Bananarama in concert this past February, I was the only person in the front row who was not filming the show on an iPhone. I might be overthinking this, but I did get special attention from Siobhan Fahey, my favourite group member. She smiled at me and gave me the thumbs-up. It could have been in response to me knowing all the words to their songs, but perhaps it was in appreciation for seeing me actually enjoy the show in the moment, and for not preoccupying my attention by recording it. Would I ever watch a video I took of the concert anyway? All YouTube clips of the Toronto concert are of horrible quality. How many parents play back--even once--the cell phone recordings they made of their children's concerts? They miss the show the first time in real life by recording it, and don't even bother to see a woeful recording on the narrowest of screen playbacks. It's one thing if you're not in attendance at a concert: you're not there. Nor are you even if you are present, ostensibly watching it in real life in real time, but if you're recording it all by watching it through a tiny screen, you're not there either:

"What I find unappealing: when I'm at a performance, and the audience is recording, checking their phones for something, taking a photo, sending it, posting it, FaceTiming their friend in the middle of it all. Awful. How about going back to the idea that--if you're not there, YOU'RE NOT THERE."

#DoNotDisturb was a rapid read because it was written in an oral style. Bila even included some dialogues. She used lengthy hyphenated phrases to excess, starting from page 2:

"That said, I'm not one of those I-had-to-walk-five-miles-to-school-barefoot-in-the-snow-uphill militant memorialists..."

and continuing almost to the end at page 233:

"Venmo often becomes yet another look-at-me, look-what-I'm-buying-and-doing, I'm-important-because-you're-paying-attention-to-what-I'm-doing sad by-product of the tech boom."

While indeed oral stylizations, this superabundance of hyphens was still an annoying sight to stumble across the printed page. I wish the author had restructured her sentences to express the same sentiments by avoiding all hyphens.

Bila answers those who claim they carry a cell phone only in case of an emergency. I get that so-called concern whenever I explain why I don't have a phone:

"'But what if I'm needed in an emergency?'
"Which brings me back to the hundreds of years that people existed and survived without cell phones, emergencies included."

As a former teacher, Bila is worried about the next generation. Children are growing up using cell phones and laptops while still toddlers. Parents are nose-deep in texting rather than tending to their children. When she was a teacher, Bila frequently had to deal with interruptions in class:

"...the second a phone would buzz or light up, they'd stare at it momentarily, then lose all attention in the project or assignment at hand. Additionally, so many students I taught wound up being on medication for attention deficit disorder. I wasn't sure if the increase in this diagnosis correlated with the onslaught of devices, but I had a suspicion."

Her suspicion is bang-on. I do not shy away from debating why I believe AD(H)D is a myth. Tough love from parents by removing their children's electronic devices will go a long way to save the underused brains of our youngest generation. No one, not just children, thinks anymore. People are not testing their memories or their power of recall. When I walk home from work I am obviously not plugged in. If I'm thinking about something and can't recall a fact or figure, I try to remember what it is. I test myself to try to recall it. I have twenty-five minutes to do so before I can check the Internet at home. Those who have Internet on the go on their devices would simply type their question into Google and get the answer within seconds. Do they even pause to think about anything? Do they have any skills of patience when the knowledge they want can be found in seconds? This continual state of having immediate information and providing only partial attention severely limits one's ability to focus, and could possibly also lower one's IQ.

Bila laments:

"It's been a while since I've seen a child hang out in a park, crouched over a puddle after a rainstorm, stick in hand, tracing through the surface area, watching the water ripple toward the edges, thinking, daydreaming. Or a kid on an airplane staring out the window, intrigued by the movement of the baggage handlers coordinating the freight on the tarmac. Nowadays, what do I see? Children glued to big tablets in their hands, clueless to their surroundings, entranced by the make-believe, engaged in a process that pulls them mindlessly along a predetermined trail engineered by some Silicon Valley twenty-something.
"But alas, who am I to judge those kids? I only started noticing so much of the world when I finally put my own phone down."

Indeed. No one has to totally give up his or her cell phone. Just put the damn thing down. You might--just like Bila--meet your future spouse because you looked up.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have always admired Jedediah for always sticking to her principles, even when her beliefs are the minority in the room. I was eager to pick this up already as a fan and it certainly did not disappoint.

