What I learnt from living without a smartphone for a year.
“Did you take that photo with a potato?”
Not exactly, but close. It’s my Nokia 105, aka ‘the brick v.2’.
Alternatively, How I became a better storyteller, saved hours of my day and became less anxious.
[Originally published on my old account, Dec 19, 2016]
Tough, durable and functional. These are the words that the Turkcell salesman persuaded me with after I asked for his cheapest phone. In reality, thats a lie. Tough, yes. Durable, Yes. Functional…apart from the the flashlight feature which helped me survive times without any electricity, the annoyingly loud alarm that got me up every morning and the incredible battery life, the Nokia 105 is utterly useless.
But utterly useless is exactly what I needed.
Point 1 — Time and Focus
What I lost in terms of functionality, I gained in time and focus. Texts and emails notifications were no longer a distraction — simply because they didn’t work. Nor did the internet. Apps? Well it has Yahoo Messenger 😐. But when the size of your phones screen (1.45 inches) is smaller than the screen on an apple watch, people aren’t too excited to build apps for it.
Point 2 — Interactions and Storytelling
All of this meant that when I was faced with situations where I would normally pull out my smartphone to endlessly browse Instagram, reread an email, look through my photos or send a random snapchat it just wasn’t possible. Instead I had to interact with both my surroundings and the people around me.
Outings with my partner became much more enjoyable as neither of us were distracted by our virtual worlds. We began sharing more stories, noticing the little details in our neighbourhood, and speaking with more people, all of which in turn improved our storytelling abilities.
Food taste better warm, music sounds better without headphones and people build stronger bonds in-person.
Point 3 — Reducing anxiety
Knowing that I would never get a text or email on my phone meant when I went outside to disconnect, I could really disconnect. Having a smartphone on me in the past meant every outing, every meal outside, every gathering with my friends was overshadowed by me waiting for a reply, whether that was an important email from a client, a gif battle on Facebook messenger, or anything in-between.
The constant stress of waiting, looking and checking your phone to see if you’ve missed anything takes a toll on your energy and your attention span.
Tackling common myths of non-smartphone users
Not having a smartphone means your work will suffer.
Nop. Not having a work schedule and plan of action means your work will suffer. I’d argue not having a smartphone means you’re more focussed during your work periods. (Solution: Put your phone on airplane mode while you work.)
You won’t be able to live without all of your favourite smartphone apps.
Yes and no. There are some great apps out there that really save time in your day (my favourites: Spendy, Google Maps & Uber). Luckily I always had my macbook pro on me which could do almost everything my Iphone could. I think I can do without the iPhone Blower app somedays.
You’ll have no social life
In our day and age, this might be true for most people. You’re less likely to reply to your Facebook messages within the hour, you won’t be able to see the latest stories on snapchat, you might miss out on peoples holiday pictures this Christmas, and if you have a Nokia 105 like I did, you may not even be able to make any calls to your family (solution: Macbook + Skype). But on the flip side, the freedom and time you save away from constant connectivity makes way for more real activities.
Some of the things you could do with your new found time: write more, explore a new part of town, take a pottery making class, learn the whole verse to Eminems slim shady, cook a ratatouille, book a flight ticket to somewhere you’ve never been before.
What about all the awesome photos you could be taking!?
This is the main reason I wanted a smartphone again. I’ve missed on some awesome photo opportunities of the Istanbul city life, but this can also be blamed on forgetting my camera 50% of the time.
Wait, so you do want a smartphone?
Yes. It’s was nice living without a smartphone for a year and the experience taught me a lot about my use of time and the way I interact with my surroundings but it also served to prove to me that a smartphone is absolutely necessary in this day in age.
Hopefully in a years time when I’m plugged in and scrolling through my emails, I can open up this article and remember to look up once in awhile.
Written May 2016. Got distracted by my phone. Published December 2016. Part of my “What I learnt from” series. Read more lessons learnt:
Written by Arman Anaturk
Knows how to cook a Ratatouille. Very occasional writer. Co-Founder at OneRoof.Agency
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