“This device feels like a part of my skeletal system,” Adora Mehala, a 25-year-old living in New York, says of her iPhone. Those of us who grew up in the digital age know it’s not uncommon to feel that our bond with technology has become practically biological. We are so attatched to our devices that they’ve begun to feel like extensions of ourselves, with the lines between where the “cloud” ends and our minds begin blurring more and more each day.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that, as tech begins to feel less like a choice and more like a mandate, young people are craving a more offline life, and coming up with increasingly creative ways to achieve one. Everywhere you look, there’s evidence of the offline renaissance. People are forgoing dating apps and taking up speed dating. They’re hosting lecture series and attending game nights. The yearning for a screen-free lifestyle has become so strong that a para-economy of startups, including companies like Brick, Opal and Forest, have sprouted up to meet the demand. It’s a pendulum swing that arguably sums up late-stage capitalism best: first we are sold the problem, and then we are sold the solution.

It’s not all grim, though. From getting back into print media to throwing phone-free parties to bricking their phones, people are finding creative ways to reclaim technology’s hold on their lives. Below, we asked six young Americans how they’re getting offline.

ADORA MEHALA, 25, NEW YORK

“One day, I left my phone at home by accident, and that spurred this idea to just go phoneless. Obviously, it’s not something you can do 24/7, but I started intentionally leaving my phone at home for 15-minute walks, and I’ll see if I can go longer if I don’t have anything pressing to do.”

“When I started these ‘no phone’ situations, a book wasn’t always cutting it, so I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll just get an iPod.’ Then, I thought it could be a really cool project to style it and make it a part of my personal expression. I actually made a prototype for these [iPod] cases because I’ve noticed more people buying older tech. I also bought a Nintendo DSi so I can play games and listen to music. It’s helped me straddle that line between being fully present and not being on a touchscreen.”

ACE DINER, 22, CALIFORNIA

“I’ve been collecting print magazines, and the collection is pretty big now. I have a huge section in the corner of my living room with stacks of them. Most weeks, I’m at the magazine store buying new copies. Every time I leave the house, I take a print magazine to read on the train or during downtime. I also started my own print magazine two years ago.”

“In the digital age, things move so fast. Something can be trending one second, and an hour later, people forget about it. With ‘doom scrolling’, you don’t really retain what you see. With print, people took time with the work, and you can take your time consuming it. It’s also never going away – you have this forever.”

GEORGIA DUISENBERG, 22, CALIFORNIA 

“The biggest thing for me is an app called Opal, particularly for Instagram. It’s a blocking app marketed toward social media. Every time I want to open Instagram, I have to wait five to 15 seconds before I can take a short break – usually five to 15 minutes. Once that time is up, it resets. I’m really hardcore about it; my setting is actually called ‘Touch Grass’. Most people set it for ‘work focus’ or ‘morning time,’ but I just leave it on all the time.”

“Opal plays nature sounds and tells you to breathe in and out [while you wait]. It also shows you funny quotes – like how ‘Michael Cera doesn’t have a cell phone’ or statistics about how many hours of your life you’ve saved. Right now, mine says, ‘To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment,’ a quote from Jane Austen.”

OLIVIA GORK, 23, ILLINOIS 

“Even in high school, I was the person telling everyone to put their phones on the table. I’ve always been aware of how much they take away from the actual moment. When a DJ drops an amazing beat, and you’re filming it, you aren’t living it in real time. On the nights I went out without my phone, I came home with a different, fulfilled energy. I wanted something unrestrained – no filters, no walls, just complete presence.”

“Saturnalia was essentially the first public, ticketed, phone-free party in Chicago. We use a file cabinet system – it’s like a coat check for phones. You walk in, we scan your ticket, and we check your phone and give you a number. At the beginning of the party, you can’t hide. Gen Z isn’t used to sitting in that discomfort. But because you can’t bypass it with a screen, you eventually hit this natural build where people feel more responsible for the ‘whole’. It moves people into a ‘creation’ energy instead of a ‘passive consumption’ energy. Saturnalia is a co-creation of the night.”

SEAN FERGUSON, 23, DC

“I did the Month Offline program, which is an opportunity to exchange your iPhone for a ‘dumb phone’ for a month. You do it with a cohort of people who are all doing the same thing. It’s a chance to stop scrolling and learn what it’s like to use analogue tools – like a paper map – to navigate a city without a supercomputer in your pocket. Like anyone else, scrolling was my biggest vice. It’s habitual at this point because these tech companies have so many people working to keep you locked into their apps. I felt like the only way for me to get away was to go cold turkey.”

“I used my time during the program to get into the digital preservation of old film and media. My girlfriend actually bought me an old 8-millimetre camera, so now I spend my time using that. I’ve always wanted a camera, and it’s nice to have that through-line from the project to what I’m doing now. Now, anytime I think about picking up my phone, I remember why I did Month Offline and try to divert my attention back to the real world.”

CAROLINE MEADE, 24, New York

“I have to admit – this is really embarrassing – but I have a really bad Tetris problem. I think it just has to do with the fact that I have to do something with my hands all the time. It would be better to literally have a fidget cube like a 4-year-old, but I’m an adult, so I got the Brick. I wasn’t using it a lot at first because I was scared. I’d think, ‘What if I go out and need my phone?’ But in the last three weeks, I started ‘bricking’ before I left the house. You get five emergency un-bricks, and I haven't used one yet.” 

“This past weekend I slept out, so I bricked the longest I ever have – about a day and a half without social media. Since getting a Brick, I feel like I’m more present in my life. Now, I don’t have to exercise as much willpower as I used to. I have a lot less guilt. Constantly saying, ‘No, I should get off my phone,’ is like putting drugs in front of you all day and saying, ‘I probably shouldn't take them.’”