Brain Rot: Meet the people who ditched their smartphones

We've all dreamt of lobbing our smartphone into the ocean and going off grid.So what happens when you follow through with it?For the final episode of Brain Rot, we speak to the people who decided they'd had enough.From a French village, to Gen Z 'luddites' in New York City and a group of parents in regional Victoria, there are clubs, campaigns and even laws dedicated to a smartphone-free life.But in 2025, how do you pull it off? And is it actually worth it?This episode originally aired on Brain Rot, a series of the ABC podcast Science Friction. Sana will be back with all-new episodes of All in the Mind from Sunday 19 October.Guests:Stan AwtreySportswriter, The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionVincent Paul-PetitMayor, Seine-Port, FranceLisa GivenProfessor of Information Sciences, RMIT UniversitySteph ChallisFounder, The Phone PledgeJameson ButlerCo-Founder, The Luddite ClubCredits:Presenter: Ange LavoipierreProducer: Fiona PepperSenior Producer: James BullenSound Engineer: Ross RichardsonThanks to Sam Goerling for the assistance with French translation.This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar peoples.More Information:The Luddite ClubParents unite to ban teens from smartphones amid social media minimum age reviewYou can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.If you'd like to access the transcript for this episode, head to its original webpage.