How a Decades-Old Video Game Transformed My Digital Habits
In an era where smartphone addiction and endless doomscrolling dominate daily life, finding an escape can feel like an impossible challenge. Vast corporate resources are dedicated to keeping users glued to their screens, embedding these devices into every aspect of work, leisure, and social interaction. While there's no judgment for those who maintain a healthy relationship with technology, many of us find ourselves struggling to break free from this cycle.
Swapping Screens: From Smartphone to Game Boy
This year, I embarked on an unconventional digital detox mission. Rather than eliminating screen time entirely, I replaced the sleek, modern smartphone with something wonderfully nostalgic—a fuzzy-screened Game Boy Advance. Carrying this vintage handheld instead of my phone, I began playing Pokémon FireRed, a remake of the original Pokémon games that celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. Even this refreshed version is over two decades old, offering a stark contrast to today's hyper-connected digital experiences.
Improving digital wellbeing doesn't necessarily mean abandoning screens altogether. Not all screens are created equal. My hope was that this swap wouldn't prove disastrous, like Indiana Jones' infamous golden idol exchange. Fortunately, the results have been overwhelmingly positive.
Rediscovering Pokémon's Serene Charm
My last regular Pokémon adventure was in 2006 with Pokémon Diamond on the Nintendo DS. While I dabbled in later titles like Pokémon Black and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, nothing truly captured my attention. I had convinced myself that once you've played one Pokémon game, you've experienced them all. However, as Hollywood has profitably demonstrated, a twenty-year gap can make familiar territory feel fresh and exciting again.
Having started my Pokémon journey in the Sinnoh region, exploring the original Kanto region and catching the first 151 Pokémon felt genuinely thrilling. While I wanted to embrace a more analogue existence, gaming without colour was my absolute limit—making the Game Boy Advance's vibrant display perfect for this retro revival.
The Unexpected Benefits of Retro Gaming
FireRed's positive impact manifested surprisingly quickly. Within just a couple of hours of exploring virtual landscapes and encountering wild Pokémon, I completely forgot about my phone. Though it sat right beside me, it no longer called to me like Gollum's ring. Previously, loading breaks and elaborate cutscenes in modern PlayStation games would inevitably lead me to reach for my device.
There seems to be genuine magic in FireRed's freeform storytelling and understated retro graphics. The implied details in design and dialogue leave ample space for imagination—something my doomscrolling habit had nearly atrophied. Despite constant trainer battles and challenging gym leader confrontations, the Pokémon world remains serene and charming, with refreshingly low stakes. No gaming experience has offered such tranquility since I first discovered Animal Crossing, though even Tom Nook couldn't patent this form of escapism.
Nostalgia Meets Fresh Adventure
Curiously, this adventure feels both completely new and deeply nostalgic. Although I've never before assembled a team exclusively from the original Pokédex, playing transported me back to the late 1990s when Pokémon mania swept the globe. I even named my rival after a childhood best friend, adding personal significance to the experience. After all these years, thoroughly embracing this canonical gaming world feels incredibly satisfying.
Pokémon is hardly counterculture—it's the most profitable video game franchise in history. With a 30th anniversary celebration including McDonald's Happy Meal promotions, new theme parks, Natural History Museum partnerships, and Uniqlo clothing lines, Pokémon feels more zeitgeisty and omnipresent than it has in years. Yet picking up an old Game Boy instead of my smartphone feels genuinely rebellious. It's somehow unruly to deliberately take myself offline, even briefly, to simply enjoy retro gaming fun.
Reclaiming Technology on My Own Terms
This experience allows me to enjoy technology without coercion. There are no microtransactions, no essential firmware updates, and no endless prompts to like, comment, or subscribe. Filling natural daily breaks with an old video game has done wonders for my wellbeing—whether evolving Psyduck while dinner cooks or defeating gym leaders while awaiting deliveries.
The tangible results speak for themselves: my phone's screen time has decreased by three hours weekly since beginning this Pokémon adventure. In a small but significant way, playing FireRed helps me stop comparing myself to others and begin addressing the existential dread that doomscrolling often amplifies. In 2026, playing Pokémon FireRed feels utterly nourishing and wonderfully low-stakes compared to social media ecosystems where everything appears equally urgent and meaningful.
A Prescription for Digital Wellness
If you're battling overthinking, insecurity, or exhaustion by attempting the herculean task of using your phone less, consider a quick trip to the Kanto region—or any resolutely offline game world. Trading doomscrolling for retro gaming might just provide the digital serenity you've been seeking, proving that sometimes the best solutions come from revisiting the past rather than chasing the latest technological trends.
