Constant phone notifications are enough to drive anyone crazy. Add a social media habit that serves up an endless stream of negative news, toxic comments and AI slop, and it gets even worse.
I should know. I’ve had plenty of days when all of it leaves me feeling drained of the positive energy I desperately need. So, in an effort to spend less time glued to my phone, I started reading about the growing push toward an analog lifestyle.
In simple terms, going analog means making a conscious effort to prioritize real-world, offline experiences over more screen time.
With summer winding down and plenty left to do outdoors, I decided to put Google Search’s AI Mode to the test. I gave it a simple objective: help me start a digital detox and find some much-needed analog activities to add to my “summer’s almost over” playlist.
The basics behind embracing a digital detox
AI Mode’s explanation of how to successfully pull off a digital detox involved zeroing in on friction and substitution rather than employing pure willpower to lessen my time spent staring down at my phone. And instead of quitting my screen usage cold turkey, the chatbot told me to start relying on physical barriers that keep me farther away from them.
Alongside that useful bit of advice, it also stated that enjoying engaging, offline routines is a great replacement for the constant mindless doomscrolling most folks (and me; I’m still guilty of that!) partake in. Here’s an overview of some of the practical methods Google’s AI Mode told me to make a part of my daily routine from this point forward:
- Build physical friction: Put your phone in another room or inside a timed lockbox during deep work or meals. If it is out of sight, your brain stops compulsively reaching for it.
- Downgrade your screen: Turn your display to grayscale. Stripping away the bright, dopamine-inducing colors of social media apps makes your phone instantly boring.
- Use the "One-Hour Rule": Keep your first hour of the morning and the last hour before bed entirely screen-free. Invest in a cheap, analog alarm clock so your phone doesn't have to be on your nightstand.
- Aggressively prune notifications: Turn off non-essential alerts for everything except direct calls and texts.
- Gamify your focus: Use blocking apps like Flipd to lock yourself out of your phone during specific time blocks.
A packed list of activities that help me get more acquainted with my fun-filled city
Once I requested AI Mode’s assistance in finding some of the most notable and lesser-known activities in New York that I could enjoy, it supplied me with seven notable things worth doing that involved a whole lot of “touching grass” and exploring places I’d never even been before:
- Explore the Conservatory Garden: Skip the crowded lawns of lower Central Park and head to the northeast corner (105th St. and 5th Ave.). It is an official "quiet zone," meaning no loud music or biking—just manicured European gardens perfect for reading a physical book.
- Kayak on the Hudson River: You can grab a free walk-up kayaking session at the Downtown Boathouse at Pier 26. Being out on the water physically prevents you from checking your phone unless you want to drop it in the river.
- Wander the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Spend an afternoon getting lost in the Cranford Rose Garden or the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. It offers massive green spaces specifically designed for sensory grounding.
- Try "Forest Bathing" (Shinrin-yoku): Head to the North Woods in Central Park or the Midwood in Prospect Park (Brooklyn's oldest forest). Leave your phone off and walk aimlessly and slowly, intentionally tuning into the smell of the dirt, the rustle of leaves, and the texture of tree bark.
- Take an Analog Photo Walk: Buy a cheap, single-use disposable camera or a fully manual film camera. Walk through a neighborhood like West Village or Red Hook looking for interesting frames. Because you cannot preview the photos, you remain anchored in the real world rather than trying to curate a digital post.
- Join a Late-Night Astronomy Session: Check out the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York, which hosts free public stargazing nights using high-powered telescopes in parks across the boroughs. Staring at the night sky is an excellent way to break a creative block and reset an overstimulated brain.
- The Solo "Hydrotherapy" Disconnect: If you need help breaking the psychological urge to check notifications, book a solo thermal bath session at a place like AIRE Ancient Baths in TriBeCa. It is entirely candlelit, dead silent, and devices are strictly banned. The extreme shifts between hot and ice-cold plunges completely shock your nervous system out of "scrolling mode."
Squatting down on a bench, cracking open a book and basking in the calming vibes of the Conservatory Garden in Central Park ended up being one of the first undertakings I tried out. And of course, it felt great being able to knock out a few chapters of my novel, people-watch and get a bit closer to nature. With so many of those newfound “distractions” keeping me busy, the urge to whip out my phone to check some needless notifications lessened over time.
When I told my friend about my artys friend about my digital detox efforts, he suggested going to an art museum (the Museum of Modern Art immediately came to mind) and spending some time attempting to draw whatever art piece or sculpture catches my eye. I’ll be sure to add that to my digital detox playlist as well.
AI Mode also made me aware of the Little Island at Pier 55 (a public park near the Hudson River), The Ramble & The North areas within Central Park and the La Colombe Coffee Workshop in SoHo as additional hotspots worth venturing into.
Final thoughts
I learned that completely unplugging myself from the digital world is unnecessary—after all, I’m a journalist who needs to stay on top of everything if I’m going to stay informed about whatever I’m reporting on. But from, I’ll make sure to decrease my exposure to my phone during those precious free time hours and fill them with outdoor activities that stimulate the mind and make me forget about all the things that have been bothering me.
A digital detox isn’t just a one-time exercise—AI Mode made it clear that it’s a constant process meant to lessen your dependence on your phone, get you outside more and adopt a more analog lifestyle.
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