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HEALTH AND WELLNESS

See inside a phone-free party in Brooklyn’s East Williamsburg

Alyssa Goldberg Rachel Hale
Updated April 21, 2026, 7:26 a.m. ET
I’m Rachel Hale, Youth Mental Health Reporter at USA TODAY. I'm 24, and for the first time at a party, I’m about to be without a phone and offline. A flyer for the party promised “a celebration of social life as it’s meant to be: free from the grip of greedy tech platforms." I give my phone to someone at the door, who places it in a phone cubby.
I’m Rachel Hale, Youth Mental Health Reporter at USA TODAY. I'm 24, and for the first time at a party, I’m about to be without a phone and offline. A flyer for the party promised “a celebration of social life as it’s meant to be: free from the grip of greedy tech platforms." I give my phone to someone at the door, who places it in a phone cubby.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
Partygoers, who are mainly in their 20s and early 30s, dance beneath a light haze of incense drifting through the room.
Partygoers, who are mainly in their 20s and early 30s, dance beneath a light haze of incense drifting through the room.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
Throughout the night, partygoers help build a pretend data center. “Our AI aims to maximize shareholder value!,” one of the leaders jokes to rousing cheers. “If you have a chance to invest in this, you could be rich.”
Throughout the night, partygoers help build a pretend data center. “Our AI aims to maximize shareholder value!,” one of the leaders jokes to rousing cheers. “If you have a chance to invest in this, you could be rich.”
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
Around 11 p.m., an organizer leads partygoers outside for a somatic ritual. Ritual facilitator Amalia Mayorga guides us to place a hands on our neighbor’s shoulder as she gently strikes a sound bowl with a mallet, sending out echoes that hang in the air.
Around 11 p.m., an organizer leads partygoers outside for a somatic ritual. Ritual facilitator Amalia Mayorga guides us to place a hands on our neighbor’s shoulder as she gently strikes a sound bowl with a mallet, sending out echoes that hang in the air.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
The crowd brings together different corners of New York’s offline movement. There are members of the Columbia Luddite Club, organizers from the Month Offline Challenge, researchers from the Center for AI Safety, and activists from The Strother School of Radical Attention, where Plante and Barnes work, at the party.
The crowd brings together different corners of New York’s offline movement. There are members of the Columbia Luddite Club, organizers from the Month Offline Challenge, researchers from the Center for AI Safety, and activists from The Strother School of Radical Attention, where Plante and Barnes work, at the party.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
Those tapped into the scene have a variety of names for this movement: digital minimalism, attention activism, the offline movement, the techno critical movement and the low tech movement are all thrown around throughout the night. Some have even dubbed it the Luddite renaissance.
Those tapped into the scene have a variety of names for this movement: digital minimalism, attention activism, the offline movement, the techno critical movement and the low tech movement are all thrown around throughout the night. Some have even dubbed it the Luddite renaissance.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
“Our generation is very scared to be explorative with our identities, because we feel like we're constantly being filmed, surveilled,” says 23-year-old partygoer Sonya Saydakova. “We feel like everything is a sort of performance, because it is.”
“Our generation is very scared to be explorative with our identities, because we feel like we're constantly being filmed, surveilled,” says 23-year-old partygoer Sonya Saydakova. “We feel like everything is a sort of performance, because it is.”
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
Organizer Nick Plante, 25, says we’re experiencing a “crisis of imagination” when it comes to phones and how we find parties. “It's like, Oh, I can't really picture like, finding anything somewhere else. I need Instagram, that's how I get my work out there, that's how I find cool events.’”
Organizer Nick Plante, 25, says we’re experiencing a “crisis of imagination” when it comes to phones and how we find parties. “It's like, Oh, I can't really picture like, finding anything somewhere else. I need Instagram, that's how I get my work out there, that's how I find cool events.’”
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
Unlike most nightlife in New York, news of this party spread almost entirely through word of mouth, via newsletters, group chats and sidewalk flyers. One partygoer is an old roommate of an organizer, and another heard about it from an ex-boyfriend. A man I met on the subway tells me he came alone.
Unlike most nightlife in New York, news of this party spread almost entirely through word of mouth, via newsletters, group chats and sidewalk flyers. One partygoer is an old roommate of an organizer, and another heard about it from an ex-boyfriend. A man I met on the subway tells me he came alone.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
Organizer Kyle Barnes, top right, participates in the somatic ritual. “For many people, it’s a magical experience to be unencumbered by it for the first time or for the 100th time,” Barnes says of partying without a phone.
Organizer Kyle Barnes, top right, participates in the somatic ritual. “For many people, it’s a magical experience to be unencumbered by it for the first time or for the 100th time,” Barnes says of partying without a phone.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
Partygoers sit in a circle outside during a somatic ritual.
Partygoers sit in a circle outside during a somatic ritual.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
The grand finale of the event comes just before 1 a.m. back on the dance floor, when the crowd smashes the cardboard data center into a heap of shreds and duct tape.
The grand finale of the event comes just before 1 a.m. back on the dance floor, when the crowd smashes the cardboard data center into a heap of shreds and duct tape.
Alyssa Goldberg/USA TODAY
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