Tales of a Tech Exit Skeptic

I graduated from UNC in May 2025 and was almost immediately plunged into the throes of the job market. The pagentry of LinkedIn, versions upon versions of my resume and rejection after rejection started to pile up. I had all the notifications on my phone; you name it, I had it: LinkedIn, Handhake (a UNC special), Indeed, I was on them all. It was strangely reminiscenct of my college days in a way, when Outlook emails and Canvas grade notifications bombarded me throughout my every waking hour. I wouldn't call it obsessive, but much of my bandwidth was occupied with tracking the newest jobs that had been posted, new connections, what job had turned me down that day, and I was tracking it all in real time.

Then in January 2026, four months into my job search, my friends and I started a book club. That first book was about habits, timely for the New Year's resolution crowd. The book was The Common Rule: Habits for Purpose in an Age of Distraction, and one thing that the author advocated for was no phone before scripture each morning. I made an automatic Do Not Disturb setting on my phone that goes on at night and doesn't turn off until after my Bible study ends the next morning. I was floored at the difference it made. Such a small thing that I hadn't realized impacted my mind so much.

I realized that the first thing I was seeing every day when I turned my alarm off in the morning was rejection emails and just-posted jobs I felt the need to pounce on. By the end of that week I felt more grounded, filling my heart, mind, and ultimately my soul with peace and God's truth about who I am, instead of stress and chasing something that was starting to feel very elusive.

I decided to go further. I took the G-Mail app off my phone. I still had all of my job alerts, but I had to sit down in front of my laptop to view them; a choice, a set time, and keeping this part of my life in check. I decided to turn off all notifications except for calls and texts...then set screentime limits...then eventually deleted everything non-essential off of my phone.

There is a lot going around about the "tech exit" and I used to be a skeptic. I'm not telling you you have to throw out all your technology. But putting it in its proper place changed my mindset for the better in ways I could not have predicted. So, whether you're just coming to college or you're a seasoned Canvas veteran (anyone remember the days of Sakai?), here is my experience for you to use. Make sure the phone answers to you, not the other way around.

— Emily Jones

(UNC c/o 2025)