Nate Spot argues against phone use on the toilet
A personal essay advocates abandoning smartphones in the bathroom to allow the brain time for reflection and memory consolidation.
Conversation activity · last 2 days peak 4/hr
Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 8 items across 1 source · 19h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
Writer Nate Spot published an essay arguing that people should leave their phones out of the bathroom, claiming the toilet is a rare moment of solitude that allows the brain to process emotions and consolidate memories without constant digital input. The piece, published August 6, 2026, prompted discussion on Hacker News about attention economics, vulnerability during bodily functions, and hygiene concerns around phones in bathrooms.
- The essay argues that bathroom time without phones allows the brain to consolidate memories, connect ideas, and process emotions without constant digital input.
- HN commenters raised concerns about physical health consequences (hemorrhoids from prolonged sitting) and hygiene (fecal particles on phones).
- Discussion revealed divided perspectives: some agreed phones distract from naturally vulnerable moments, others argued the concern is overstated or reflects modern anxiety.
How it unfolded
-
Reaction Hygiene concern raised about phones in bathrooms
HN user xtiansimon references a food safety course recommendation to use single-use sanitizing wipes on phones after bathroom use due to microscopic fecal particles.
-
Reaction Commenter shares personal health consequence
HN user 01100011 describes how playing Nintendo DS on the toilet years ago resulted in hemorrhoids that persisted for decades, advising against prolonged toilet time.
-
Reaction Commenter dismisses concern as modern anxiety
HN user huhtenberg argues that prior generations read bathroom product labels without concern and survived, suggesting the essay reflects modern anxieties.
-
Reaction Commenter raises evolutionary perspective
HN user ozten notes that from an evolutionary perspective, bathroom time is a vulnerable moment when humans are in a state of hyper vigilance.
-
Reaction Essay shared on Hacker News, gains traction
The essay reaches Hacker News where it accumulates 205 points and 218 comments, sparking discussion about phone dependence and bathroom habits.
-
Report Nate Spot publishes essay on phone-free bathroom time
Nate Spot publishes "Don't use your phone while you poop" arguing that bathroom time offers rare uninterrupted moments for the brain to consolidate memories and process emotions away from the attention economy.
What people are saying verbatim
“Your brain needs to offload just as badly as your butt does.”
Nate Spot · nate.spot article · Aug 5
“Our bodies have given us a built-in biological hall pass to check out from the world for a few precious moments.”
Nate Spot · nate.spot article · Aug 5
“If pooping is the only time you spend away from your phone, you're not spending enough time away from your phone.”
Retr0id · Hacker News comment · Aug 8, 10:43 AM
“I will say that playing my Nintendo DS on the toilet many years ago gave me hemorrhoids that still persist decades later.”
01100011 · Hacker News comment · Aug 8, 11:00 AM
“there's probably microscopic fecal particles on every surface in there. And there's no way your phone is making it out unscathed.”
Nate Spot · nate.spot article · Aug 5
Voices from the web unedited
-
This is stupid. There is no better time to use your phone than when taking a shit.For years, that was the only context in which I read Twitter, and that still holds true today for the various things that replaced Twitter for me.The toilet is a fine place to peruse this website, too. It's pretty hard to do anything to excess if you only do it…
-
My parents had the Desiderata 'poem' on the back of the toilet door when I was growing up, so I read it a thousand times.Being older and reading it again, it's a beautiful sentiment and something that, I think, seeped into my subconscious and made me a better person.My favorite line:"You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the…
-
Pooping is interesting. Having a toddler reminded me how pooping is this uniquely vulnerable, sensitive time for humans. I think a lot of us use books/phones/etc to distract ourselves from a sensorily intense activity. I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing, just noting it.I will say that playing my Nintendo DS on the toilet many years ago gave…
-
Back when we lived without phones, we used to read instruction labels on all and any household cleaning products that were stored in the bathroom.I bet there too was some obscure newspaper column that advised against that.Yet, lo and behold, we survived!
-
> “…there's probably microscopic fecal particles on every surface…”I took a five-day food safety course. They suggested using single use sanitizing wipes on your phone after visiting the WC.
-
If pooping is the only time you spend away from your phone, you're not spending enough time away from your phone.
-
From an evolutionary perspective, this is a super vulnerable moment and are in a state of hyper vigilance.