Trends & Identity

[DE]
Was, wenn dein Smartphone ein heiliges Objekt wäre?
Was wäre, wenn wir unser Smartphone nicht nur als Tool, sondern als spirituelles Artefakt begreifen würden? @cybersira ist ein spekulativer YouTube-Kanal, der unsere Beziehung zum Smartphone anhand der fiktiven Alltagsreligion Smartphoneism erfahrbar macht.
Ausgangspunkt ist die wachsende Sehnsucht nach Digital Detox. Doch wenn das Smartphone längst unverzichtbar ist, braucht es keine Verzichtsstrategien, sondern neue Formen des bewussten, vielleicht sogar sakralen Umgangs.
Aus dieser Perspektive entstand der Narrativ von @cybersira: eine fiktive Welt zwischen digitaler Ästhetik, Internetkultur und Ritualpraxis und ein Möglichkeitsraum für einen ritualisierten und zugleich reflektierten Umgang mit Technologie. Sira, die zentrale Figur, lebt diesen Widerspruch. Sie inszeniert ihr Smartphone als heiliges Objekt: Das ist einerseits absurd und ernst, andererseits überraschend nah an unserer Realität.
Folge @cybersira und entdecke, ob auch du bereits Teil des Smartphoneism bist.

[EN]
What if we didn’t just see our smartphones as tools, but as spiritual artifacts?
@cybersira is a speculative YouTube channel that explores our relationship with smartphones through the fictional everyday religion of Smartphoneism.
It begins with a familiar desire: the longing for digital detox. But if the smartphone has become indispensable, perhaps we don’t need abstinence but new forms of mindful, even sacred, interaction.
This idea shapes the world of @cybersira: a fictional space between digital aesthetics, internet culture, and ritual practice. It opens a room of possibility for a more conscious, ceremonial relationship with technology. At the center is Sira, the protagonist who stages her smartphone as a holy object. It’s absurd, serious, and yet strangely close to how we already live.
Follow @cybersira and ask yourself: are you already part of Smartphoneism?

Since the launch of the first iPhone 18 years ago, human behaviour has been profoundly reshaped. The smartphone is no longer just a communication device; it has become an external brain. Although strategies such as screen time apps or digital detox aim to reduce usage, they often fail to address the underlying issue. We have become too deeply fused with the device for simple avoidance to be a sustainable solution.

This idea forms the basis of Smartphoneism, a speculative religion practised by @cybersira on her YouTube channel. At a time when technology is increasingly taking over areas that were traditionally the domain of religion, such as meaning, identity, ritual and transcendence, it seems only logical to reinterpret our relationship with the smartphone. Within this new lens, the smartphone emerges as a spiritual artefact with the potential to enlighten.

What is Smartphoneism?
It is a speculative religion that begins with the conscious acknowledgement of deep dependency on smartphones. Rather than trying to overcome it, the aim is to engage with it mindfully. Our daily smartphone use has evolved into a ritualised habit, suggesting the existence of an implicit everyday religion. In this new spiritual form, questions of identity, stability and transcendence are redefined. Unlike traditional dogmas, smartphoneism is guided by principles: attentiveness, care and appreciation are key.
The smartphone is viewed as a source of self-assurance and a storage space for lived experience, functioning as an interface between the inner and outer worlds.
Smartphoneism invites us to reflect deliberately on our dependency rather than suppressing it. Through this reflection, new, mindful, symbolic and even reverent ways of interacting with smartphones can emerge.

Cybersira and her YouTube channel
Sira, known on YouTube as Cybersira, is a relatable and devoted creator who firmly believes that smartphones are the key to omniscience, enlightenment and digital immortality. She uses the iconic formats of lifestyle YouTubers to share her beliefs, perform rituals, and guide her community into the religion.