Tendance Ouest interview: the phone-free days (6–8 February 2026)

For the phone-free days, I met Léo Besselièvre at the radio station Tendance Ouest last week. It turned into an absorbing conversation about how we use our phones, and I wanted to write it up here.

I am rebellious by nature and resistant to doing things on principle, simply because everyone else is. But meeting Léo around these days was a chance to step back and look at this second brain of ours that so often takes up too much room.

What place does the phone hold in our lives today?

That is a huge question. In reality there are probably as many uses as there are users. The place the phone holds tends to mirror how much we interact with the digital world: for some it stays a simple tool, almost an accessory, while for others it is a vital interface with society.

Is it harmful or beneficial? And to what extent?

That is the ambivalence of the thing: it is neither good nor bad in itself, it is what we make of it.

The tip into harm usually happens when the phone becomes a strategy of avoidance: you scroll to get away from discomfort, stress or an unpleasant feeling. At that point it acts as an anaesthetic and, like any addiction, can turn its user into a zombie.

Conversely it is beneficial as long as it stays a lever serving your life and your projects. Whether that means working faster, keeping informed or creating opportunities, the benefit lies in conscious use.

The real question is not "how long" I spend on it, but "why" I am switching it on at this precise moment.

What are the alternatives to picking up the phone over and over during the day?

To suggest alternatives you first have to understand that this repeated reaching for it usually hides an unmet need. The phone is often only the symptom. The key question: what function is it serving right now? Taking a break, handling stress, filling a gap?

Once the need is identified, the alternative has to answer it. If what I want is to empty my head, five minutes of conscious breathing or a short walk will restore me more than a screen will. If what I want is connection, a two-minute call beats thirty minutes watching other people's lives go by.

There is no single solution: everyone is different and will have to find their own mix of alternatives. But the first alternative is relearning to do things consciously rather than by default.

Why has the phone become so indispensable over the years? And more broadly, why are new technologies used so heavily?

The phone has become indispensable because it is a technological answer to several needs inherent in being human: connection, the drive to progress, and the search for ease.

In a few years it has centralised most of our practical daily tools: it is our bank, our satnav, our photo album, our giant tutorial and our permanent link to the people we love.

That concentration of services creates an almost mechanical practical dependence: it is hard to hold back from a digital Swiss army knife that makes life this much simpler.

Beyond the tool itself, new technologies exploit how our brains are wired. They hand us immediate gratification — information, notifications, likes, games — which stimulates the reward system.

And now there is AI, which is fast becoming an object of fascination, and for many of fear, curiosity and exploration.

More specifically, which tool sucks us in the most? Social media?

Social media takes the blame because it is the champion of what we call the attention economy. It is designed to be endless — the infinite scroll — and to hand the brain immediate micro-rewards to keep us connected.

That said, the tool that sucks us in the most is the one that removes the most friction from our lives. Today that is the smartphone itself, because it has become our single interface for everything: keeping informed, being entertained, working, even meeting people.

More than any particular app, it is the permanent availability that pulls us in. We no longer connect with a specific intention; we are connected by default.

The real danger is not so much the social network in itself, but the way it gradually replaces our moments of emptiness, daydreaming or deep reflection — the moments where no machine can do the work of restoring us, or reconnecting us with ourselves and with our place.

Is it a good idea to go on a phone detox now and then?

Of course. I like to call it a digital fast. The idea is not simply to force yourself to put the thing down, but to redirect your attention towards other sources rich in satisfaction.

What makes such a fast far easier is giving yourself moments of real pleasure: exploring, nature, movement, or genuine time with other people.

Generally, once your days are full of experiences rich in connection and presence, disconnecting happens by itself and without frustration. You are not holding out without your phone; you simply forget to look at it, because what actually makes you feel alive has taken its place back.

Would going without a mobile mean missing out on your own era?

You can obviously do without one.

But drastic deprivation rarely works — it is rather like dieting. It draws enormously on willpower, which is a limited resource, and you usually end up either cracking or compensating some other way.

And it is worth remembering that the technology offers genuinely useful, rich uses: understanding, creating, passing things on, connecting.

Why deprive yourself of what does you good? On the other hand, once the phone becomes a chain, an overload or a chore, it is time to adjust the dial.

What matters is finding what is sound and healthy for you, according to your own needs, while protecting your own space. And let us take the drama out of it: we spend our lives missing a thousand things about our era anyway, thank goodness. Choosing not to see or know everything is also part of what protects us from permanent stress.

Link to the press article (in French): https://www.tendanceouest.com/actualite-436038-journees-mondiales-sans-telephone-portable-j-ai-teste-la-deconnexion-pendant-trois-jours-que-faire-de-tout-ce-temps-libere