I Built Something for My Grandad
The Reader’s Edge | Charlie Samways | July 26, 2026 |
This week has felt like a big moment for me, and this week’s newsletter might feel a little different because of it.
It all began at the start of the year, with a family holiday where we decided to limit our phone use in the evenings.
Rather than sitting around staring at screens, we played games and talked. All of us left with a feeling that we’d enjoyed parking our phones and keeping our focus in the moment together.
I also came back with a rediscovered love of Chess. This was a game I’d been taught by my Grandad, and I’d stopped playing as I got older.
Playing Chess brought back several happy memories, even more so now he’s no longer with us. With all of these emotions firing, I became determined that I would continue playing Chess when I arrived home.
It took a week for issues to arise. The easiest way to access Chess was on my phone, and I would often be playing, only to feel the pull of all the other available apps. Some days I fought the urge better than others, but on most occasions Chess led to scrolling.
From this problem came a solution to continue Chess, but through my Kindle. Thanks to AI tools like Claude Code, I was able to build Chess for Kindle that fixed my doomscrolling problem.
All the while I was building the website, I was left with the question of why we need to find alternative solutions. Was my willpower so poor that I struggled to play Chess on my phone without being pulled into a doomscroll?
The Phone Trade-Off That’s Not Your Fault
It’s a nice belief to feel we still control our attention, and if someone were to manipulate us, we would know about it.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the technology we use, the money these companies make is dependent on us staring at a screen. For this reason, there are people out there specialising in manipulating our every move online and keeping us hooked.
Many people believe that their devices listen to them, which often follows a certain ad presenting itself to you after a conversation. The reality is that this is now a result of accurate models which can gain a picture of who you are and make predictions around what you should see.
This type of assessment of your personality is known as surveillance capitalism, and there are calls for governments to take action and ban this form of business. Since GDPR came into force in 2018, EU data protection law has increasingly restricted this kind of tracking. Despite this, the wider scanning of profiles continues.
None of this is shared to frighten you, but to remind you that this isn't the willpower issue that can often be placed at people's doors.
In an ideal world, we shouldn’t have to build solutions to counter our own devices. But as long as money is a driving motivation to keep us hooked, people wary of how tech integrates into their lives will have to be on their toes.
I see my role as helping people find technology that improves their lives without the unwanted drawbacks.
This is exactly why I didn't waste energy trying to force more willpower onto my phone. I removed the fight by building somewhere else to play that I was able to share with others.
This Week’s Question
Have you ever felt like an advert appeared that had followed a recent conversation? Did you change any behaviours after this happened?
Reply to me at hello@charliesamways.com. I read every one.
From The Channel This Week
My first video this week shared a hidden flashcard system on Kindles, which most people don’t know about, and is great for growing your vocabulary. My second video was all about how I beat my doomscrolling with Kindle Chess, and you can play it yourself at einkgames.com:
Your Kindle Has a Hidden Flashcard System
I Built Kindle Chess and It Killed My Doomscrolling
And I’ve just updated my Free Kindle Guide with a bonus section on speed reading, which is available for all members to download here
Wishing you all the best this week, and playing lots of Chess on your Kindle 😊.
Catch up next week,
Charlie Samways