{"id":1145011,"date":"2026-02-06T19:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=537312"},"modified":"2026-02-06T19:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:40:12","slug":"finally-i-can-pretend-im-on-my-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/finally-i-can-pretend-im-on-my-phone\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally, I can pretend I\u2019m on my phone"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure> <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-caption=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"Image: Pippin Barr via Polygon\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/finally-i-can-pretend-im-on-my-phone.jpg\" \/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">I know I\u2019m not the only person who finds themself reflexively opening and closing apps, like perusing digital window displays to feel as if I\u2019m doing<em> something<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">A new game from <a href=\"https:\/\/pippinbarr.com\/\">developer Pippin Barr<\/a> playfully highlights how meaningless our relationships with phones can be. It\u2019s called <a href=\"https:\/\/pippinbarr.com\/it-is-as-if-you-were-on-your-phone\/\"><em>It\u2019s As If You Were On Your Phone<\/em><\/a>, and you can play it, on your phone, right now.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">IAIYWOYP posits a situation in which you\u2019re just <em>pretending<\/em> to be on your phone. The site offers you intermittent orders, and actions to perform:<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\"><em>Watch the screen.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\"><em>Widen your eyes and then frown.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\"><em>Just look at your phone.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">You tap circles as they pop up, swipe when asked, and occasionally are told to clean your screen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Taken all together, it creates the ideal symphony of actions that you might need to convince a neighboring restaurant table that you\u2019re not eavesdropping on them (you\u2019re on your phone).<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">What I found most compelling, and disturbing, is how satisfying all this is. I like double-tapping a pink circle, and pressing my fingers pensively to my lips. Maybe it\u2019s the play-acting, or maybe this simple feedback is genuinely all I\u2019m getting out of using my phone anyway. I am a compulsive phone-user, with very little to show for it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/videos\/506918\/playing-cards-history\">other than almost 2,000 victories in <em>Sawayama Solitaire<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">If taking orders from a clever phone game is as momentarily compelling to me as, say, scrolling Bluesky, then what the hell am I doing here?<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">You can play <em><a href=\"https:\/\/pippinbarr.com\/it-is-as-if-you-were-on-your-phone\/\">It\u2019s As If You Were On Your Phone<\/a><\/em> for free on your phone in browsers now.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/mobile\/537312\/pippin-barr-phone-game\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I know I\u2019m not the only person who finds themself reflexively opening and closing apps, like perusing digital window displays to feel as if I\u2019m doing something. A new game from developer Pippin Barr playfully highlights how meaningless our relationships with phones can be. It\u2019s called It\u2019s As If You Were On Your Phone, and you can play it, on your phone, right now. IAIYWOYP posits a situation in which you\u2019re just pretending to be on your phone. The site offers you intermittent orders, and actions to perform: Watch the screen. Widen your eyes and then frown. Just look at your phone. You tap circles as they pop up, swipe when asked, and occasionally are told to clean your screen. Taken all together, it creates&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/finally-i-can-pretend-im-on-my-phone\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1145012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1145011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Finally, I can pretend I\u2019m on my phone | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I know I\u2019m not the only person who finds themself reflexively opening and closing apps, like perusing digital window displays to feel as if I\u2019m doing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/finally-i-can-pretend-im-on-my-phone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finally, I can pretend I\u2019m on my phone | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I know I\u2019m not the only person who finds themself reflexively opening and closing apps, like perusing digital window displays to feel as if I\u2019m doing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/finally-i-can-pretend-im-on-my-phone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-06T19:40:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/finally-i-can-pretend-im-on-my-phone.jpg\" 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