The Real Reason You Can’t Put Down Your Phone (and What To Do About It) | Cal Newport

Cal Newport explains the real reason you can't down your phone and what to do about it in episode 374 of the Deep Questions podcast.

Buy Cal Newport's latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow

It’s hard to cultivate a deep life when you cannot go more than a few minutes without checking your phone. In this episode, Cal looks closer at the precise neural mechanisms at play that make the physical act of looking at your phone irresistible. Then armed with this knowledge, he explains why many popular remedies fail, and which specific responses are most likely to succeed. He then answers listener questions and discusses the five old-fashioned analog books (!) that he read last month.

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Links:
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/c...
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?

September Books:

The Ice Limit (Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston)
The Burnout Society (Byung-Chul Han)
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (Cory Doctorow)
As a Jew (Sarah Hurwitz)
The Searcher (Tana French)

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0:00 This is your brain on phones
47:00 My 11 year-old is bullied for not having a smartphone. What should I do?
55:40 How can I overcome my irrational urge to show off on social media?
59:12 How is video game addiction different than phone addiction?
1:03:24 Can I become addicted to messaging?
1:06:43 Is it ok to use newspaper apps on my phone?
1:14:07 A 5th grader drops her Apple Watch
1:18:14 An aspiring photographer and Instagram
1:22:54 The 5 Books Cal in September, 2025

Connect with Cal Newport:

🔴Visit Cal's BLOG and website: https://calnewport.com/blog/
🔴Check out Cal's books: https://calnewport.com/writing/
🔴Check out The Deep Life: https://thedeeplife.com

About Cal Newport:
Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. In addition to his academic research, he writes about the intersection of digital technology and culture. Cal's particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives.

Cal is a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including, most recently, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. He's also the creator of The Time-Block Planner.

The videos are considered to be used under the "Fair Use Doctrine" of United States Copyright Law, Title 17 U.S. Code Sections 107-118. Videos are used for editorial and educational purposes only and I do not claim ownership of any original video content. I don't use said video clips in advertisements, marketing or for direct financial gain. All video content in each clip is considered owned by the individual broadcast companies.

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