Could you live without your smartphone?
For a long time I’ve felt that I am getting too attached to my smartphone.
So over recent years, slowly but surely I began the task of detaching, with a view to being smartphone free.
Like many of us I used to used it for everything: emails, calls, messaging, alarm, social media, calculator, news and sport, Google Maps, Uber, other travel apps, web browsing, note taking, banking, photos, calendar and more.
It was embedded into my life and I felt addicted to it.
I naturally found my phone in my hand at any moment checking out how my football team were doing, or the latest news headlines. Any ‘waiting time’ such as in shops, waiting rooms in health care centres, just sitting idly at a friend’s house, or even watching TV at home, my phone would just ‘appear’ in my hand without consciously thinking about it.
I’d go straight to it when I needed to remember something instead of actually flexing the muscle that is my brain.
I have found myself over the years getting more and more distracted. Less able to focus. I used to read a lot when I was younger, but struggled to do this consistently until a few years ago.
But now, I no longer rely on my smartphone. I still technically have it–due solely to my Internet banking which only works via an app. But I have clear, physical boundaries which means I have access to it once a week, as it’s locked in an office in a different town where I work each Friday.
So how did I transition from it being embedded in my life to only using it for a few minutes a week? Read on to find out.
I hope this post will be an encouragement for you if you are also realising how unhealthy it is to place so much reliance on one inanimate object.
An extension of your arm.
As it's been such good weather lately [I originally started this post in August] I've been on more walks than normal. I find it eminently sad to see the same scene again and again. That is families and groups of people hanging out with each other but face hunched over their extendible arms–otherwise known as their smartphones.
I see it at restaurants too. Whether it's couples on a romantic night out with their smartphones–but just happen to be with each other as well, or families where each member has their own arm extension that's far more interesting than the faces of their loved ones.
If you relate to those scenarios, and let's face it, we've pretty much all been there, I certainly have, don't beat yourself up about it. The first step is awareness.
Our phones are designed to make us use them, to keep them in our hands and not put them down. It's in the tech companies interest. The more you use it, the more money they make, so they use a variety of techniques to make sure you don't put it down. We are fighting a battle!
I won't go into those techniques here, but if you are interested, I encourage you to read Nir Eyal's book, Indistractable. This gives greater depth on this subject.
For now, I wan't to give you 9 tips that worked for me to detach my smartphone from my life.
1 Keep it out of sight
Researchers from California and Texas Universities showed that 'The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity.' Just having our smartphones near us and in sight, not only raises our level of anxiety, but it impairs our ability to think. So that's not just when using your phone, but if it is simply in the same room as you.
Their recommendation: Separation "...defined and protected periods of separation, such as these, may allow consumers to perform better not just by reducing interruptions but also by increasing available cognitive capacity."
When I had my iPhone as my main phone, it was kept on a charger under my desk. I couldn't see it as I worked. I used Apple's Hand-off feature to answer calls through my laptop. This meant some days I never needed to touch my phone at all.
Just doing this helped me to be more focused. Even when working from other locations, I keep my phone out of site, behind my laptop or in my pocket to avoid being affected by it. Try it for a day or two and see how you feel.
2 Remove time suck apps
My weakness was sports. I dread to think of my screen time when I used to take a heavy interest in football in particular, but also tennis and Formula One. The lockdown has put a stop to that, which I'm grateful for, but that's another issue. Suffice to say, I no longer have BBC Sports app or Sky Sports Centre on my phone or any news apps at all. It took a while to get used to it and I was itching to find out results and information at first, but when I did get used to it, I felt released in not thinking I have to know the latest info and gossip.
3 Remove What's App
I've put this separately as this can be more tricky. I still use WhatsApp but only on my laptop. There are ingenious methods for getting this to work without a mobile phone. But just being able to shut it off when I close my laptop down feels really empowering. It's there if I need to use it, but I'm not wedded to it 24 hours a day.
