ICYMI · Slate Podcasts

Is Digital Detoxing Being "Performatively Offline"?

February 4, 2026·34 min·3 clips

Alex Kirshner admits he tells his wife he's 'bricked up' when using the anti-phone gadget.

Kate Lindsay welcomes Slate contributing writer and Hang Up and Listen co-host Alex Kirshner to discuss Brick, a physical device that locks users out of selected phone apps until they physically tap their phone against it again. Alex has been using Brick for several months and credits the physical friction of having to walk to his fridge, where the device is magnetically attached, as the key differentiator from software-only solutions like passcodes or Apple screen time limits. He notes that the primary use case has been improving his work focus rather than changing how he spends his free time. The hosts discuss how a community lingo has developed around Brick, with users describing themselves as "bricked" or "bricked up," a double entendre that every user independently believes they invented. Kate reports from her own research that this phrase is widespread among Brick users, despite each person thinking it is their unique joke. The conversation broadens to cover the wider landscape of phone-reduction tools. Dumb phones represent the all-or-nothing approach, while the Light Phone tries to bridge the gap by offering only essential functions like calls, directions, and music. Apps like Opal gamify reduced screen time with rewards and progress tracking, while Freedom blocks everything across all devices. Alex and Kate note the inherent contradiction in all app-based solutions: you are asking an arsonist for firefighting tips. A central theme emerges around what Kate calls "performative offlineness." Brick users frequently post about their devices on social media, raising the question of whether the tool is really reducing screen time or just creating new content. Kate argues this criticism sets up an unrealistic binary where the only proof of a healthy phone relationship is never being online at all, which ignores 15 years of social media training. Alex suggests that what may ultimately reduce screen time is not any product but the deteriorating quality of the internet itself. He points to the prevalence of disturbing content, algorithmically served gore, and platforms owned by controversial figures as factors naturally pushing people away. Both hosts observe that the internet has stopped being fun, comparing the current landscape to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The episode closes with a reflection that Brick and similar tools may be riding the coattails of a broader cultural shift away from online life, and that if platforms offered healthier, more substantive experiences, users might not feel the need to brick themselves at all.

As heard by us

A sharp look at the status politics of trying to log off.

ICYMI uses a small piece of plastic as a status symbol for people trying to spend less time on their phones, then asks when digital restraint starts to look like its own performance.

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Why you'd press play

When offline starts looking like a flex.

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