If you didn’t know, I’d been looking to trade my iPhone 6+ in for an iPhone 6. I was recently able to sell my 6+ on Glyde. Since my last sale fell through, I decided to wait this time until I had the money before buying a new phone. Some crazy slow shipping times, combined with a seller who didn’t seem to want to part with their iPhone 6 left me without a smartphone for about 3 weeks. I feel like the experience of having a phone which was only for calling has been really informative of my habits. (Okay it could text, but have you tried texting without a full keyboard? It’s horrific).
It became apparent very quickly how habitual looking at my phone was. I would frequently look at my little candy bar for no reason at all. I needed a fix of stimulation that whatever situation I was currently in just couldn’t give me. Or so it seemed. As time went by, I found myself leaving my phone behind even as I went out to do things. I missed the occasional text or call, but for the most part being disconnected was a pleasure.
One of the things I find interesting now is looking at my apps and thinking about how many of them I need on my phone. I’m pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of times I really needed an iPhone app for something. (One of those times was when I had to print out Google Maps directions and got lost. It felt like 2002 all over again). Most of the time I looked at my phone out of boredom or being stuck in unpleasant social situations (or both).
I think the most revealing thing has been the past 48 hours of having an iPhone back in my life. I’d been anticipating getting it back for weeks. I think somewhere deep down I thought getting one back would make life so much easier or more pleasant or at least I’ll know the scores of every current SPORTING EVENT. But I’ve become a lot more conscious of my motivations every time I take a peek at it. And I’m finding myself putting it away because I really have nothing to do.
So, is this experience going to change my life? Probably not. But at the very least it’s got me being a little bit more intentional about how I use my phone. I’m going to pare down the number of apps I keep on it and try to not feel like I need it everywhere I go.