{"id":1383,"date":"2026-06-03T10:38:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1383"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:38:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:38:21","slug":"monica-lewinsky-user-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1383","title":{"rendered":"Monica Lewinsky Has Always Hated Notifications"},"content":{"rendered":"


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If there\u2019s one<\/span> thing that\u2019d convince someone to be mindful about their news consumption, it\u2019s becoming the maligned subject of a political scandal at 24 years old. So when Google<\/a> began offering news alerts in 2003, Monica Lewinsky made the deliberate decision not to partake. \u201cIn the first handful of years, when there was still legal stuff happening, I would panic if I was away from my phone and I had a lot of missed calls,\u201d Lewinsky says. \u201cI would think, Oh, I\u2019ve been indicted, or something\u2019s happened.\u2019\u2019 It\u2019s not surprising, then, that Lewinsky has \u201cnever been a notifications person.\u201d Now a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and the host of the podcast<\/em> Reclaiming With Monica Lewinsky, she tells WIRED how her drafts folder helps with impulse control and why an iPad is key to surviving LA traffic.<\/em><\/p>\n

Phone model: iPhone 15 Pro<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have always been an iPhone girl, and I probably always will be an iPhone girl.<\/p>\n

Computer model: MacBook Air, 13-inch<\/strong><\/p>\n

I also have an iPad Air. Anybody in LA knows if you have to cross the 405 in either direction, you don\u2019t want to have to go back and forth during the day. So I probably mostly use my iPad when I know I\u2019m going to be out for the day. I have a little iPad holder stand doohickey so that I can do my Zooms from the car.<\/p>\n

Average screen time: 4 hours, 28 minutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not someone who pays attention to those numbers. The only notifications I get are for text messages. I don\u2019t do any for social media. I never accept a \u201cCan we send you alerts?\u201d I\u2019d say 75 percent of the time I\u2019m on my phone it\u2019s because I need to be. If I\u2019m spending too much time doomscrolling, or otherwise-scrolling, I usually notice it and try to be mindful of, like, \u201cOK, am I trying to escape something?\u201d I give myself permission to a lot. Especially these days. Very early on, when you could have Google notifications for news things, I very consciously chose not to do that. That relationship with technology and my nervous system started to become really clear to me before I even understood anything about being mindful of our nervous system.<\/p>\n

Music app: Apple Music<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d say in the last year and a half, most of the podcasts I\u2019m listening to are part of the research I do for my own [podcast] interviews. I like to listen to people before I have a conversation with them. I often do that, or listen to a book that someone\u2019s written, on double speed\u2014that\u2019s where I think my ADHD comes in handy: \u201cOh, I can process really quickly.\u201d I also tend to take a lot of my calls in the car in LA, or if I\u2019m walking when I\u2019m in New York. I try to walk everywhere. I tend to do calls rather than having downtime to listen to music.<\/p>\n

Unread emails: 3,916<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it was at 40,000 at some point. I wish I were an inbox-zero person. I would love to be that.<\/p>\n

Unread texts: 1,025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last person you FaceTimed: niece or nephew<\/strong><\/p>\n

They\u2019re 7 and 10. When I lived in New York and they were in LA, I would read to them over FaceTime very often. I would get two copies of every book so they could follow along.<\/p>\n

Last thing you Googled:<\/strong> \u201ctide times Malibu\u201d<\/p>\n

Last photo you took:<\/strong> a cast member from The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox<\/em><\/p>\n

I was at a bar mitzvah. One of the young people from the Amanda Knox show that I executive produced was there with her new girlfriend, and I stole a picture. They were holding hands, and I thought it was cute.<\/p>\n

Last screenshot you took:<\/strong> An Instagram meme that says, \u201cYour bank balance in 2026 is $75 million. Send this to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A version of this article will appear in the June\/July issue. Subscribe now<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s one thing that\u2019d convince someone to be mindful about their news consumption, it\u2019s becoming the maligned subject of a political scandal at 24 years old. So when Google began offering news alerts in 2003, Monica Lewinsky made the deliberate decision not to partake. \u201cIn the first handful of years, when there was still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[345,566,565,564],"class_list":["post-1383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-apple","tag-notifications","tag-screen-time","tag-user-behavior"],"yoast_head":"\nMonica Lewinsky Has Always Hated Notifications - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The writer and anti-bullying activist is on social media, but to protect her nervous system, she prefers not to be alerted.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1383\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Monica Lewinsky Has Always Hated Notifications - 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