About us
No Phone Zone is a Portland-based group dedicated to helping free people from the grip of addictive technology and reconnect to themselves and their community through device-free, in-person social gatherings throughout the city.
Each meetup will include time to:
- Connect with yourself—silent space for reading, writing, journaling, art, or any hobby you've been meaning to engage in more, but perhaps has been crowded out by devices.
- Connect with others—meaningful conversation, games, socializing with fellow-minded people who similarly crave genuine connection unmediated by smartphones. This will include unstructured time to connect, as well as an intentional discussion on tech's impact on our ability to lead lives well-lived.
Meetups will be strictly device-free. Please leave your gadgets behind, or check them into our phone locker at the beginning of the event.
Technology companies promised us the world in their gadgets: connection, purpose, adventure, influence. Yet, the stats are in—anxiety, depression, loneliness, and self harm have only been on the rise since social media’s introduction. Many of us feel inadequacy, dissatisfaction, irritability, and isolation in response to using these “tools”. If you’re fed up with the gap between tech’s great promises and it’s dismal results in the real world, you’re not alone. What’s clear is this: a good life begins with the very thing addictive technology seeks to replace: human connection! No Phone Zone meetups welcome you to unplug and protect your personhood in the digital age.
This event format is inspired by the great work being done in The Offline Club. I've applied to start my own Portland chapter, but until that materializes, No Phone Zone functions as an appreciative stand-in.
Upcoming events
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