I loved the wistful descriptions of life as Jedediah has lived it without the intrusion of technology - quiet moments with her husband, her memories of growing up on the beach as a child. It made me long for my own memories as a kid and young adult, before I also became a slave to my own smartphone! She talks a lot about how her journey to untangle herself from her phone was zig zaggy but absolutely worth it in the end.

There were some other surprising insights that I plan to look further into - some information on how social media platforms use users data to determine their emotions, and use marketing, ads and algorithms to manipulate people into becoming addicted to dopamine driven “feedback loops”, or, social media websites like Tinder Facebook Instagram etc.

Also enjoyed the well researched information on the negative side effects of too much tech - both on a personal level and societal level.

And she is Italian, from Staten Island, just like me. Sold on all fronts.

There is enough in here to scare you into at least putting your phone away a LITTLE more often... if nothing more, it will motivate you to be present! Or else you will miss those little, fleeting moments that give the most meaning to us. I know I will be!

[Stan Stinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of uncommon common sense inside this book

So I found myself spending quality time with myself in the Akron/Canton airport Saturday and decided I was not going to just waste the day switching between Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and email. I had the audio version of #DoNotDisturb but decided to get the Kindle version and read and listen. I am glad I did and recommend you do the same.

There is a lot of uncommon common sense for today's unsocial #socialmedia world contained within the pages of this book. Jedediah tells her story, so you will learn a lot you probably didn't know about her life so far, and the lessons she has learned from her experience inside the social media rabbit hole. Some you may know and just not practice and some of the information may surprise you. Either way we do all need to be reminded and learning steps you can take to take back control of your life is something we all can benefit from, and this is key, IF we CHOOSE to do so. It IS up to us as we are reminded.

"Technology, like many other things and people we encounter, only has as much power as we're willing to give it."

How much power are you giving social media over your life?

I believe everyone should read this book. I am glad I did.

[Kelly Frager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the message of this book and her casual writing style. I was shaking my head “yes” the entire time!

[Kevin Koppelmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short read but I felt it could have been shorter. The theme was repeated several times.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

LADY, THE HORSE IS VERY CLEARLY DEAD, PLEASE STOP CONTINUING TO BEAT IT

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with what she is saying, we are all entirely too reliant on our phones. I know I am guilty of not being present in the moment because I'm busy looking at my phone checking emails or social media. I've been with friends and have gotten annoyed as they stop talking and pay attention to their phones. Yes, I 100% agree with everything she said and in the beginning I enjoyed how she gave a bit of a wake up call to how we were missing out on life and people we love in exchange for a screen. That was in the beginning.

Then it felt like there was a lot of pointless, repetitive, brag-y stories for the rest of the book. Some of them too far fetched for me to even believe that I lost the point that she was trying to make. Example: I remember when my uncle called and offered my dad a job in Florida. Here is the exact wording everyone used. WE could hear my uncle over the phone say blah, blah, blah. Fast forward in the story, turns out, she was three. Wow. That is some amazing memory you got there. I didn't think people could remember entire adult conversations verbatim that happened around them when they were three. Good for you.

Then the book felt like a big pat on the back for how much she loved the old timey ways and how she shunned technology and how she was lucky enough to find someone else equally amazing that also loved old-timey things and shunned technology. Wow. Again. To be so great as them.

The writing felt dumbed down and the sentences in places seemed like they were constructed by an 8 year old which was also disappointing as I held higher hopes for her. Maybe this was because I listened to the audiobook; also a bad idea as she is not a born narrator and her accent can become grating at times as well (human is constantly pronounced you-man and I cringed every single time).

My main goal in listening to this book is that I wanted to learn HOW she ghosted her phone. Teach me your self proclaimed wonderful ways. I too am tired of being controlled by phone. Instead, I got a book full of reminders of why I should stop checking my phone so much, stories out the ying yang that may or may not apply to technology and how it controls our lives, humble bragging, and no solutions.

There is a book that actually addresses the problem of phone addiction and the steps to take to cure yourself from constant checking and obsessing over notifications. It's called, "How to Break Up with Your Phone." It has been immensely helpful. It's everything I hoped this book would be. I'd recommend that book over this one 1,000 times over. This book could have been something, but the need to showboat took over and it turned into a "look at me" fest.

