While there is a correlation between smartphones use and social networks, fundamentally I consider them as two separate topics. I am not a heavy social network user, therefore I’ll comment only on the first part.
I downgraded to a flip phone about a year ago. It’s a mostly positive experience for me. Although, it’s important to say that other people you care about are going to be to a certain extent affected as well.
I’d like to highlight a few nuances:
- No ad-hoc access to online Maps means I need to plan my trips including back up routes and memorize city by heart. I cannot get off a subway, open a smartphone and figure out how to get to a point B. This is a two-edged sword and while I can experience surroundings and explore cities, sometimes I need to ask people for directions.
- My flip phone’s battery lasts for about a week. It’s generally great, but sometimes I forget to charge it. It’s not a big deal for me as a flip phone is already an emergency phone but I communicated to my close friends and family that if they cannot reach out to me this very moment, I’m still safe and no one needs to panic.
- I hate writing text messages on a flip-phone, it’s slow and painful. As a result I send less messages to people I love. It had a minor impact on how they feel, but they got used to my downshifting choice in about a month.
- I used to heavily use Notes app to write down my thoughts. Now, I always carry a small notebook and a pen as a replacement. Whether I read something in a book, hear a funny story, make a grocery list, it always goes to a paper form.
- I cannot do quick fact-checking and look up something using online sources anymore, there is no ad hoc internet option. Whenever there is something worth checking, I make a note in a notebook and get back to this item when I’m in front of a laptop to do more thoughtful analysis.
- I cannot make dumb photos. Again, if I see something worth remembering, it goes to a notebook. It’s not perfect, e.g. when I am at a museum then a visual media is a much better option, receipts cannot be digitized instantaneously, which is especially handy at business trips, etc. On the positive side I got rid of my Dropbox subscription since I don’t have a continuous photo stream anymore.
- In a moment of boredom, I cannot skim through messages, news, or articles. Now I carry Kindle in my backpack; this year I managed to read two to three times more books than the last year.
- I cannot use QR codes, e-tickets to check-in. Everything is either paper-based or I forward them to my wife who uses a smartphone.
- I don’t listen to music as much as used to during commute time.
- This could be specific to my flip phone, but sometimes it cannot properly render text messages from iPhone users. It shows them up as blank.
- I still keep my smartphone at home and use it as a Google Authenticator device.
Ultimately, the whole experience is not about the technology, but about changing addictive unintentional habits.
Comments
While there is a correlation between smartphones use and social networks, fundamentally I consider them as two separate topics. I am not a heavy social network user, therefore I’ll comment only on the first part.
I downgraded to a flip phone about a year ago. It’s a mostly positive experience for me. Although, it’s important to say that other people you care about are going to be to a certain extent affected as well.
I’d like to highlight a few nuances:
- No ad-hoc access to online Maps means I need to plan my trips including back up routes and memorize city by heart. I cannot get off a subway, open a smartphone and figure out how to get to a point B. This is a two-edged sword and while I can experience surroundings and explore cities, sometimes I need to ask people for directions.
- My flip phone’s battery lasts for about a week. It’s generally great, but sometimes I forget to charge it. It’s not a big deal for me as a flip phone is already an emergency phone but I communicated to my close friends and family that if they cannot reach out to me this very moment, I’m still safe and no one needs to panic.
- I hate writing text messages on a flip-phone, it’s slow and painful. As a result I send less messages to people I love. It had a minor impact on how they feel, but they got used to my downshifting choice in about a month.
- I used to heavily use Notes app to write down my thoughts. Now, I always carry a small notebook and a pen as a replacement. Whether I read something in a book, hear a funny story, make a grocery list, it always goes to a paper form.
- I cannot do quick fact-checking and look up something using online sources anymore, there is no ad hoc internet option. Whenever there is something worth checking, I make a note in a notebook and get back to this item when I’m in front of a laptop to do more thoughtful analysis.
- I cannot make dumb photos. Again, if I see something worth remembering, it goes to a notebook. It’s not perfect, e.g. when I am at a museum then a visual media is a much better option, receipts cannot be digitized instantaneously, which is especially handy at business trips, etc. On the positive side I got rid of my Dropbox subscription since I don’t have a continuous photo stream anymore.
- In a moment of boredom, I cannot skim through messages, news, or articles. Now I carry Kindle in my backpack; this year I managed to read two to three times more books than the last year.
- I cannot use QR codes, e-tickets to check-in. Everything is either paper-based or I forward them to my wife who uses a smartphone.
- I don’t listen to music as much as used to during commute time.
- This could be specific to my flip phone, but sometimes it cannot properly render text messages from iPhone users. It shows them up as blank.
- I still keep my smartphone at home and use it as a Google Authenticator device.
Ultimately, the whole experience is not about the technology, but about changing addictive unintentional habits.