Everyones Suddenly Pretending They Hate Their Phones Again

Its December which means social media is full of people announcing their big digital detox plans for 2026. You know the posts. “Im taking a break from my phone to reconnect with whats real.” “Deleting Instagram to focus on my mental health.” “No more doomscrolling in the new year.”

Sure Jan. See you back online in like three days.

Look Im not saying digital wellness isnt important. Screen time is genuinely out of control for most people and the constant notifications are designed to hack our brains dopamine systems. But lets be real about this whole performative unplugging trend thats taken over lifestyle content this year.

The digital detox thing has become its own form of content. People film themselves deleting apps making a big show of turning off their phones and talking about how freeing it feels to disconnect. Then they post about it on five different platforms schedule follow up posts about their journey and check their engagement metrics every twenty minutes. You cant document your digital detox ON digital platforms and call it a detox. Thats just creating content about not creating content.

Social media patterns are shifting and I get why people want to step back. But theres something deeply ironic about the way this has become a trend complete with aesthetic flat lays of phones face down next to plants and journals. We’ve turned disconnecting into another thing to perform for likes.

TikTok is full of videos showing peoples “no phone mornings” which somehow involved filming their entire morning routine to show everyone how present they are. Instagram has endless posts of people at coffee shops reading actual paper books with captions about rediscovering slow living. And every single one of these posts required them to be on their phone editing uploading and monitoring engagement.

The lifestyle influencer industrial complex has figured out that wellness content sells so now everyones a digital minimalism expert. They sell courses about phone free living. They hawk “analog planners” for ridiculous prices. They partner with apps that track your screen time so you can obsess over different metrics instead. Its the same addiction repackaged as self improvement.

Trend Hunter identified digital wellness as one of the major lifestyle trends for 2025 which tracks with what Im seeing. But the gap between what people say theyre doing and what theyre actually doing is massive. Everyone talks about limiting screen time but smartphone usage data shows were on our devices more than ever.

And heres the thing that really gets me. Most of these digital detox advocates still need their phones for work for staying connected with family for managing their entire lives. So what theyre really doing is just… using their phones slightly less while feeling guilty about it. Thats not a detox thats just normal moderation with extra steps and a superiority complex.

The slow living movement has some good ideas buried in there. Being more intentional about technology use makes sense. Setting boundaries around work notifications is healthy. Actually being present during meals instead of scrolling – yeah thats probably good. But we’ve taken these reasonable concepts and turned them into this whole lifestyle brand thing where you need to buy specific products and follow specific routines to prove youre doing it right.

You dont need a 60 dollar linen covered journal to unplug. You dont need to join a course about digital minimalism. You just need to put your phone down sometimes. Its not that deep.

The real problem isnt phones themselves. Its that we’ve built a society where everything requires a phone. Banking healthcare work communication social connection its all digital now. So this fantasy of fully unplugging is just that – a fantasy. Unless you want to become a hermit in the woods youre going to need your smartphone to function in 2025.

What we actually need is better digital literacy and healthier relationships with technology. But that doesnt photograph well for Instagram so instead we get this endless cycle of people announcing theyre quitting social media posting about how great it feels and then quietly coming back a week later.

I saw someone post the other day about their phone free December challenge. They were documenting it daily on Instagram Stories. The lack of self awareness was genuinely impressive. This is where we are now – performing authenticity for an audience while claiming to reject the platform.

Maybe Im just cynical after watching this play out every January for the past five years. Everyone makes big declarations about changing their relationship with technology. They buy fancy timers for their phones download twelve different wellness apps and subscribe to newsletters about digital minimalism. Then by February theyre back to their normal habits but now with extra guilt layered on top.

If you genuinely want to use your phone less just do it. You dont need to announce it post about it or turn it into content. The fact that you feel the need to tell everyone about your digital detox kind of proves you’re still addicted to the validation these platforms provide.

But what do I know. Im just over here scrolling through digital detox content on my phone wondering when we’re all going to admit this whole thing is performative nonsense. See you online in 2026 everyone. Because lets be honest – thats where we’ll all still be.