I Did a No-Phone Coachella (and Loved It)

My phone is an extension of myself. Wherever I move, there it is right beside me. I don't know I'm running on empty until I'm served a video about burnout. I forget I've been sitting too long until an app nudges me to get moving. At concerts especially, I, like many, feel a desperate need to document every moment. But beyond my work in social media, I'm not entirely sure why. As soon as the lights dim, there's a flash of panic, and I reach up to hold my phone high over the crowd. And yet, I rarely ever watch the clips again. At any given concert, you can look out into the audience and see an ocean of screens shining back at you. Coachella in particular is known for its splashy social media presence. Dubbed the "influencer Olympics," it's hard to get through your FYP this time of year without encountering a single Coachella GRWM. Brand activations are increasingly photo-worthy, artists are known to bring out exciting guests, and tickets are more expensive than ever. There's a lot of pressure to make your experience feel "worth it" — if you're not taking content of your own, you're hardly getting your money's worth. There's a lot of pressure to make your experience feel "worth it." Gearing up for my first-ever Coachella, I could feel the mounting pressure to post. It was hard to imagine a version of the weekend that didn't involve me behind a screen for most of it. Maybe I didn't trust myself to remember everything. Maybe I was bad at living in the moment. Or maybe (and most honestly), I just wasn't having as much fun as it seemed on social media. It's not that I hate taking videos at a concert — I just didn't want to stress about it anymore. It's embarrassing to admit, but I needed to relearn how to be present and enjoy myself in the actual moment. To help me get there, I landed on a pretty extreme solution: Inspired by Pinterest's phone-free initiative, I decided to attend the entire festival solo . . . and off my phone. No photos, no videos – not even a mobile map or lineup — just a digital camera and good vibes. Read on to see how it went, from the magical pinch-me moments to the major learning curves. Image Source: Courtesy of Chandler Plante / Pinterest No-Phone Coachella Day 1 I wish I could say every day of no-phone Coachella was a breeze . . . but I'd be lying to you. I had prepared for the festival like a damn Girl Scout, toting around wet wipes, hand sanitizer, ear plugs, and a phone zipped within the depths of my anti-theft backpack. (I did keep my phone on, and shared my location with friends, just in case I got caught in a stampede of Beliebers.) The previous night, I drew a "mini-map" of the venue by hand, which ended up being a saving grace, and wrote my full lineup, set times, and venues on a separate piece of paper. I took photos on a disposable camera, marveled at how shaky my hands were becoming, and then met up with my cousin to brave the shuttle. One short 90-minute drive later, and there I was, standing at the entrance of the festival. Unplugged and in the middle of the desert. In some ways, it felt freeing. I didn't have anyone to answer to — no one to argue or meet up with. But in pretty much every other way, it felt terrifying. I started the day off slow, using my map to navigate towards the (air-conditioned) Pinterest activation. I checked out nostalgic festival trends, like "analog aesthetic," got my makeup done, mailed a handwritten letter to my apartment back in LA, and even made a new friend. I only made it to three sets that day (a far cry from the six or eight you'll see most people rushing to), but without a phone, I felt like I was able to enjoy the artists I did see on a deeper level. I was less distracted and less stressed as the day went on. Image Source: Courtesy of Pinterest / Chandler Plante No-Phone Coachella Day 2 Going into day two, I felt more confident in my game plan and determined to see more artists than the day before. Since I only had my mini-map and a few wayward signs to navigate the expansive festival grounds, I decided to stick to stages that were close to one another. An inadvertent perk of this new strategy? Less walking. I reunited with my new friend (the power of sharing your location) and we made it to the barricade together for one of my favorite musicians. Later that day, we took a break and rode the Ferris wheel together, watching the sun set over the Coachella Valley. Fine, yes, we took a photo (on the digital camera, I swear!), but this ended up being one of the phone-free moments I remembered most vividly later on. "Core memory," my friend said from the opposite side of the gondola. We ate pizza and danced to The Strokes together, proving you can find some really amazing people at the festival, even if you had every intention of doing it alone. No-Phone Coachella Day 3 My last day of Coachella was bittersweet. I wasn't able to find my friend, and I couldn't pull out my phone to text her, so I did the day truly solo. That said, I did get to see some of my most-loved artists. I watched Gigi Perez bring out Noah Cyrus, and I was able to enjoy the surprise instead of fishing around for my phone to record. Later, at Foster The People, I danced with strangers to "Pumped Up Kicks" and "Coming of Age" underneath soft pink skies. (Hashtag no filter.) The most anticipated set of my whole Coachella trip was FKA twigs. She performed in a tent I hadn't been to yet, but I was surprised how quickly I found it (thanks, mini-map). As I waited for Twigs to come on, I started connecting with my fellow "Twig-lets," bonding over our favorite albums and most anticipated songs. When the music I started, I danced, I cheered, and of course, cried during her performance of "Cellophane." In being moved to tears, I realized I had officially grown comfortable being in the present moment. Image Source: Courtesy of Pinterest No-Phone Coachella Takeaways Coachella is a pretty unorthodox place to do a total digital detox. Logistically, there are some tasks that are just easier with a phone in your hand — mobile payments, communication, transportation, safety precautions, to name a few. But if you can't enjoy a beautiful moment without reaching for your phone, this festival really is the perfect place to turn that around. With a little preparation, no-phone Coachella is honestly easier than you might think. In my case, forgoing my phone allowed me to focus on real-life connections, great music, and happy concert flashbacks. I remembered them all more vividly, and I noticed how they made me feel. In the end, I connected with one of my all-time favorite artists in a way I probably wouldn't have been able to with the mindset I had a few weeks ago. And in that sense, what started off as an intimidating endeavor ended up being a real gift. I'm walking away with new friends, new music, and of course, plenty of core memories. 49476610 Chandler Plante (she/her) is a social producer and staff writer for the Health & Fitness team at Popsugar. She has over five years of industry experience, previously working as an editorial assistant for People magazine, a social media manager for Millie magazine, and a contributor for Bustle Digital Group. She has a degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University and is based in Los Angeles.