Those who say we’re often better off, like Jonah Lehrer, tech writer and author of How We Decide, claim that stimulating our brains in different ways can make us more creative and open to new ideas.

My phone used to call to me from my pocket the way the Ring called to Bilbo Baggins. The second I felt even the slightest twinge of boredom, my phone would appear in the palm of my hand as if by magic. Now, without Infinity Pool apps, I feel less twitchy. Those moments when I used to instinctively reach for my phone, I’m forced to pause—and it turn