Why I am happier without a smartphone

I'm watching a young guy absent-mindedly spinning his iPhone between his thumb and index finger. He reminds me of me. Me when I used to have a smartphone. But a week after after replacing it with a dumbphone (it wasn’t an intentional move though), I can finally see them for what they really are. Toys at best; tools for social media companies to sell your attention at worst.

You point your finger and laugh. Why would you use a dumbphone? Well, I got fed up with smartphones. I got sick of replacing broken screens, running out of battery, fixing broken screen guards and having them stolen. And this time it just went blank in my hands while in use (frustrating) giving me no time to retrieve the data. Also, I wanted to know if I would miss my smartphone. After all, we can't live without them, right?

No, wrong. Totally wrong. I don't miss my smartphone in the slightest. I'm still chugging along without my smartphone over here. Actually, I wouldn't describe it that way. Thriving without my smartphone is a better way to put it. I kind of feel like I've discovered the secret to living a more fulfilling life. Are you ready for it? Be less connected to social media! At least that's what is working for me. I feel like I'm even less accessible to the world now and I love it. Another plus is that I have more time on my hands. I still check Instagram on my old i-phone (4s with minimum space i.e. just 9 GB), but I check it much less often. I've become more deliberate with how I spend my time online, and that has made such a difference. No more mindlessly scrolling. I am more content, more involved in what is happening in my home, and less hurried. Honestly, I haven't come across one negative since I made the switch or have been forced to by the act of GOD!

In fact, I'd say that life is better without it. Let's take a look at why. Here is what I used to do with my smartphone.

1. Chat with my imaginary friends.

I've never been a heavy chat user, but I was just getting into WhatsApp. How am I going to stay connected with those who prefer WhatsApp to anything else? I wondered.

Well, I found a solution for that too. I DON'T.

WhatsApp is an annoying waste of time. Having to send text messages instead of chat is a good way to filter out noise. Then there's making phone calls. Remember when people used to do that?

Having an email on your phone is a great way to keep you working around the clock, but that's not what I'm aiming for. Then there's Facebook, I guess. But that will have to wait for another day or for the time when I access it on my desktop / laptop.

2. Camera

Something that I really love is that my life is now being documented with high-resolution digital photos (credit goes to the high end phones of my friends) instead of blurry, low-def cell snaps with my earlier phone. If I’d had a smartphone, I probably would have sent it to the people using WhatsApp  or would have posted the photo on Instagram immediately after clicking it (which I am doing now with patience and ease) and then checked it a million times to see who liked it. 

But you know what? No one cares how I were matching my saree on a working day, where am I visiting when I am with my husband, or whom I am clicking the pictures with; except me! So posting it to a social media account, by keeping your all other works pending, felt pretty silly once I thought about it.

3. Demonstrate my social status.

Smartphones are a status symbol. Let's face it. If you want to be cool, you have to have an iPhone 7 or 7+. Apple's marketing department decrees it so. What sort of self-respecting hipster would use anything else? 

But ironically, I wasn’t using it earlier also, nor am I using it now. Although given an opportunity, I still want to have it (who doesn’t want a social status) but without the WhatsApp and facebook installed in it.

4. Make phone calls.

My dumbphone can do that too and it does it with much more efficiency and ease, because the entire battery is not drained out of your cell phone when you need it the most.

That's it. If you are tempted to give up your smartphone, even the tiniest bit, I say go for it. You can always switch back if you need to. I don't think you'll regret giving it a try. At least I can't find a good reason to buy another smartphone right now.

Surely not.

But I don't mind receiving one as a gift :)