I'm Going to Quit My Smartphone for a Year

I'm Going to Quit My Smartphone for a Year




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47 Comments

  1. its not as hard as it may seem. I quit my smartphone and switched to a Nokia flip phone and have been going strong for two or three months now. I couldn't imagine going back. I have adapted to carrying around a small notebook (pocket-sized, I found a three pack for $1 at walmart) with me to write things down that I think of throughout the day to look up later when I have access to a computer. It's very nice!

  2. i have an extremely healthy relationship with my phone and I couldn't do this. There's just wayyy too many apps that help me in my daily life (banking apps, podcasts, access to notion and docs on the go, messenger for communicating with friends, translation apps, focus apps etc etc.) BUT I can see how some might gain more than they lose so I hope you learn something from this experience and it helps you make positive changes!

  3. I’m such a googler, I google everything. You would think I’d have a plethora of random knowledge. But I don’t. Because my brain only remembers things that are important. And knowing what kind of tree is in my yard isn’t important. Kinda defeats the purpose of looking all this crap up. It’s just momentary knowledge. These devices are so addicting 😅

  4. I've been considering going back to a flip phone myself, but a lot of the apps I use for work are incredibly helpful for me (my bank app, maps, calendar, etc). I'm so close to at least pause Facebook for a while, if not end up getting rid of the app entirely. I think I'll try quitting social media for a month in January and see how that turns out. Honestly, I think we could all use a big social media break.

  5. I would love to do this, I know for me, there is so much potential for the smart phone to creep back in over time. but I have deleted a whole heap of apps. which is a start 😊 best of luck on this endeavour Sir (I hope you're not reading this comment on your phone)

  6. Curious to see what happens! Great challenge. I started to use olauncher some time ago. Just a black screen and the names of my apps. Actually helped a lot to not see colourful IG app & stuff

  7. I did this this year! Good luck! I feel like theres both pros and cons. I have a Light phone myself. I will be completely honest with you and tell you that unfortunately I do not like it. While the concept is great, it is very expensive for something that does not work consistently. I love how much more present I am with friends and family, however I find that I have a tendency to lean more heavily into using my laptop and I am not actually reducing my screen time by that much, though that is something I am working on. I think its a really good experience to try. Almost everyone is addicted to the internet and I think people like to pretend we are not because everyone is guilty of it. But it is up to use to work on managing our own screen time! This is a great step in the right direction and I hope you get what you want to get out of this experience!

  8. I'm interested to see how this goes. Though, I'm thinking that if you find that you're procrastinating with your phone instead of working on a project, the problem probably isn't your phone. Keep an eye out for something that will replace your procrastination focus. If something does replace your phone as your time sink, there's something else going on. How you feel about your phone may be a symptom of something else.

  9. I’ve been wanting to do this and honestly the only thing stopping me is being able to easily take photos of my kids. I think I’m just going to delete like 90% of the apps from my phone this year and try to be more conscious of my screen time. I can’t wait to see how this goes for you!

  10. Delete social media from your phone, (for multiple reasons. Lol) Remove most games that you don’t HAVE to play, and there you go! Lots of your time is back in your hands. 👍👍

  11. Many try this but in the end it's just impractical in today's world. For me it was too hard to use basic public services without one. All my train rides, bus trips, banking, etc are done through phone QR codes. My best advice isn't too ditch the smartphone, but to buy a smaller smartphone that has all the features but isn't really addictive to doom scroll on ad the screen is so small

  12. not quitting it all together but i should delete waste of time apps and not look at my phone 1 hour before going to bed and after waking up, gonna make this my 2023 goal

  13. I've been using a flip phone for years now. It only cost 20 bucks every three months. I only use it for texting and calls. I use my computer and lap top for everything else. I spend a lot more time mountain biking and hiking and roller blading. I also play my guitar a lot more. And its much more durable and easier to carrier. Go for it , its the best. I also quit drinking about 8 years ago. Another big money saver and I feel so much better. It helps with maintaining my weight and I feel so much better in the morning. And have a lot more energy. Good luck.

  14. Here is my honest thought: it's not the phone, it's the internet! I tried cutting phone activities for the last three years. Sometimes it's just 24 hours, sometimes a few days. And I can say that I succeeded in living free-phone. But here is the flip side of it: What I stopped doing on my phone, I started doing it on my laptop! Yeah, I would lie to myself at first and "pretend" that it's just to check my email and look on Fb and YouTube. One thing led to another: I found myself spending all my time on my laptop. And Then one day, an unexpected thing happened. I didn't pay my internet bill and they cut the line. What a change in my relation ship my electronic devices! All that time spent on my laptop scrolling on YT videos I started to use it doing other things, mostly reading, painting, drawing and writing. So, my advice for your experiment is to include a period of time without internet. Good luck!

  15. I've been trying to give up my phone for over a year now…. It's not easy cause you give yourself one exception, then two, then suddenly you are on your phone quite a bit, then everytime you try to get off it again you see your significant other on theirs and that longing grows harder to ignore. I've broken a couple times cause I start to get resentful of my partner and child cause why do they get to zone out and get lost in their devices…. It's not easy but you've inspired me to try it again, knowing someone else is doing too might help this time. Won't feel so alone. So first of the year I'll be joining you in going phone minimal again.

  16. Love love love this! You are right about the appearing good but in turn it robs you of so much. Seeing it in myself and my wife and my kids it’s obvious that there is good in using a phone but the way we have grown to use it is mostly bad. We are also working out how to healthily use our phones (and computers for that matter) so that they don’t get in the way of life but instead augment life and that is hard. In the end it may be easier to just drop them. Years ago when I was younger my family got rid of our TV for a few years and the results were pretty amazing. I can promise you we were outside more, did more stuff together and certainly didn’t get dumber from lack of knowledge. I’m looking forward to reading more books this year for sure.

  17. I think YouTube has taken over my life. Yeah I do my mind games on my phone, but only in the morning and is part of my routine. If I go into YouTube my day is lost. I read books on my phone on the go, or listen to audiobooks.

  18. It’s my office, if I got rid of it I wouldn’t have any freedom I would be at a desk all day, I never sit anymore, only when driving annnddd you know !!!!!!!

  19. Regarding your apple watch, you should try a Garmin Fenix watch for running and any other outdoor activity. It works without connecting to your phone, you can just sync up later. Also it is a smart watch and not a dumb phone on your wrist !

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