I was on a flight from Mumbai to Delhi. The man next to me was reading something on his phone. I glanced over. It was a "new tech news today" article about a foldable phone. He spent ten minutes reading it, then closed his phone and stared out the window.
I asked him: "Are you going to buy that phone?"
He laughed. "No. It's too expensive. And I just bought this one."
"Then why were you reading about it?"
He thought for a moment. "I don't know. Habit, I guess."
The Habit Loop
That's the thing. We consume "new tech news today" out of habit, not out of need. It's like checking the weather when you're not going outside.
I used to do the same. Then I decided to do an experiment. For one week, I would not read any tech news. No websites, no newsletters, no YouTube channels.
At the end of the week, I realized I hadn't missed anything. My life was the same. My work was the same. The world hadn't ended.
The Monthly Detox
Now I do that experiment once a month. I take a week off from tech news. And every time, I come back feeling clearer.
I'm not saying tech news is useless. It's not. But it's also not essential. The technologies that truly change our lives — like the internet, the smartphone, the electric car — they don't arrive in a day. They evolve over years. You don't need to read about them every day.
A Better Conversation
The man on the flight? We talked for the rest of the journey. He told me about his business, his family, his plans. That conversation was more valuable than any article.
He later emailed me. He said, "I stopped reading tech news. I'm spending that time with my kids now."
That's a better use of time.