NokiaOnlines - The digital world was suffocating. Everyone feels it. The endless scroll. The notifications. The anxiety of the unread email. I needed an escape. I craved simplicity. I decided to make a dramatic change. I ditched my expensive smartphone. I bought a brick phone. A true dumb phone. This was my digital detox experiment.

I envisioned a quiet, productive life. A life where I read books. A life where I looked people in the eye. I expected to find a "better me." The version of myself buried under gigabytes of data. I quickly learned the truth. The experiment failed. Miserably. I did not find a better me. I found the same me. But much, much worse.

Nokia Phone
Gambar dari Pixabay

The Lure of Simplicity

My motivation was pure. I wanted my attention back. The smartphone owned me. It was a cruel master. Every vibration was a command. I wanted to break the chain. The brick phone promised freedom. It promised minimalism. It promised focus. It only did two things: calls and texts. Simple. Clean.

I walked into the store with hope. I walked out with a small, plastic device. It felt strange in my hand. Light. Almost useless. That was the point. For the first few hours, I felt a rush. A sense of rebellion. My brain felt quiet. It was a beautiful, false start.

Week One: The Illusion of Freedom

The first two days were a honeymoon. I had actual conversations. I noticed the weather. I finished a novel. "This is it," I thought. "I have beaten the system." But the modern world quickly fought back.

The first issue was navigation. I was supposed to meet a friend. I had no GPS. I had to print out directions. I felt foolish standing on the corner. The printed map was outdated. I was late. Very late. This was the first dent in my "new peace."

Then came the professional problems. I missed a crucial group chat update. My work uses an encrypted messaging app. The brick phone could not access it. Simple. My colleagues were frustrated. I was isolated. I felt unprofessional. Productivity did not increase. It plummeted.

The Unexpected Downslide

I started feeling anxious. This was unexpected. The goal was to reduce anxiety. The reality was the opposite. I felt disconnected. I missed communication. Not the junk mail. I missed the essential context. Did the meeting time change? Is my flight delayed? Is there traffic?

The information was out there. It was just inaccessible to me. Everyone else was operating on a shared digital plane. I was stranded on a tiny island. I was always behind. Always guessing. Always apologizing.

My anxiety was replaced with pure frustration. Digital life is complex. We use apps for banking. For doctor appointments. For parking meters. The brick phone made these simple tasks impossible. I had to carry a physical wallet again. I had to find an ATM. I had to use a desktop computer for everything. I was inefficient. I was slow.

The Cost of Isolation

The worst part was the social cost. My friends found it charming at first. Then it became annoying. Planning became a chore. I couldn't share photos instantly. I couldn't confirm plans on the fly. They had to remember to call me. Instead of texting. It created friction.

I realized something profound. The problem wasn't the smartphone. The problem was me. I had poor boundaries. I was addicted to instant gratification. The phone was just a tool. A highly capable tool. Taking away the tool did not fix my boundaries. It just made me worse at navigating the modern world. I became a less competent citizen. A less reliable friend.

I felt dumb. I felt incompetent. The constant inefficiency was a heavy psychological load. It took more mental energy to work around the brick phone than it ever did to manage the smartphone. I spent my "freed-up time" trying to solve basic logistics.

I lasted three weeks. I finally cracked. I bought a cheap, used smartphone. I logged back in. The relief was immense. Not because I could scroll Instagram. The relief was competence. I could pay my bill instantly. I could find the shortest route. I was functional again.

The lesson is not to hate the technology. The lesson is to master the technology. The brick phone experiment proved one thing. I am defined by my integration into the modern world. Removing the tools simply amplified my weaknesses. I was still me. But my life was much, much harder.

Source: https://hyphenonline.com/arts-culture/still-me-but-much-worse-what-i-learned-from-my-time-with-a-brick-phone/



#DigitalDetox #BrickPhone #FeaturePhoneExperience