​Welcome to Binge Thinking. We invite professors and experts to give lectures in bars around Boston, NYC, and DC!

In a world of AI slop, doomscrolling and brainrot, Binge Thinking brings real experts into real places for nights of learning, conversation, and community.

Think Responsibly.

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​Join us and grab a drink as we unpack why our phones haven’t made us happier. Is a digital detox enough, or is the problem way bigger?

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TOPIC:
The Digital Paradox: Why Our Phones Haven’t Made Us Happier

SPEAKER:
Dr. Kostadin Kushlev, Georgetown University

​We carry a device that connects us to everyone, answers any question in seconds, and delivers tacos to our door. By all logic, we should be the happiest humans in history. So why does it feel like the opposite?

​Here’s the twist: the problem may not be how many hours we spend staring at our screens. It’s what those screens quietly push out of our lives. The conversation we half-listened to. The sleep we traded for one more video. The walk we skipped. Drawing on field experiments and large-scale studies, the real story is about what phone use displaces, replaces, and interrupts.

​In this talk, Dr. Kostadin Kushlev unpacks the science of why more connection hasn’t meant more happiness, and why a weekend off your phone won’t save you from apps engineered to win the battle for your attention.

​Topics include:

​Why “screen time” alone is the wrong thing to measure

​How phones displace, replace, and interrupt the things that actually make us happy

​What the evidence says about whether digital detox works, and how

​Why algorithms built to capture our attention call for systemic change, not quick fixes

​How we can use our devices in ways that actually boost well-being

​Bring your phone. Just maybe keep it in your pocket.

​About the Speaker

​Dr. Kostadin Kushlev is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Georgetown University, where he directs the Digital Health and Happiness Lab (the “Happy Tech Lab”). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in 2015.

​His research sits at the intersection of digital technology, happiness, and health, using real-world behavior tracking and advanced statistics to study how our devices shape well-being. His work has appeared in top journals including Psychological Science, Psychological Bulletin, and Emotion, and has been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, BBC, NPR, and CBC. His recent findings show that brief digital detoxes can lift mood, sharpen attention, and add extra minutes of sleep each night. In 2026, he received Georgetown’s Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

​Agenda

7:00 PM - Doors Open (Grab a seat and drinks!)
7:30 PM - Lecture Begins
8:10 PM - Audience Q&A
8:30 PM - Drinks & Conversation
9:00 PM - Event Ends