I have been going through this weird cycle lately. I’d purchase an iPhone, have it for about 3 months and then make plans to switch to a dumb phone, then sell my iPhone. After Having the dumb phone for a while, I start to feel like I need a smart phone again due to some kind of life change, purchase an iPhone again and the cycle seems to repeat itself. Yeah, I’m tired of this! If you are not a stranger to my blog then you know I have no issues downgrading my phone in order to upgrade my life. As I sit here typing this I have just moved my sim card from my iPhone 11 to a flip phone. I don't feel any different after doing this. And at this point I'm diving deeper into trying to understand all of this. I’ve wasted so much money purchasing these phones lately and it's sickening. I don't understand the appeal of an iPhone but I guess that's the point in order for it to sell. Comparing an iPhone with an android, the iPhone wins. It’s lighter than most android makes that are on the market today. Connectivity is awesome, I have no problems connecting a Bluetooth device. Maps get me where I need to go when it's needed. Google maps is not the best in my opinion. I can uninstall any app I desire if I feel I don't need it. Androids only allowed me to disable them and this made me furious.
I could go on about the iPhone but even though I have good things to say about it, these factors are not enough to make me stay. After a while I find myself drifting away from this device. Though the design may be nice It offers nothing new. All iPhones look the same to me and can be easily broken. We protect our phones more than we protect ourselves. I can get all the otter boxes in the world with the best privacy screens to protect my device, yet the reality is that my peace of mind has been under attack by the very device I'm trying to keep safe. My attention is always drawn to this thing and that worries me. Why is it so addicting? We walk around with a computer in our pockets that allows unlimited access to the world wide web, but if you really think about it, our access should be limited. This is why depression and anxiety are so common now. The unlimited access grants us permission to the fake fabricated world the internet has laid out before us.
The mindless scrolling on all social media sites eventually begins to warp our perception of what the world is when it's nothing like that at all. People are so concerned about trying to capture the perfect Instagram photo that they miss out on the beautiful scenery nature gives them. I’ve been so plugged in lately that all I crave now is to unplug and enjoy the silence. I have a laptop and a deck top which I use for work. So why exactly do I need a smartphone? I only power up these devices when I actually need them yet the smartphone is always powered on, ready for use and glued to my hand. I have become so over-stimulated by my phone that I wanted to throw it out the window while driving. I’ve been learning how to leave it stationed in my desk drawer and this has worked for me for a little while until my mum called and it went unanswered several times because I left it on vibrate. I don't even like to talk on the phone as much anymore and it's not because I'd prefer to text.
I just find I don't have much to talk about these days. And it's already been established in previous blogs that I hate social media because just like a smartphone, there's nothing new there either. I’ve turned my attention to a flip phone because it offers me the very thing that I've allowed myself to get disturbed, my peace of mind. I need it back because lately I find that I’ve been very stressed out for several reasons, and one of them being my smartphone. I can't take the constant connectivity it brings. Every app is tracking your every move whether or not you give it permission to do so. YouTube is another one that is beginning to bother me. I spend a lot of time there but i plan on changing this as well because lately watching YouTube videos has been making me feel sad. I watch a lot of truth content and the things that have come to light are so evil, my mind tends to linger on these things while I'm trying to go to bed at night which means I don't get as much sleep sometimes.
So my plan moving forward is to purchase a tablet because I must use multi-factor authentication for work and a tablet will allow me to do this. Sell my iPhone and use the funds from it for something important, or to save until I may need them. Learn my city that way when traveling, I don't need to use maps just to get around. I’m working on being more self-sufficient. And though most won't admit to this I’ve noticed that a smartphone has made me lazy. In my work life and home life, I do not like it at all. The absence of a smartphone will make me more productive, freeing up space in my mind to make room for my own thoughts, seeing that I will no longer be constantly bombarded with the thoughts, outlooks, and perspectives of total strangers. I know most people will argue that technology has come a long way and because of it we can now do this or that. And though a portion of this statement is true, it fails to address its destructive nature on us human beings as a whole.
There was once a time where phones were used just for what it was created for, talking to friends and family. The home computer was just that, a home computer. You turned it on for help with work, and homework and that's it. When you were done with it you turned it off, and once you left the house it stayed home as well. There was no need to travel around with it in your pocket every waking moment of everyday. My point here is, though this technology can be used for good things, it's harmful and self destructive to us. Most children don't even know how to properly communicate their needs anymore. Their best friend is their phone. They have become anti-social with bad tempers. They live for the dopamine hit from their device and this is not real life at all. We live in a simulated reality and we are the test subjects.
Well, I'm tired of being watched and followed all the time. I'm tired of seeing and hearing other people's opinions all day whether I wanted them or not. I’m tired of seeing children make a fool of themselves on the internet. I'm tired of being a lab rat for the financial gain of these institutions. I must unplug! Therefore I have chosen to remove my rose colored sunglasses, and step away from this augmented reality that is constantly being created for us. I want to see the world without the filter. Hear the laughter of my child and enjoy the sound of it. Spend more time with the ones that matter most to me. Read more with the family, and actually go to bed when I'm supposed to, instead of turning off the lights, and getting under the covers just to scroll mindlessly for the next hour. It’s time to live like it's 2002 again, and I’ll start by putting down my smartphone.
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