Surviving Modern Life with a Flip Phone (Barely)
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Mama was right: Smartphones are frying our brains. App locks, screentime reminders, digital detoxes: we’ve tried them all. Nothing sticks because honestly? We’r

I’ve been using a flip phone as my daily driver for a while now. The smartphone is still around, but it mostly sits in a drawer until bureaucracy or banking apps force me to use it.

For me, the benefits are clear: less distraction, more focus, better sleep. But I know for many people it’s not so easy. Essential apps, social pressure, work requirements… these are real blockers.

I’d like to start a discussion (almost like an informal poll):

  • If you thought about switching, what’s the single biggest thing that holds you back?

  • Is it banking? Messaging? Maps? Something else?

I’m genuinely curious because if we can identify the main pain points, maybe it’s possible to work on solutions or even start a small project around it.

So: what would need to change for you to actually give a flip phone a try?

  • Michael@slrpnk.netEnglish
    6·
    11 days ago

    Doesn’t really make much sense for me to switch to a flip phone unless it was specifically built for privacy/security. SMS and regular voice calls are insecure, it likely could connect to fake cell towers uninhibited, it likely doesn’t have hardware switches to disconnect various features e.g. modem, microphone, or camera.

  • dindonmasker@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    10 days ago

    I will switch to a dumb phone or even a pager for sms and phone calls the day i can offload all the rest to a VR headset i wear all day everyday XD

  • rozodru@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    10 days ago

    nothing would stop me and honestly if I could find a decent and new one similar to my old Sprint/Nokia phone from like 2001 I’d use it. I can’t stand smart phones, I never liked them.

  • QuarterSwede@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    11 days ago

    I’ve lived through the cell phone invention, to flip phones, to smartphones. They were terrible back then and I doubt that’s changed now.

    Now, I do understand the reason why you moved back to one. For me, I just got aggressive about notifications and turned off most of them. I stopped social media tied to friends and family and am selective about what I’m on and for how long. Takes more personal willpower (or whatever) but you do get used to it in the long run and feel better.

  • TORFdot0@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    9 days ago

    Having a software authentication that can hold multiple keys for MFA. I’d love to switch to a dumb phone but that’s pretty much a requirement and I’ve never found a device for MFA that is as convenient for MFA

  • Dr. Moose@lemmy.worldEnglish
    17·
    10 days ago

    I’m not a toddler so don’t need help with “distractions” so nothing. That’s like reverting computers to windows 95 just because modern operating systems can run Steam.

    • sandwich.make(bathing_in_bismuth)@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      22·
      10 days ago

      I don’t even know where to begin. And I am not even going to bother, I am to old to keep explaining this shit. Don’t even know why I replied as long as its clear you’re giving mad neckbeard vibes

    • snail_hunter@programming.devEnglish
      5·
      10 days ago

      There are many reasons including neurodivergence that someone could benefit from external limitations. Infantalizing poor impulse control is ableist and condescending.

      • Dr. Moose@lemmy.worldEnglish
        13·
        10 days ago

        Nah I said nothing about disability. This notion that healthy adults need mental herding is very pervasive and has absolutely captured the pop tech culture.

        • MangoCats@feddit.itEnglish
          3·
          10 days ago

          This notion that healthy adults need mental herding is very pervasive

          Need is a strong word, but it is very true that the environment you put people in will influence their behavior. Grocery stores filled with attractively packaged highly processed foods will drive more highly processed food consumption than if you had to show proof of age ID and sign a disclosure before being allowed into the back room to buy those same foods in plain brown wrapper containers blazoned with all the health warnings that apply to them.

          Handheld screen tech delivers dopamine release as powerful as most recreational drugs / experiences. People are definitely “herded” by how that tech is delivered, default settings that most of them never take the time to learn how to change, other settings that annoyingly constantly reset themselves to undesired PAY ATTENTION TO ME configurations, etc.

          So, yeah, mindfulness of how your devices are shaping your behavior is a “higher level of awareness” that we as a society should be collectively trying to attain.

  • shirro@aussie.zoneEnglish
    4·
    9 days ago

    I grew up before mobile phones so I know I have the skills to function without one. There isn’t much I would miss. I am ok without social media, maps, chat apps etc.

    Its the odd little things that I don’t do very often that could get annoying. Stuff like translating a label in a foreign language. There isn’t really an easy way to do that without a smart phone.

  • relativestranger@feddit.nlEnglish
    3·
    11 days ago

    i have only ever had basic phones, dating back to my first nokia ~ 25 years ago. i don’t have the need or desire to have an android or iphone. one time. just once, ever–i enabled cellular data on my phone so i could look something up–the current weather forecast (in the kai weather ‘app’) because it started to look like i might get stranded out in a bad storm and i forgot to check the forecast before i left.