I recently sat down with Jose Briones - digital minimalism advocate, book author, and YouTuber - for a conversation about intentional technology use, dumb phones, and the analog life. I first discovered Jose through his YouTube channel, and this conversation did not disappoint. We covered a lot of ground, from the history of technology in our homes to the surprising link between financial freedom and digital independence. Here is what came out of it.

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The topics covered in this conversation - screen time effects on mental health, the attention economy, the cognitive benefits of handwriting and analog tools, and the relationship between financial autonomy and wellbeing - are backed by a growing body of peer-reviewed research. Here are some key studies and papers grouped by topic.

Screen time, smartphone use, and mental health

• Ratan, Z.A. et al. (2021). "Smartphone Addiction and Associated Health Outcomes in Adult Populations: A Systematic Review." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22), 12257. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212257
• Twenge, J.M. & Campbell, W.K. (2018). "Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study." Preventive Medicine Reports, 12, 271-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.003
• Abi-Jaoude, E., Naylor, K.T. & Pignatiello, A. (2020). "Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health." CMAJ, 192(6), E136-E141. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.190434
• Allcott, H., Gentzkow, M. & Song, L. (2022). "Digital Addiction." American Economic Review, 112(7), 2424-2463. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20210867

The attention economy and addictive design

• Bhargava, V.R. & Velasquez, M. (2021). "Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction." Business Ethics Quarterly, 31(3), 321-359. https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2020.32
• Lupianez-Villanueva, F. et al. (2020). "The Struggle for Human Attention: Between the Abuse of Social Media and Digital Wellbeing." Healthcare, 8(4), 497. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040497
• Mujica, A.L. et al. (2022). "Addiction by Design." Medical Research Archives, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v10i2.2677

Benefits of handwriting and analog tools

• Umejima, K. et al. (2021). "Paper Notebooks vs. Mobile Devices: Brain Activation Differences During Memory Retrieval." Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 15, 634158. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2021.634158
• Van der Weel, F.R. & Van der Meer, A.L.H. (2024). "Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity." Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1219945. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945
• Marano, G. et al. (2025). "The Neuroscience Behind Writing: Handwriting vs. Typing - Who Wins the Battle?" Brain Sciences, 15(3), 285. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15030285

Financial autonomy and wellbeing

• Fischer, R. & Boer, D. (2011). "What is more important for national well-being: Money or autonomy? A meta-analysis of well-being, burnout, and anxiety across 63 societies." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(1), 164-184. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023663
• Ngamaba, K.H. et al. (2020). "How closely related are financial satisfaction and subjective well-being? Systematic review and meta-analysis." Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 85, 101522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2020.101522

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