Why my Smartphone is no Longer an Option in my Life

March 14, 2022

I have decided not to have a smartphone. In fact, I’ve been using it only as a mobile device without any of the data-planning functions. This is no article on how smart or dumb this decision was, but merely my experience from the last couple of months, both socially and technologically.

In short Description

The simplification of life that this phone has given me outweighs everything else, including access to social media and other internet services. I remember when smartphones started getting popular and quickly became “the thing to buy.” I bought myself an iPhone 3GS with great excitement, ready for all the cool things it could do. But the hype about what you can do with one doesn’t really match up to reality after all – at least not to what I expected it should be.

I remember having the newest edition of an app or game, and thinking “Wow, this can’t get any better!” – but it did. Suddenly there was a new design, a new layout for everything. It killed my motivation to use them at all. Not to mention how much storage space you have on your phone to keep things organized or just don’t want apps spying on you. It didn’t take long before the apps were out shadowing their actual goal. Camera lenses are great, but after taking pictures, I still have to save them somewhere outside the camera roll, which only slows me down even more – so why bother? Facebook allows me 5 GB of storage, which I know is not enough for most (or even me) – but that’s the price one has to pay to limit distractions.

But What about Calls? Text Messages? What If Someone Wants To Meet Up With You And You Don’t Have Your Phone On You…?

Well, my answer is always: “That’s what landlines are for.” You can find them in every hotel room, at every reception… they’re never gone!  It is healthy to be present in your surroundings instead of being caught up with whatever’s happening on your phone – no matter if it’s yet another image you’ll never see again or a vital text message you should have responded to right away.

But, What If People Call Me?

Okay, so now we get to my point: I carry a mobile phone with me, but only as a mobile phone! Anytime someone wants to reach me for anything urgent (which honestly doesn’t happen very often), there are several ways they can do that:

Get the receptionist at the hotel to reach me. If it’s not too urgent, try social media messages, but I only check them every 4-5 hours. It’s not like anyone would get mad if you don’t get back to them for a day or two – especially friends who know I’m traveling. Use WhatsApp messages if it’s urgent, but this requires both us to access the internet to work and other apps might be more appropriate depending on how critical it is.

Final Words

“I was on the edge of a cliff and I didn’t realize it “It’s not that we’re addicted to our smartphones; we’re addicted to what they provide.