00:00I'm Lucy Fink. I'm a video producer at Refinery29.
00:03This is the week I didn't use my cell phone.
00:07If you were taking my phone away for a week,
00:09I would probably set myself and you on fire.
00:12This is how I check the news, check the weather, check my emails,
00:16and of course I'm on Snapchat.
00:17Out of the world's seven billion people,
00:20six billion of them have access to a cell phone,
00:23whereas only four and a half billion have working toilets.
00:31What is to be gained from losing my phone?
00:35I'm about to find out.
00:36Five hours in without my phone, I'm extremely exhausted.
00:41I went on a hunt for an alarm clock
00:43and I was walking in circles for about a half an hour.
00:46Do you know where I could buy an alarm clock around here?
00:49An alarm clock?
00:50Thanks anyway.
00:51Excuse me?
00:52Oh, where are we right now?
00:54We're in Brendan's village.
00:56We're lost.
00:58This is, like, the entirety of my life.
01:0724 hours with no phone.
01:10I don't really know what is to be gained at this point.
01:13My alarm never went off so I forgot my birth control pill yesterday.
01:16I hope that I have some sort of enlightening experience
01:19and we figure out what all this is for.
01:21I'm addicted to...
01:24First thing that comes up on Google search is I'm addicted to my cell phone.
01:28When I ask myself to monotask and I take my cell phone
01:31and I put it in my drawer face down for the week
01:33and I'm forced to just be alone inside my head with my thoughts,
01:37that's a little scary to me.
01:39How is my outlook on the world and my cell phone going to change?
01:43Like, if somebody took it, I would fight for it.
01:45Like, I would physically assault someone.
01:47I went to the gym yesterday
01:49and for the first time I was at the gym without a phone and headphones.
01:52So, I made my own music.
01:54I was dancing and singing and it was, like, really fun.
01:58I had such a good time.
02:00I have been starting to pay attention to those moments
02:04when I feel the need to reach for my phone.
02:06What would I have done on my phone if it would have been here?
02:09And more often than not, I don't have an answer.
02:12Most of the time, I'm just mindlessly scrolling.
02:14So, I'm learning a lot about myself.
02:17I've learned about the neighborhood.
02:19Just this morning, I woke up early and I sat in a cafe and I read the newspaper.
02:23I'm starting to get the pleasure in not having my phone near me.
02:27I can bank, talk to people around me and engage and be actually social.
02:31I'm no longer feeling disconnected.
02:33In fact, I'm feeling very present.
02:35I'm really excited that I did this.
02:38Like, why talk to people in real life
02:39when you could just talk to them on your phone?
02:41I have a story for you.
02:43I met someone on the subway yesterday
02:44who I would have otherwise never spoken to if they had my phone on me.
02:48We struck up a conversation.
02:50As it turns out, she's a physical therapist.
02:52Physical therapist.
02:54And I have a horrible shoulder problem
02:56and she gave me a booklet of exercises that I can use to heal my shoulder.
03:01How many people am I walking past on the street,
03:04sitting across from on the subway, in line with, waiting for coffee,
03:07who can enrich my life like this woman did?
03:12It's Thursday night and I'm giving myself this awesome face mask.
03:17Having a phone means having push notifications.
03:20Look, look, be here, read this, answer this.
03:24I haven't had any of that this week.
03:26I took a bus to Jersey for my phone once.
03:30I've never even been to Jersey.
03:32It's Friday!
03:34I am minutes away from getting my cell phone back.
03:38And I know you're all just dying to ask me,
03:40what did I gain from losing my phone?
03:43I learned that I do need my cell phone a lot of the time.
03:46I by no means after this week am going to throw my phone away.
03:50It's the times when we are touching our phones just to mindlessly scroll
03:54that I realize I do not need to be dependent on my cell phone all the time.
03:58Ask yourself what you're reaching for when you go to pick up your phone.
04:01And if the answer is nothing, then don't pick it up.
04:03I'm not going to lie, it's Friday night and when I get my phone back,
04:06I will be going on Instagram, but maybe tonight I will not Instagram my dessert.
04:13Maybe I'll just enjoy it.
04:16Or maybe I'll Instagram it.
04:18Oh my God, guys, I think I am addicted.
04:19Now give me my phone!
04:25The Apple!
04:28Oh my God, I have 64 unread emails.
04:33Ooh, Refinery29 uploaded a new video.
04:35Mom!
