-Welcome to Smartphone Rehab-

Hi everyone, my name is Rejoice Mama and I’m 5 months strong of being that weird millennial without a smartphone.

That’s right friend, I am a proud owner of a flip phone. My phone has no internet, no pictures, no music, only a call button and if I want to send an SMS you know I’m pressing 7777 just to get the letter “S” in the text.  

But why would I do this to myself? Various reasons.

The most motivating factor was that I wanted my son to have a childhood like mine – climbing on logs, bike riding through the dyke roads, and playing outside until it was dark out (clearly I was a tomboy). I don’t want him to be addicted to a tablet and I also know that the example starts with me. If I’m not using a smartphone he won’t be able to make the argument of, “You’re always on your phone so why can’t I have a tablet!”

The other main reason for the switch was realizing that I was tired of trying to balance the cyber world with reality. By that I mean, there is an unspoken pressure to stay on top of communicating with our contacts in real-time. Instant communication is just plain exhausting and I’m not sure why this isn’t spoken about more. It’s tiring keeping up with unnecessary banter while having to consider how the tone of your unspoken text will read. As you type you may subconsciously consider things like:

“Is this rude?” 
“Am I explaining this clearly?” or 
“I wonder how they will react.” 

As we are not able to see body language and other social queues, instant communication requires extra effort to consider the receivers’ feelings and effectively deliver our messages. Carrying the burden of how the receiver feels makes it easy for the sender to lose sight of their own feelings, consequently contributing to an anxious society.

I know what you’re probably thinking, “Okay Rejoice Mama, I get it – you’re a philosopher now! But has your life really changed since the break up with your smartphone?”

Yes. 1,000 times yes.

The most important change: I noticed instantly my son was happier. My guess is that he no longer feels like he is competing with the cellphone for my attention.

I live in the moment. I no longer “capture the moments” by a camera because I realized I was standing behind the camera and seeing the world through the megapixels and whatever focus it had to offer. Now, I’m enjoying the world for what it is, noticing the little things that I was too distracted to see before, and embracing the beauty of it.

My productivity at work has increased as I now have fewer distractions.

I actually call people now!  Confession: previously if a call came in I would ignore it and send a WhatsApp message similar to, “Sorry I was busy, what’s up?” Was I lying? Yes. Was I stressing about what lie would sound less avoidant? Yes. Was it awkward? Yes. Was this an unhealthy habit? Yes – exactly why I needed to make a change.

Calling people has improved (i) my friendships; (ii) my ability to hold in-person conversations; and (iii) my ability to let a conversation go and move on to something else (unlike a text message that can be re-read over and over for no good reason).

I also have more energy and experience fewer headaches due to less screen time. As well, I’ve been getting better sleep at night as I no longer have reason to resist falling asleep just to stay up and watch entertainment on my phone.

Lastly, not having a smartphone has increased my selfgrowth. I’ve learned that not every action requires a reaction. Previously if something considered somewhat dramatic happened, I would immediately contact a friend about it. Not having the ability to instantly share my reaction with a friend playing “hype man” has taught me that not everything has to be shared nor reacted to. Let that shit go mama.

And for the skeptics, of course, that doesn’t mean that this experience has been all positive. Although minor disadvantages, the negatives include not being able to instantly communicate with colleagues for work-related matters nor having accessibility to apps or search engines when information is needed. However, these are all things I’ve been able to find a way around and will not deter me from this new smartphone-free lifestyle.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that this has been an extremely positive, reflective experience for me. I’ve been observing patterns of how smartphones change our lifestyle and from my perspective, the mass population seems hypnotized by and addicted to not only the content of the cyber world but the easy accessibility to instant information. I dare anyone reading this to try a 3-month challenge of completely cutting out the use of smartphones and instant communication, including social media via a computer, and see for yourself if the colors of the world are more vibrant than the LED lights of your phone.