During Michigan summer, you want to drink in the state’s beauty all day long, rotting like ripe fruit in the sun and swimming with the trout, thanking God for this slice of Eden.
But most people don’t. They rot in bed with a fan on and their phone 12 inches from their face.
Recently, the New York Times ran a piece about parents electing to let their children “rot” all summer rather than sending them to intensive camps or staying busy with warm-weather extracurriculars. The idea is to let kids do nothing, to let them be bored.
In theory, I would wholeheartedly advocate for a leisurely summer. This is the time to lounge about, find new adventures, and stay up even later around a bonfire. But hoping to passively absorb the summer without any plan is a sure way to fall headfirst into the endless doomscroll. Video after video, consuming content that you can’t recall not 30 seconds after viewing it.
As Michigan Enjoyer’s resident social media czar, I find myself on my phone entirely too much. While yes, it is work, my scrolling extends past the end of the work day more often than not. The average American’s screen time is nearly seven hours daily. My average was nine. So I decided to ditch my iPhone and pick up a flip phone for the summer.
I’m not quitting the smartphone cold turkey. That would require some major changes (quitting my job), but, come 5 o’clock, that phone gets thrown in a drawer, and all I’m left with is a phone with seven contacts: my family, one friend, and my beloved boss.
Now when I leave the house, all I pack is a wad of cash, my I.D., the flip phone, and a pack of cigarettes. I’ll walk downtown, grab a beer, have a heater, and enjoy living in the perfect Michigan present.
Summer colors are so much richer without the dulling effects of blue light and distraction. I find myself falling into the depth of a dark patch of grass just as easily as I could fall into the lake.
I have even tried watching the clouds, which does get boring after a while. But that boredom has served me well.
Though it’s harder to get a hold of me now, my boss doesn’t seem to mind. I’m writing again. Boredom is crucial to any observational or creative process, it makes your senses sharper. We forfeit the pleasures of leisure, the mundane beauty of sitting around, feeding ducks, making small talk with strangers.
The natural beauty of our state is a far better drug than our smartphones. We’ve been trained to prefer downers: air-conditioned bedrooms and iPhones. It’s time to take a hit from the uppers: sunlight, sweat, and cool water.
Inject Michigan straight into my veins. I’m sick of my comatose pleasures.
Caleb Wallace Holm is social media editor for Michigan Enjoyer. Follow him on X @calebwholm and Instagram @calebwallaceholm.
