Recently, I came across an old post on Medium which is the story of Jake Knapp who used his iPhone as a feature phone. Then today I read this article on an app that “supposedly” helps to limit your smartphone usage.
As much as I wanted to try this experiment because it can be undone in minutes, I decided against it. When a smartphone is trying to keep me connected to things around me, why should I be cut off? Please don’t give me the “its killing relationships” excuse as that does not cut ice with me.
I use my phone almost all day but I still have a life outside the digital world. I still visit a friend to wish her a happy birthday and if you think an SMS would suffice then that is your problem and not the phone’s.
Yesterday, my mom was complaining about me finishing office work on the phone after reaching home. Again, the blame is on me. I am always of the feeling that technology should be embraced rather than shunned.
Earlier, we were tethered to our computer tables for performing our digital activities. Today I can do most of those little things on the go.
Why should I stand in line to book tickets when I can use the BookMyShow app and get my tickets?
Why do I have to deal with the rejection of local cabbies when I can use an OlaCabs or Uber to get a ride?
Although people are walking a thin line between use and abuse of technology, but I’m not afraid as the advantages weigh in more.
Personally I feel, a little bit of discipline will keep you on the good side of social decorum. Like —
- Do not bring work home. For ex: Now that emails can be replied through the phone, one needs to stop making it a habit and reply only if it is urgent.
- Don’t sit with your phone continuously when out with friends/family. It comes across as rude and you will miss out on some quality time with them.
- Clicking 10-different pictures before eating a dish won’t make it tastier, in fact it may just get cold. So if at all you are addicted to clicking pictures of your food then stop at one.
- Blocking one’s way at a washroom to click pictures (yes, we know Sony made a selfie phone just for you!) in front of the mirror is definitely not appreciated.
- Keeping your earphones on when someone is talking to you is again very rude. Instead of reducing the volume just pull them out of your ears.
This is my phones home screen and as you can see, it is loaded with icons. Sometimes, I too find it irritating to use so many apps to chat with different people.
My office group is on FB Messenger and Hangouts and other friends are on WhatsApp. But then I don’t believe in forcing a person to chat with me on a particular app and give in to their preference generally.
At one point of time, I even downloaded WeChat for a friend. Even though those numerous notifications keep buzzing, I really don’t mind. In fact, I can’t think of being without my phone for a very long time.
The first thing I do after waking up in the morning is check my phone and mostly that is last thing I do before going off to bed. At times, I even use the phone while it’s charging and wonder why don’t companies make longer charging cables. Why?
Finally, an experiment like Jake’s is fun. Somewhere, I think it is my fear to try this out. What if I find peace with it? I may just not want to use my phone like I used to earlier. The simplest analogy I could give for this is the same reason why I haven’t tried a cigarette yet. What if I like it?
That addiction won’t be good. Just as I finish my article my colleague tells me that he isn’t using his phone as he doesn’t want to drain the battery and I can see the frustration on his face. Sigh! That is another story altogether.
To sum it up, I’d say, stay addicted to your phone. When alone, your smartphone can be your best companion. I’d rather play a game on my phone than looking out; the delight of staring out the window gets monotonous after a while. But then, that’s me.
And, if you want to live like Jake then I would recommend you to buy a feature phone rather than making a beautiful piece of technology redundant.
Buying a smartphone to use it like a feature phone is an insult to the years of painstaking efforts the companies put in to make it so useful in the first place!
[Image Source: Shutterstock]
[box type=”shadow” ]About the Author: Criselle Lobo is a mobile phone enthusiast based out of Mumbai.[/box]
