Update on the Flip-phone Life

 Update on the Flip-phone Life

It’s been 3 months since I transitioned back to flip phone life. And a lot of people have asked me about it. Here’s my response.

This is the Nokia N139DL. It cost $20 from Walmart.

I got a brick phone when I turned 16 (2012), and used a flip phone for most of college, from 2015-2018, and I was quite satisfied. I switched to an i-phone only because my dating life was stunted by errors in communication between my 2007 Verizon model and the newest smartphones.

Now I have a family, a small business, and a small social media presence. And I am highly satisfied with returning to a flip phone.

For starters, it was way cheaper up front than trying to replace an i-phone 8. Second, I have significantly reduced the amount of time I spend catering to my phone. I’m not afraid to lose it, break it, or afraid that I’ll need it for something besides calling people. My phone serves me, not vice-versa. It’s highly replaceable.

When people see it, they often assume that I’ve gotten more productive since doing away with electronic distractions. But the opposite is true. I’ve gotten LESS productive, and that’s part of the beauty of it. I was never really addicted to social media, videos, or games. My compulsion was working. There’s always something more you can do to grow a business, and I was spending too much time doing that. Now I find that, if there’s something SO important that needs doing, then it’s important enough for me to go get my laptop.

I’m less “productive,” but I’m happier. Yes, you can find more expensive flip phones that resemble the experience of a smartphone, and even mine has internet access. This means I can still open Facebook and Youtube and check email, but only at great cost in time, navigation difficulty, and eye strain. So there’s no dopamine to be had there.

So where does the “happier” come in? I think part comes from the principle of minimalism: when you live with less, you can live with less. It feels good to not be dependent on an electronic device. It feels good to use the brain in my head rather than one in my pocket.

And our brains are AMAZING! When you don’t have the option to spend 5 hours on a pocket screen, your brain can make the time worth it. I do a lot more thinking, and feel myself getting stronger cognitively and emotionally.

So much of the effect of therapy comes by virtue of entering a room where it’s just you, your thoughts, and another person interested in them. So many beautiful things happen when we let ourselves be present with our brains and bodies. We develop our own ideas. We challenge the present. We heal from the past. We connect with others on an intimate level.

One insight I gained as I was first getting used to FLIPPING again was how much effort I was putting into “the race.” I was at a park with my kids, sitting on the bench, wishing I had a book. It’s a benign thought, but with a few more minutes of introspection, I found my reasoning for reading wasn’t just to learn or to be entertained, but to GET AHEAD. I wanted to be reading something so I could get smarter to have an advantage and “beat” than other people. It felt like I was wasting time being at a park with my kids--that I was somehow getting behind if I wasn’t multitasking. 

My thoughts went on to ask, “What race am I running as I sit here at the park? Do I want to run that race? And is there even a way to win? Or is there something better than running a race right now?” The answer soon followed that I don’t believe in competing with my fellow humans, that there are no winners or losers. Two modified scriptures came to mind: “I can’t add one cubit to my stature by busying myself with the internet” and “The race is not to the swift (or the anxiously productive)”.

I’m quite pleased with how wise I feel when I just let my brain work stuff out. And flipping helps me do that.

However, I want to acknowledge that this is not for everyone. Some of our livelihoods depend on having a smartphone. Many people maintain a strong sense of mindfulness with their smartphones and even without restrictions. And, I know all too well the role that phones play in maintaining psychological stability for highly traumatized people without the resources to break out of isolation, or who may further traumatize themselves if left alone with their own thoughts.

This post isn’t to exhort everyone to get a flip phone, but to let you know about my experience, and to exhort all people to greater mindfulness, which for some people may be facilitated through flipping.

Check out the blog post: The Importance of Doing Nothing, Parts 1+2