Switched from a modern smartphone to a flip phone for 2 weeks

I was convinced I couldn't live without maps and messaging apps, but my 8 year old's Nokia 3310 booted up fine after sitting in a drawer for years. Now I actually talk to my kids instead of staring at a screen, and the battery lasts 4 days.

3 comments

3 Comments

drew_hart41mo ago

Man, that's actually pretty cool. But here's something nobody's talking about - what about your sense of direction? I swear using maps all the time has made me totally helpless without it. Like, I'll get lost in my own neighborhood if I can't pull up GPS. Forcing yourself to actually look at street signs and remember landmarks again is probably good for your brain. Also, not having constant news notifications has to be a huge relief. I bet you don't even miss the doomscrolling after a few days. Maybe the real flex here is being okay with being unreachable for a bit.

taraross1mo ago

Maps thing is overblown. People found their way around just fine before smartphones, it's not like we all forgot how to read a sign or ask for directions. The doomscrolling point is fair, but let's not pretend ditching a smartphone makes you some enlightened guru for choosing to be mildly inconvenient to reach.

amy_craig281mo ago

Are we really acting like asking for directions is some kind of lost art?