Introduction

"I don't need to have a smartphone, I think it's bizarre to combine a laptop and a phone."

I remember saying that back in summer 2012. At the time I was using a normal phone, or what today is called a "dumbphone". Keeping the laptop and a phone separated was not a big deal for me, I had always been a bit rebellious towards rising trends and smartphones were no exception. I really thought I could easily keep having them apart.

Little did I know as I would get my first ever smartphone a couple months later. The phone I got from my aunt was Samsung I5700, or Galaxy Spica as I new it. Even though the phone wasn't new and the model was already dated, it still got me hyped real good. I was finally having a similar device that my friends were already having and I felt like I was finally part of the group. My previous thought about smartphones; forgotten.

The Spica was rather unpleasant to use as it had already been used by my aunt for several years by then. A couple years old system was slow and it would crash every once in a while. Even Google search gave the device a hard time. Now that I think of it, it's no wonder my auntie wanted to get rid of that brick. I also did't like the Facebook app that was clumsy and hard to use so I preferred the browser version. Despite the Spica's many flaws, the phone had a decent camera at the time, which might be one of the few reasons I didn't look back.

My first touch with the smartphones wasn't that good, but I still didn't want to change back to my old phone. I knew my phone wasn't up to date and so it couldn't give me the best smartphone experience. In the spring of 2013 I got my first Nokia Lumia and it was a game changer. The operating system was like made for me. I loved the colorful and simple interface and many other useful features that came with it. Countless of numbers of apps would make my everyday life that much easier. It was obvious that my rebellious days with the old phone were over.

Swoosh!

And so I was swallowed in to the world of smartphones like so many others before me. Having a smartphone around easily became a habit. My days started to consist of constantly scrolling through my phone often times without a proper reason. No more stress when going to new places, no more boring moments when being alone or waiting your turn in a line. I could read the news everywhere and see the local forecast whenever I pleased. And if I ever felt lonely or under the weather I would just post some random stuff on Facebook to get even that one like that would make my day. This lifestyle was easy to adopt because everyone around me was doing the same. Also the society around us was changing and integrating to the smartphone era, making everyday things easier and preferring the ones that had a smartphone.

A change in the tide

Years have passed and I've had quite a number of smartphones. I've tried different operating systems and manufacturers along the way. I've been in different social media platforms and I like to follow and see how my friends are doing. It really has been a great way to escape boredom or often times, responsibilities. Instead of starting something I would find myself procrastinating and scrolling through Instagram reels for half an hour or so. I enjoy the convenience of being in group chats in Whatsapp and being able to have my work email on the go. Paying bills or ordering something online has never been easier. But recently I've been thinking that are those things really that important as I think they are. Is constantly scrolling through social media more of a habit than a necessity? 

It's 2022, nearly a decade after I switched to a smartphone. There are so many benefits of having it as it makes my everyday life that much easier. Deep down I know that all those things are possible to without that tiny handheld device and 24/7 access. Now those thoughts of younger me have become relevant again. After seeing Nokia's latest "dumbphone" releases for 2022 I started to think if it was time to try something new and separate my laptop and my phone again. I already spend hours a day using my laptop for work, school and other projects. My average screen time on the phone alone is around 2,5 hours a day. I have started to wonder if I could use all that time to do something else, something more meaningful. Does the content on Facebook and Instagram really entertain or inspire me, or does it viciously just make me more anxious and more tense?

I did some research on ditching the smartphone and I ran into some positive experiences. There was also a challenge called "30 days without a smartphone". After already ditching most of my social media apps and accounts I thought I would give it a try. I'm curious to see how it will effect me. Being away from social media alone for a couple of weeks now has already reduced my screen time and also got me into way better mood in general. I really have high hopes for this experiment, can't wait to get my hands on a dumbphone again.

What are your thoughts, have you considered about switching away from the smartphones even temporarily?

Logging off for now, have a great one!