About This Phone
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plain
2026-04-11T15:05:06-07:00
This project started from something simple: I use my phone constantly, but I don’t really think about what it is or what it depends on. The goal of this project is not to step outside that system, but to move through it more carefully.
Using a phone interface lets me follow something that already feels familiar. Instead of explaining the Anthropocene as a distant or abstract concept, each app becomes a way of noticing a different layer of the device. Maps traces where materials come from, iCloud points to the systems that store and circulate data, and the Battery shows how the device wears down over time. Together, these parts begin to show that the phone is not a self-contained object, but something built out of extraction, energy use, and global infrastructure.
The idea of a “user’s guide” is slightly misleading. There isn’t a clear set of steps to follow or a way to resolve what this project reveals. Instead, the process is closer to moving back and forth between different parts of the phone, noticing connections, and realizing how much is usually hidden behind a smooth interface.
At the same time, I am still using the phone while working through this. That contradiction is part of the project. There isn’t a simple way to opt out, and the device doesn’t offer alternatives. It offers upgrades, storage, and continued use. Understanding the phone differently does not change how it works, but it changes how I see it.
