I Bought A Dumb Phone To Fight My Internet Addiction, And I Love It

I might even buy a dumber one.

Photo by Sumeet Singh on Unsplash.

Two Weeks Ago

Two weeks ago, before setting out on a week-long venture to London, I purchased a Nokia 110 for twenty pounds at my local supermarket — a family member had warned me that my regular smartphone might prove a target for pickpockets and moped thieves, and that it would be good to have a backup just in case. I couldn’t fault the logic, but frankly, it wasn’t the primary reason I ended up buying it; the real reason is that over the last year, I’ve genuinely grown to despise my smartphone.

First, some background.

Internet Addiction

I have been cripplingly addicted to the internet for the majority of my life.

Being on the younger end of Gen Z, I started on social media at around age thirteen, and it’s fair to say that a combination of Instagram, YouTube, and video games completely dominated my free time.

We all know it’s bad, but it’s hard to stop watching; internet content is shockingly addictive nowadays. You’re likely familiar with the experience of picking up your phone at the slightest hint of boredom, opening YouTube or Instagram without even thinking, and then, after two hours of doom-scrolling, regaining…