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Why I don't use a smartphone

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Noam A Osband
Noam A OsbandNov 09, 2014 | 17:40

Why I don't use a smartphone

U.S. soldiers take pictures of U.S. President Barack Obama

Two months ago, I watched a midnight screening of David Lynch's classic film, Blue Velvet. Lynch's masterpiece offers and skewers an idealised portrait of American suburbia, yet his depiction of an American high school seemed strikingly anachronistic for one simple reason: no-one, neither kids nor the adults, were not obsessionally checking and using their smartphones.

I don't drive a horse and buggy, but maybe it seems that way because I am one of the few people I know who refuses to give up a flip phone.  Moreover, with time, I feel increasingly emboldened. that I'm right.  I'm aware I'm the minority position, and in 50 years time, when the electronics are simply placed into body of every new born, people will wonder how anyone managed with a flip phone. But damnit: I refuse to give it up.

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My best friend often tells me, "There are so many amazing things you can do with a smartphone." I don't doubt that. I would surely have more photos and videos from the past few years if I had an iPhone, and when driving, I could use Waze to avoid traffic jams when driving. Moreover, about once a month, while out of the house and away from my computer, I text friends from my my Samsung Convoy asking them to Google a number and send it to me. So why don't I just get a smart phone already?  

My insistence on keeping a flip-phone is fundamentally pessimistic. Firstly, I don't trust myself to have self-control with it. Why should I? I already spend more time each day than I want to mindlessly browsing the web. If I could never check my Facebook feed again or watch videos of 1990s basketball highlights, I think it would be a net positive. Every New Year's and each birthday, I vow to spend less time on the internet, and each year, I fail to keep that promise. Secondly, I look around at crowds in concerts, baseball games, and the subway, and I simply don't want the phone that omnipresent in my life.  

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I don't blame people for the current state of affairs.  On some level, I think our constant use of phones is biological, simply how humans are wired.  Homo sapiens might be my favorite monkey (OK, OK….I know we're primates, not monkeys), but we're still stupid monkeys. We like the easy ping and simple beep telling us a new message has arrived.  We enjoy the self-importance of random strangers validating photos we've uploaded with Instagram or Tumblr. Moreover, I don't place a value judgement on smart phones. I don't think society is heading downhill because of it, and while I don't have a phone, I don't denigrate the value of digital communication. I don't think children who text constantly in each other's presence aren't necessarily any less connected than others. I have begun incorporating text-speak into my written language, and I think it won't be long before the majority follows. But without a smart phone, I spend time doing other things. On the train, I read books on my e-reader or practice scales on a mini ukulele.

When at a party, I'll chick ol' flippy for messages, but I can't really separate myself from others with it. I'm forced to talk.  At a concert, I don't have any choice but to watch the singer with my eyes rather than through a screen.  

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Other benefits to a flip phone: my battery lasts for days at a time. Furthermore, since I have a phone aimed for construction workers, I drop it all the time with nary a concern for its wellbeing. Finally, it's not an expensive item. If it breaks, I wouldn't be too upset.

Last week, I read an article from The Washington Post about a photo exhibition chronicling addiction to our cellphones. Addiction used in this sense is a value judgement. Whereas heroin addiction can easily kill you, phone addiction is not obviously unhealthy.  I don't see the new found use as addiction in need of replacement. Rather, it's a new way of living which is increasingly the norm. And that means, without trying to be a contrarian, I'm necessarily separating myself from the mainstream. Indeed, I feel like fluency with technology is slowly drifting away from me. I have to ask friends advice on setting up an Instagram account (turns out you can't do it from a laptop) and from my niece, I recently learned about the world of Vine celebrities. Perhaps my insistence on keeping a flip-phone is a stubborn insistence on a world gone. I feel like a crank out of the movies, standing atop a mountain, telling the others that the end is nigh. I guess I just respect the crank a lot more now.

Last updated: November 09, 2014 | 17:40
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