My happy week as the maximum “Do Not Disturb” policy.

I found out The secret to a happy life in this age of constant communication: ignoring everyone I know and love. Well, at least ignore them Push notifications On my country Smartphone By living in Do Not Disturb mode.

With Do Not Disturb turned on, you still can Receive Every new notification, but your phone doesn’t beep, buzz or flash to let you know. It’s a trendy but contentious pivot far from the permanent norm. Tongue in cheek Fancams are celebrating Do Not Disturb mode racks up millions of views on TikTok, along with viral videos He calls Users of this feature are rude.

For one week, I proudly joined the growing group of Do Not Disturb users whose notifications are silenced 24/7. My experience as part of the DND crew seemed great, if a little annoying for everyone trying to contact me.

Before getting started, I reached out to some people who leave their phones on Do Not Disturb all the time to better understand their motivations and what it’s like to live a life free of constant disturbances. Unsurprisingly, some calls went straight to voicemail.

Some of these people picked up, and during these conversations, I learned that the practice of using DND all the time has a different impact on each user. Some true believers feel that fully embracing Do Not Disturb has radically transformed their smartphone usage for the better by reducing screen time, while others are still enjoying plenty of screen time. Hours of scrolling through the phonejust on their own terms. Although the influences vary, the motivations often come back to one basic theme: the desire to set boundaries around availability.

The first time a friend of mine turned his phone to Do Not Disturb mode and left it there all day, I was shocked. How taboo! Break the social contract that requires constant texting and Group conversations To stay in touch with other humans. But, if anything, I was basically filled with jealousy. They succeeded in squashing that bumblebee in their pocket.

both of them iOS and Android Phones have had versions of Do Not Disturb modes available to owners for more than a decade. However, software updates in recent years have made this setting appear more accessible to a wider range of people seeking to avoid exposure.

Claire Miczkowski, who works in customer service at a technology company, is fairly new to the Do Not Disturb lifestyle. In January of this year, she started putting her phone on Do Not Disturb mode during Pilates classes, and would sometimes forget to turn the setting off after class. That was a turning point for her. “Oh, I really want this,” says Maczkowski. “That’s really nice. I should leave this on.” Right now, her phone is always on Do Not Disturb mode, unless it automatically goes to sleep during the night, another favorite mode among iPhone notification blockers.

“I’ve taken it further, which is sleep mode,” says Oscar, who asked to be identified only by his first name. “It dims your phone and it doesn’t vibrate.” “Well, it pissed off a lot of people.” Eventually, he excluded his mother, so texts from her would still make his phone ring. However, Oscar still considers the overall smartphone experience “too invasive.”

recently Published research In the academic journal Computers in human behavior She notes that notifications, from social media platforms specifically, can cause blocks in cognitive processing “lasting about seven seconds.” Since my smartphone is rarely more than a foot away from my body, these kinds of little distractions from every notification easily add up. The cumulative effect makes my attention feel scattered.