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

In general, we are all way too attached to our devices these days. I really enjoyed Bila's book, chronicling how she was able to break her addiction to her phone and other devices and sharing how these devices are changing how we behave and how our brains work. After she discussed a couple of documentaries about a popular online roll playing game, Second Life, I watched one of them... Pretty sure I had a horrified look on my face the entire time. Soooo creepy. I fully enjoyed the introduction where Bila wrote a scene for Marty McFly visiting 2017. It really is crazy how we can be with others and still feel the need to constantly check social media and have other conversations. Instead of fearing what we may be missing out on, we should be enjoying what we're actually a part of. I haven't been on Facebook in a few years now because I didn't feel it was a particularly positive experience for me. The only real draw for me these days is Instagram. I'm careful though about how accounts I follow affect me and will unfollow if I feel they are affecting me in a negative way.

"... it is you who decides how many hours of the day you are on your phone. It is you who decides if you value a real life over a virtual one. You are in charge of you." (p226)

Technology can add to our lives, but we must be aware of our attachment to it and be sure it's not replacing real life interactions. Are companies working hard to draw us into their tech and keep us there? Absolutely! But ultimately, it's our personal responsibility to set limits for ourselves and regain our real lives.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jedediah Bila has written a balanced and honest critique of online technology, bringing parts of her eventful life story into twelve engaging chapters. #DoNotDisturb is a complex yet accessible memoir that makes a case for why we should control our use of technology. Too often, technology controls its users. Bila goes into great depth, with claims that are at once alarming and convincing, about how everything from social networking sites to apps to video games are in fact addictive by design. But rather than doing away with tech altogether, Bila suggests that it is in the hands of people to exercise self-control and moderation, especially on popular SNS like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

I first became interested in Jedediah Bila upon finding out we have similar backgrounds, as Italian-Americans from the East Coast. Bila’s political ideology differs from mine, she’s a libertarian conservative and I’m a libertine liberal. I enjoyed stepping outside of my usual left-leaning bubble to get a fresh perspective from a more conservative voice. Reading this book helped me to curb the total minutes and hours spent on my phone each day/week, and I’m now officially a Jedediah Bila fan. #DoNotDisturb is a well-written and personable book that revealed I have a lot of things in common with the author. I look forward to reading her other books as well.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard to categorize. Sort of non-fiction, sort of memoir, with citations but couldn't be considered scholarly by any means. Not written so well that she could hold my attention through an entire chapter.

Jedediah works at Fox News now, but I didn't realize that she had left Fox for a couple years to co-host The View because I ghosted my TV in 2016, when she was still on Outnumbered. Anyway, she tells a story of why she eventually stopped using her phone and social media so much, and how she met her boyfriend-now-husband at a gym but took a long time to even exchange digits with him. Along the way she cites research showing how attention spans have declined, how people have stopped making eye contact, and how interpersonal relationships have deteriorated (both intimate and non-intimate relationships). Also the increase in exhibitionism and replacing meaningful relationships with superficial ones.

Ends the book with some suggestions for [us] to take back our own lives.

[Jacqueline Kircher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book because I agree with the notion that technology is becoming more and more attention-stealing every year, but I felt this book lacked depth.

It was mostly fear-mongering with overly-simplified notions about just using self-control, when we all know by now how Silicon Valley has invested billions to keep our attention hijacked. It felt sensationalized at times, and while I can agree that life is better lived offline, her views came off as personal rather than objective.

Keep in mind this book was published in 2018, so it’s already somewhat outdated in terms of how the medium has evolved since then and how we use it. I also wanted to give it a full chance, knowing the author and I are on opposite political spectrums (she is much more conservative). She often came off as a Boomer reminiscing about the good old days, even though we are roughly the same age.

I’d recommend this book for teenagers or anyone who wants a light read on something they can relate to, but without a lot of deeper research.

