Why I Liked My Dumbphone Better

Disclaimer: did not proofread.

Everyone can agree that smartphones are useful devices. But maybe they’re too useful, so useful that they become a distraction.  I managed to evade the smartphone for a good while. I got my first phone in 8^th grade. It was a Motorola Razor. And that wasn’t so bad. It could only connect to the internet to access the weather and sports results. I only really used it for texting my friends and calling my mom. And even then, my service was shut off at night and I had to leave my phone in the custody of my parents. It lasted that way all the way through high school. I did get progressively better phones, but none of them were a usable smartphone. When I got older, moved to college, and was given more responsibility, I was given a smartphone. However, this phone was an $80 phone from Walmart and was extremely slow to the point where I deemed it unusable. I only used it to call my mom once in a while. Instead, I used a 4^th generation iPod that was cracked beyond belief to keep in touch with my friends through Facebook. And since it was an iPod I could only use it when I was in range of a wifi connection. This was very inefficient, but in my opinion it was still better than having a smartphone. People didn’t even bother trying to contact me because they knew I was unlikely to answer. This was a huge relief, and I never felt the constant anxiety of needing to check my phone. I wouldn’t even check my phone for days. There wasn’t any distraction.

I went until I was halfway to 21 years old before I got my first usable smartphone. And all it has been is a distraction. Now that I can text, play games, Facebook chat, set my alarm, check my calendar, check the weather, make a grocery list, browse the internet, check my email, and literally every other thing all on the same device, I cannot put it down.  However, browsing my phone isn’t even the biggest problem. Even the thought of getting a notification is distracting. Once you see you have a notification, even if you don’t check it, you can’t help but wonder what the notification was for, or if you know, you start formulating a reply or develop anxiety about checking it.

Whether you are actually checking your phone every couple minutes or resisting the urge, you are constantly being distracted by your phone. While I appreciate the convenience of my phone, and value it for emergencies, I wish I could go back to before I had a smartphone. The biggest reason I say this, is not only is it a distraction, but it provides friends, family, and significant others with the ability to constantly bug you.

I just got out of a relationship where the person I was with texted me (not exaggerating) at least every ten minutes. Not only was this extremely distracting to my school work and social life, but it was also stressful in and of itself. He could text me, Facebook message me, Skype me, etc. all while knowing that I have a smartphone, and if I didn’t answer him he assumed something was wrong. It is likely that the smartphone is bringing out an already overprotective side in his personality, but at the same time, the lack of a smartphone would decrease the amount of anxiety he had towards message frequency.

Not only this, but not having a smartphone would allow me miss out on so many things that I knew about but didn’t really want to do. Friends want to hang out? Didn’t see the GroupMe. School holding an event? Didn’t see the Facebook event. There was a group meeting for a project? Couldn’t check my email during class. It allows for a very antisocial lifestyle. Or rather, it forces people to try a lot harder if they want to get in touch with you. While having a smartphone can be convenient, not having one is way less stressful. At least that’s the way my introverted, unable-to-multitask mind sees it. I’d rather have a regular phone and not be bugged while I’m trying to work or have my friends assume I’m in the know just because I can get notifications on my phone.