'Turn off your phone': Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the key to deep thinking
Digital relaxation tools may be counterproductive, says former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
- Jul 22, 2025,
- Updated Jul 22, 2025 3:16 PM IST
Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and one of the key architects of the modern internet, says the biggest barrier to deep thinking today is the very device in our pockets.
“You can’t think deeply as a researcher with this thing buzzing,” Schmidt said on the Moonshots podcast, referring to smartphones. “I work with a lot of 20-somethings in research… They turn off their phone.”
It’s a candid admission from the man who led Google through the launch of Android, the operating system that brought a wave of notifications and attention-grabbing features into billions of lives. Today, Schmidt is more reflective, acknowledging the unintended consequences of building a world designed to monetise attention.
“We’ve essentially tried to monetise all of your waking hours… some form of ads, some form of entertainment, some form of subscription,” he said. “It’s completely antithetical to the way humans traditionally work with respect to long thoughtful examination of principles.”
Science backs up his concern. According to psychologist Gloria Mark, who studies attention, the average time someone focuses on a screen has dropped from 2.5 minutes twenty years ago to just 47 seconds today. The result? Fragmented thinking, poorer memory, and more stress.
Schmidt didn’t hold back when talking about the digital wellness trend either. “My favourite are these digital apps that make you relax,” he said with irony. “The correct thing to do to relax is to turn off your phone… and then relax in a traditional way for, you know, 70,000 human years of existence.”
But not everyone agrees. Mental health app makers pushed back, saying the solution isn’t as simple as switching off. “Not all screen time is created equal,” a spokesperson for Calm told Business Insider. Headspace’s chief clinical officer Jenna Glover added: “Telling young people to simply ‘turn off their phone’ isn’t realistic or helpful… True digital wellness isn’t about going backwards 70,000 years, it’s about moving forward with intention.”
Still, Schmidt believes that tech can support focus if designed differently. He described using Google’s Gemini AI to think through ideas for six hours on a flight, uninterrupted. “There were no ads, no social media. I just thought.”
Others in the cognitive space echo the need for boundaries. Brain coach Jim Kwik told Forbes, “Every ring, ping, and notification is driving us to distraction… They blame their retention, but it’s really more their attention.”
A recent study from the US National Institutes of Health adds weight to that argument, finding that digital distractions such as checking the time, idle scrolling or texting were associated with lower satisfaction and perceived learning, especially among younger users.
For Schmidt, the solution isn’t anti-technology. It’s about reclaiming control. And sometimes, the most radical act might just be switching your phone off.
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Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and one of the key architects of the modern internet, says the biggest barrier to deep thinking today is the very device in our pockets.
“You can’t think deeply as a researcher with this thing buzzing,” Schmidt said on the Moonshots podcast, referring to smartphones. “I work with a lot of 20-somethings in research… They turn off their phone.”
It’s a candid admission from the man who led Google through the launch of Android, the operating system that brought a wave of notifications and attention-grabbing features into billions of lives. Today, Schmidt is more reflective, acknowledging the unintended consequences of building a world designed to monetise attention.
“We’ve essentially tried to monetise all of your waking hours… some form of ads, some form of entertainment, some form of subscription,” he said. “It’s completely antithetical to the way humans traditionally work with respect to long thoughtful examination of principles.”
Science backs up his concern. According to psychologist Gloria Mark, who studies attention, the average time someone focuses on a screen has dropped from 2.5 minutes twenty years ago to just 47 seconds today. The result? Fragmented thinking, poorer memory, and more stress.
Schmidt didn’t hold back when talking about the digital wellness trend either. “My favourite are these digital apps that make you relax,” he said with irony. “The correct thing to do to relax is to turn off your phone… and then relax in a traditional way for, you know, 70,000 human years of existence.”
But not everyone agrees. Mental health app makers pushed back, saying the solution isn’t as simple as switching off. “Not all screen time is created equal,” a spokesperson for Calm told Business Insider. Headspace’s chief clinical officer Jenna Glover added: “Telling young people to simply ‘turn off their phone’ isn’t realistic or helpful… True digital wellness isn’t about going backwards 70,000 years, it’s about moving forward with intention.”
Still, Schmidt believes that tech can support focus if designed differently. He described using Google’s Gemini AI to think through ideas for six hours on a flight, uninterrupted. “There were no ads, no social media. I just thought.”
Others in the cognitive space echo the need for boundaries. Brain coach Jim Kwik told Forbes, “Every ring, ping, and notification is driving us to distraction… They blame their retention, but it’s really more their attention.”
A recent study from the US National Institutes of Health adds weight to that argument, finding that digital distractions such as checking the time, idle scrolling or texting were associated with lower satisfaction and perceived learning, especially among younger users.
For Schmidt, the solution isn’t anti-technology. It’s about reclaiming control. And sometimes, the most radical act might just be switching your phone off.
For Unparalleled coverage of India's Businesses and Economy – Subscribe to Business Today Magazine