From Newsweek · · 2m
Welcome back to 2006. Please pay.
We built the attention economy, and now companies are selling us the exit at a premium.
In brief
We built the attention economy, and now companies are selling us the exit at a premium. Relief from technology has become the luxury upgrade, and you can only buy it for yourself. Originally reported by Newsweek.
Two decades, one regret
America paid tech companies for speed, ease and permanent connection. Pew found 53 percent of adults now say they spend too much time on their phones. Among under-30s it's 70 percent.
The cure costs extra
Capitalism noticed the problem and priced the fix. There are phones that do less, gadgets that block other gadgets, and services that confiscate your phone so you'll talk to a stranger.
“Capitalism has spotted the problem, but if you want the solution, you'll need to hand over your credit card details.”
In 2006 it was just going out
Steve Jobs was still finishing the first iPhone. Carrying a phone on a night out didn't break your digital wellness strategy, because nobody had one.
“It was just called going out.”
An $899 phone that won't
The Light Phone III has 5G and a camera but no social media, email, browser or news. Which makes the dusty Nokia 3310 in your attic something close to a spiritual adviser.
“go against the grain of a culture that seems ready-made to distract you”
Friction you can unbuy
Brick's $59 puck blocks chosen apps until you tap your phone against it again. Or you can hit emergency unbrick from anywhere and get everything back instantly.
Absence is the new premium
Tech pricing used to run one way: more features, more money. Now removing the features is what justifies the price tag.
“Now, deliberately excluding those features justifies the price.”
Forty dollars for a conversation
Kanso sells phone-free experiences for growth-minded people at $40 a month. Your device gets a stay in the phone hotel. You get to talk to someone.
“intentional phone-free experiences and everyday living products for growth-minded people”
Meet-cutes, now ticketed
Eventbrite says US events billed as meet-cutes grew 117 percent in the first half of 2026. Tinder launched in-app events. People now buy tickets to accidents.
“We engineered the fun out of our social lives and the chance out of romance.”
You can't pocket everyone's phone
Buyers aren't fools. Only a quarter who tried to cut back called it very successful, and paying for a phone-free bar is rational. But the quiet ends at the door.
“Technology is now ubiquitous; relief from it is the premium product.”
The big picture
Relief from technology has become the luxury upgrade, and you can only buy it for yourself.
