THE DUMB PHONE MOVEMENT: IS IT TIME FOR US TO ABANDON OUR SMARTPHONES?
The emergence of smartphones has completely transformed society. We have become disconnected
from one another because we spend so much time with our heads buried in our phones,
which is ironic given the fact that smartphones were intended to help connect us with each
other in the first place. It�s a rarity to have a conversation with someone now without
them glancing at their phone.
Yet, smartphones have also helped progress society. They may suck us away from enjoying
the present moment from time to time, but they have also allowed us to express ourselves
online and connect with people all over the world, and introduced us to entirely new markets
and new knowledge.
I personally have a �love-hate relationship� with my smartphone; I recognize my addictive
tendencies towards it but I�m also grateful for it, as it acts as a tool to connect me
with others and plays a huge role in my work. It�s easy to observe the polarities in the
world of smartphones; the perceivably negative and positive roles they play in our lives
are endless!
Many people cannot seem to control their addiction to social media and their smartphones because
they use them far too frequently. One solution that�s starting to catch on is what many
are referring to as �the dumb phone movement.�
What Is the Dumb Phone Movement?
As you may have guessed, this movement is all about abandoning our smartphones and returning
back to our older, �dumber� cellular devices. To me, these older phones represent a time
when I had to use a computer to connect to the internet or watch a video. A dumb phone
could be a flip phone, a phone that doesn�t connect to the internet, a phone that doesn�t
have apps, or a non-touch screen phone (basically, models that aren�t �smart� in the same
way that an iPhone is). Back when I had one, I wasn�t checking my emails (though I was
younger when I had a non-smart phone), but was simply using it to connect with my parents
and friends.
So, what would not having a smartphone in today�s world look like? Well, you wouldn�t
be constantly bombarded with negative news headlines, perpetuating the fear state so
many mainstream media outlets connected to our smartphones love to spread. You wouldn�t
be receiving endless notifications from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social
media platforms, either.
You wouldn�t be getting email notifications, you wouldn�t have �maps� on your phone
to help you navigate when you�re lost, and you wouldn�t have a high-quality camera
to snap photos of your everyday life (depending on how �dumb� you choose your phone to
be). You might even have to open up your phone to even see that you�ve received a message
or a phone call, because odds are your �dumb� phone won�t just be one giant touchscreen.
To many, this reality may seem scary, or even drastic. Do we really need to abandon our
phones to reduce our usage or deal with our addictions? To some, clearly they felt that
the answer to this question is �yes,� because the dumb phone movement wouldn�t
have picked up if they didn�t feel they could kick the habit through other means.
However, this doesn�t mean that you can�t own a smartphone without being addicted to
it. There�s a big difference between enjoying your smartphone and being addicted to it!
It�s all about recognizing whether or not you feel like you need to use your smartphone,
versus only wanting to use it occasionally or when necessary.
At the end of the day, the dumb phone movement isn�t a sustainable option for many of us,
either. I certainly couldn�t do a lot of my work without using one, so I completely
understand that many of us simply can�t live our regular lives without a smartphone,
and that�s completely fine! Just be mindful of how often you�re using it for work versus
personal usage.
There�s no point in demonizing your phone when it clearly provides so many benefits,
but we also need to recognize how it can hinder us as well. Our self worth shouldn�t be
contingent on social media likes, and we shouldn�t be using our phones constantly, either; it�s
all about achieving balance, as with everything else in life
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