Newsletter: week of 8/18
Added 2025-08-25 03:00:31 +0000 UTCWhile having dinner with a friend last week, we talked a lot about our reliance/dependence on our phones, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.
A few months ago, I noticed that whenever something becomes even the least bit difficult, for example, when I'm writing a script and I don't know how to bridge two ideas, I reach for my phone. When things get boring, I grab my phone. When I'm riding the subway, I'm glued to my phone. When I'm eating my lunch, I'm on my phone. I wake up, and I look at my phone. I go to bed after looking at my phone.
And I know I am not alone. A January 2024 Pew Research study found that "nine-in-ten U.S. adults now say they go online every day. This includes 41% who report using the internet almost constantly."
I'm not sure I know what "almost constantly" means, but I do know that I cannot remember a day within the last year when I did not go online. So I had an idea.
Later this fall, I plan to go without my phone for one hour, then one day, and finally one week. My time with the Light Phone III taught me that it is possible, and in fact, easy- this feels like the perfect next step.
Anyone want to beat me to it?
how you'll be reaching me in a few months
With that, here is everything I found VIA MY PHONE last week 😅
📖 Things I Read:
Keynotes are Bad Because Products Can’t Speak for Themselves Anymore
I agree with this take and think that Google did the right thing by making its keynote a show, albeit a corny one, rather than a read-off of a spec sheet.
404 Media at Two Years: How We've Grown, and What's Next
Huge congrats to 404! It's wild to see just how much they have accomplished in two years.
Apple Explores Using Google Gemini AI to Power Revamped Siri
👀👀
📺 Things I watched:
The mafia is killing Italian football
The process of making telephoto zoom lenses: Japan's factory for insanely powerful camera lenses
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hidden Woodland Utopia
🎶 Things I listened to:
Aubrey Plaza | Good Hang with Amy Poehler
One day, I'll launch a podcast. And when I do, I hope it's even just a quarter as conversational, casual, and cool as Amy Poehler's.
The YouTube Playbook in 37 Minutes
So much good stuff in here.
Don't Follow Your Dreams, Follow Your Tools
I wholeheartedly agree and disagree with this because I think that having a dream hones your tools. Like I would not be where I am today if I hadn't first set a goal in motion, that goal led me to the tools. But I agree that the dream has to be flexible based on the tools.
Alright, bud. I'm in the midst of taking 1,000 photos with the new Pixel 10 Pro, so stay tuned for more on that later this week. And if you have any specific questions about it, please don't hesitate to ask!
Hope you have a great weekend!
-Becca
Comments
I found your content because my trusty Pixel 5 finally got the dreaded puffy battery and I was looking for reviews for a new phone. Not having the phone to use while I traveled home the other day made me realize how often I use it now instead of pulling out a book or doing some embroidery like I would in the past. I appreciated your minimalist phone reviews, though I think in the end I'd end up dragging a tablet around too for emails and light gaming, which defeats the purpose. I really appreciated your comments about the Pixel 10 Pro camera feeling more like a computer than a camera. I like minor AI edits on photos, and my Pixel 5's Night Sight and astro mode have been great over the years. Still, frankly, I really dislike generative AI as it is today, and how invasive AI is on phones, and how sneaky the companies are about using our photos and videos to train their AIs. I'm currently deciding between the NothingPhone 3 or the OnePlus 13. I appreciated your NothingPhone review, would love a OnePlus13 review!
Rachel Gugler
2025-09-04 00:50:58 +0000 UTCSomeone was saying the other day how people don’t throw parties anymore. And I think it’s because everybody’s at home on their phones. Before smartphones, but after the internet came, we noticed fewer people were going out dancing (ironically staying home, hoping to meet someone online). Don’t get me wrong, I think the internet and smartphones were transformative. But the phone, and especially social media, are attention thieves. And sometimes it’s just good to be bored
Kyle
2025-08-25 23:57:26 +0000 UTCIt’s definitely a thing. I got out of my car and went into a place for lunch yesterday and realized I had left my phone in the car. It was tolerable until my wife let the table for a bathroom break and I had to figure out what to do with myself for five minutes! It was all I could do to not jump up and dash out to the car. Reading the cereal box at breakfast as a kid surely is responsible for this 😉😁
Rogue Creative
2025-08-25 16:40:23 +0000 UTC