[Kimberly Bega · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in an independent bookstore on vacation and was drawn to it. This book has a lot of food for thought and I noticed my own relationship with technology subtly changing during the reading process. Based on the subtitle I expected more of a how-to guide, but this was not that. It was a combination of memoir and compilation of what other research on the subject has found. The author talks about different wake-up calls she had where she was missing her life due to focus on her phone or on capturing the perfect picture for social media. One very memorable part to me was the author writing about being in a building close to the World Trade Center on 9/11, as I happened to be reading that chapter the day after the 9/11 anniversary. One of her core messages both in that chapter and throughout the book is the need for real, authentic human connection not mediated by a screen.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jedediah Bila when she is on Fox's show, The Five. She gives sound opinions that she thinks about and is articulate . When I saw this book I knew it would be a fun read with some sound advise. She hits the nail on the head with the endless round of cell phone apps you use every few hours. Now she's giving some great ideas to end this cycle. I remember the first cell phone I got and told the sales person I'd didn't need anything fancy I just need it for emergency calls and email. He smirked. Now an up to date phone is in my pocket and beside my bed 24-7. Still need it for emergency calls but now to check the weather, news, facebook and more every few hours. Jedediah, thank you for the tips. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm the choir for this one insofar as I have never owned a smartphone and seldom carry around the flip phone I do have. Nonetheless, aside from some pleasant stories kind of related to the theme [ex: she and her husband exchange cute oldfashioned handwritten notes....which you're actually allowed to do even if you also spend a lot of time on social media, but ok], there's not a great deal to it.

People should talk to each other and make eye contact and not just go around like zombies attached to their screens. Tech is not always bringing out the best in us (recounts some truly appalling messages trolls have sent her -- i wasn't familiar with her but gather she's a politically conservative TV talker). Got it. Agree. doesn't take 241 pages to say.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Excellent and Informative read. The book is well written and highly researched. It is the personal story of Jedediah Bila and her open acknowledgment of having been caught up in the compulsive tech world that is embedded in that rectangular device we call the "cell phone" to the exclusion of the interpersonal relationships within her immediate surroundings. She indicates specifically how she was successful in exiting herself from her addiction and returning back to once again "smell the roses" by minimizing the allure of her cell phone, Ipad and computer.

This is a must-read for parents whose children have become addicted to their cell phones and computer games.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been annoyed with how much people are staring down at their phones, instead of enjoying the moment and the life going on around them, so this book really resonated with me. It definitely makes you think about how you use your phone. I’m trying to make a conscious effort now to not let my phone control me and instead be more present with my loved ones. Thanks Jedediah. I’d be interested in reading more books on this topic.

[Sushma Kanugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the ideas shared in this book to keep ourselves away from the dangerous addictive device called "Phone" without which our life has no meaning. I am able to implement few ideas that has helped me get back to my routine self pre- cell phone days and am loving it.

This book is for all the folks who are obsessed with their phone and don't even sleep well in the night without the phone beside you.

[Kherlen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Уншиж байхдаа өдөр дутмын амьдралын ховор бөгөөд нандин мөчүүдийг анзаарахгүй дэмии цагийг нийгмийн сүлжээнд өнгөрөөж байгаагаа мэдэрсэн. Мэдээжийн зүйл юм шиг боловч яг номон дээрээс уншихаар илүү нөлөөлж ухаарууллаа. Энэ номыг унших явцаасаа эхлээд гэрийнхэнтэйгээ найзуудтайгаа хоол идэж уулзаж байхад утас маань цүнхэнд үлддэг болсон. 😁☺️мөн нийгмийн сүлжээнээс хэрэглээгээ багасгаснаас хойш үнэхээр амар амгалан болсон.

[Liz Sergent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Goodreads and Jedediah Bila for an advanced copy for an honest review. I flat out loved this book, as someone who feels they are on their cell phone way too much and tied to it in an unhealthy way this book was a refreshing read. I love the analogy of sitting at the table of life and parts of this book are going to stay with me.

[Lauren D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really spoke to me. Even down to loving 90210 and buying all 10 seasons once they came on DVD to binge watch over Christmas break. People are ruining relationships and losing personal connections all with the power of a silly cell phone, and social media. The next generation will suffer unless they realize how to unplug.

[Milithza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book! I caught myself wanting to take so many quotes and actually put them Social Media but then I had to question “why” which is why this book was for me. I was glad that she didn’t demonize technology but put it in the power of those who use it and to be intentional with it and not allow tech to use you. Great read! Took a lot away from it.

[Krystle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great book
I am happy I read this bought. It is a super insightful take on how technology has inhibited us from enjoying simple moments and how it has contributed to a disconnected way of life and how we handle personal relationships. Bila advocates for taking a mindful approach to technology and social media especially. A refreshing take that I enjoyed reading about.