I did it for some time back in like 2011 or so; I used a dumbphone as a daily driver and only took calls on it and a landline in the place I was staying at the time. Nothing about my life got noticeably worse and instead I just read books a lot more. I did miss map navigation a lot, though, which lead to me begrudgingly going back to smartphones and ‘relapsing’ in a way. I don’t think we need to be that intense but I think a lot of us can massively simplify our digital presence and not miss a whole lot.
edit to say that covid also honestly complicates this a ton for me personally and a lot of the more vulnerable population since I/we pretty much only exist digitally until society collectively gets our heads out of our asses about all that…but I do still think its worth thinking about what you really need and want out of it. Even in my case I can and do unplug frequently.
yeah I’m definitely on this trajectory. switched to a linux phone that can’t really use regular apps without a big hassle, and have thought many times about going flip phone, or occasionally no phone. I think if people would actually call me I’d be fine with no phone/only a landline. Also day to day I end up just using my laptop more for things like browsing here and watching youtube… and I can’t/wouldnt ditch the laptop because of work and hobbies and such
Keep the applications you want, in exchange for using the thing being slightly more of a pain in the ass so you use it less overall. And you can read it clearly in daylight, which is nice
Last I checked, nobody sells them domestically in the US, but you can import one easily. The Hisense ones take SIM cards, and the interface is really well setup. No google, though. You have to use web-downloaded APKs to scrape other APKs from the play store. Most apps don’t need it to function, thankfully.
I already switched to a linux phone. things are plenty of a pain in the ass, I’m just fantasizing about getting rid of it entirely. Not even a dumb phone
e-ink phone is also a cool idea though if only for the point of being more readable out and about in the world and kinder on my eyes at night
Linux phone sounds finicky as hell, honestly. I don’t mind it for the desktop, but that’s cus I had to learn to be careful about only running updates when I feel like risking personal tech support
When I leave the house I just mute my phone and put it in my pocket - no vibration, no ringing. I think it works pretty well personally. Depending on your personality, it might also work for you, at least as an initial step.
I’m already 90% of the way there, I don’t get rings, or even push notifications, for most messages, just calls and SMS (and I don’t use SMS for anything on that number). I just want to go further and eliminate the expectation that I’ll be reachable by simply not carrying a phone. But it won’t eliminate it, the actual problem is social :(
thinking of going back to that for myself, genuinely
I did it for some time back in like 2011 or so; I used a dumbphone as a daily driver and only took calls on it and a landline in the place I was staying at the time. Nothing about my life got noticeably worse and instead I just read books a lot more. I did miss map navigation a lot, though, which lead to me begrudgingly going back to smartphones and ‘relapsing’ in a way. I don’t think we need to be that intense but I think a lot of us can massively simplify our digital presence and not miss a whole lot.
edit to say that covid also honestly complicates this a ton for me personally and a lot of the more vulnerable population since I/we pretty much only exist digitally until society collectively gets our heads out of our asses about all that…but I do still think its worth thinking about what you really need and want out of it. Even in my case I can and do unplug frequently.
yeah I’m definitely on this trajectory. switched to a linux phone that can’t really use regular apps without a big hassle, and have thought many times about going flip phone, or occasionally no phone. I think if people would actually call me I’d be fine with no phone/only a landline. Also day to day I end up just using my laptop more for things like browsing here and watching youtube… and I can’t/wouldnt ditch the laptop because of work and hobbies and such
Magnetic Ink smartphone
Keep the applications you want, in exchange for using the thing being slightly more of a pain in the ass so you use it less overall. And you can read it clearly in daylight, which is nice
Hisense sells e-ink android smartphones now. So yes it exists.
I’ve never heard of this before but I like the idea. My ebook reader is e-ink and it rules.
Last I checked, nobody sells them domestically in the US, but you can import one easily. The Hisense ones take SIM cards, and the interface is really well setup. No google, though. You have to use web-downloaded APKs to scrape other APKs from the play store. Most apps don’t need it to function, thankfully.
I already switched to a linux phone. things are plenty of a pain in the ass, I’m just fantasizing about getting rid of it entirely. Not even a dumb phone
e-ink phone is also a cool idea though if only for the point of being more readable out and about in the world and kinder on my eyes at night
Linux phone sounds finicky as hell, honestly. I don’t mind it for the desktop, but that’s cus I had to learn to be careful about only running updates when I feel like risking personal tech support
Oh it is, I’m just a masochist or something. I like it.
When I leave the house I just mute my phone and put it in my pocket - no vibration, no ringing. I think it works pretty well personally. Depending on your personality, it might also work for you, at least as an initial step.
I’m already 90% of the way there, I don’t get rings, or even push notifications, for most messages, just calls and SMS (and I don’t use SMS for anything on that number). I just want to go further and eliminate the expectation that I’ll be reachable by simply not carrying a phone. But it won’t eliminate it, the actual problem is social :(