I'm done with smartphones (Part 3)

I promised myself I wouldn’t be preachy about this. That promise lasted about thirty seconds.

The real world, it turns out, is spectacular. My brain has been absorbing everything with an intensity I’d forgotten was possible, colors, sounds, smells, shapes. Overwhelming.

The irony is that my new ability to notice things has made me notice, above all, how glued everyone else is to their phones. And just days ago, that was me. Seeing it from the outside is both sad and slightly alarming, and it’s only made me more committed to keeping this projectgoing.

One evening in Oslo, I watched a whole street of people with their eyes on their phones. The only person looking up was a man smoking a cigarette, glancing around at the trees, watching the world go by. Further along, two drunk girls were staggering and laughing. Somehow, the smoker and the drunks seemed more present than everyone else on that street.

Some observations about this week:

• Food tastes much better without YouTube.

• My morning walks with Brego have revealed a full symphony of birdsong that apparently plays every single day, I just never noticed.

• I stood at a bus stop for ten minutes, just waiting. Without doing anything. Radical.

• One morning I had a finished illustration idea before getting out of bed.

• I’ve read 2 books this last week.

• One afternoon at home, I started singing. Then whistling. Apparently that’s what happens.

After a week, I’m convinced this was the right call. Honestly, I should have done it years ago.

There are downsides. I’m less up-to-date with the news, though I’ve realized those constant micro-updates add little compared to a good podcast that actually thinks/talks through an issue. (A side bonus: I no longer see the orange president’s face every fifteen minutes!) I’m also harder to reach, and my texts are short and full of typos. (I have finally figured out emojis now, on the dumb phone.)

Overall, I feel like I’ve reclaimed time, and a substantial chunk of my own brain. I’m more rested, more inspired, and more motivated than I’ve been for a long time.

Okay, maybe this isn’t for everyone, but for me, it’s been a life-changer.

As for the DumbDroid itself: it’s done its job, but it’s buggy, quirky, and would test most people’s patience. For me, the bugginess just became one more reason not to pick it up. I’m keeping an eye on the SidePhone, which looks a bit more polished, and I’ll consider switching when it hits the Norwegian market.