4 Use real tools
Get an alarm clock. A real physical one. You do not have to use your phone. I don't need one as my body clock gets me up early anyhow, but if you do need an alarm, you don't have to rely on your phone.
I use a real calculator, and I'm even pushing myself to work out basic maths in my head or on paper instead of going to the calculator first, which was my instinctive reaction.
I use a real pocket torch so as not to rely on the phone. I do have a dilemma of playing podcasts. I listen to a lot of them and they are very good for me. An iPod would essentially have all the distractions of the iPhone minus the phone itself, so that’s a non-starter. But a specific portable audio device to play podcasts and music, that I can take on a jog or whilst travelling, that doesn't have endless apps would be good.
5 Switch it off
Don't be afraid to switch off your phone at night. Try it an hour before you go to bed. And talking of sleep, you're not taking your phone to bed with you are you?
I'm sure you're aware that the blue light emitted from phone screens plays havoc with our ability to generate melatonin. This is our bodies natural sleep chemical. It's no wonder that so many of us have sleep problems if we are using our phones late at night.
Try switching it off overnight and leaving it in another room–like the kitchen, which is what I used to do with my iPhone.
6 Authorise 2FA via laptop
Two factor authentication is a good thing to protect our email and online accounts. However, many people assume you have to use a smartphone app like Google Authenticator. You don't.
I use an app called Authy which is available for Mac and PC which does the same thing as Google's version without requiring a smartphone.
It actually makes things easier, as instead of looking at the six numbers on your phone and typing them into your computer, you just open up the app on your laptop and copy and paste the numbers into the login box. All without touching your phone.
7 Switch to black and white
Aim to make your phone less appealing. For the last few years I used my iPhone regularly, I had the screen set to greyscale which has lead to many inquiring looks from people!
The main reason for this is that notification icons are designed specifically to heighten awareness which heightens anxiety. When you see a red dot with a high number in it, this can cause some people to become anxious about responding to all those messages! Ever feel like that?
When the red dots become just another shade of grey, they lose their power and have the ability to calm you. They don't stand out.
When I've mentioned this in talks I've given on the subject, some people have indicated how this one action drove down their Instagram use as it became far less appealing in black and white.
8 Leave it at home
It's easy to have a mindset that says your phone is as important as your wallet when you leave the house. But I would challenge that. Try going out for walks, or even a meal without your phone. It's refreshing!
There is no reason you need to be accessible 24/7.
9 Remember the debit cards
In such a short space of time, paying for things with a phone has become common place. I still did this a lot before I replaced my iPhone, but it's easy to stop. As above leave your phone at home and take your wallet.
Additionally, if you really want to avoid having to take debit cards with you, there are other devices–which I'm currently looking at such as smart rings. These seem very sci-fi, but work in the same way as an Oyster card, or your phone. Though some of them still require an app, so be aware of that.
Conclusions
Smartphones are wonderful devices if used with discipline. They allow us to keep in touch with friends and family. They allow us to work from home and in more flexible ways. They allow us to keep track of health activities and much more.
The problem is they have been designed purposely to distort our attention mechanisms to force us to rely on them.
If you have children as well, remember that they will mimic what you do rather than what you say. If you always have your smartphone in your hand, this behaviour is being normalised to them.
There is no one solution to this problem, but I hope that using some of these tips will help you detach your smartphone from your life.
Where am I now?
I have temporarily bought a Nokia 8110. Remember that?! The banana phone, made famous by the Matrix films. I had one of the originals and now have Nokia's updated version.
I'll be the first to admit, it's not the perfect solution, as it does have an App Store–albeit very crude and nowhere near as many apps as Apple or Google. Another annoying feature is that it’s incredibly slow to type texts with the T9 keypad. But it is a half-way house until I can sell my iPhone 8 and get something like a Punkt phone.
Punkt, a Swiss company make stylish but really basic phones specifically for people who don't want to be digitally distracted or have their every action tracked by tech companies. No apps. No email. No camera. No GPS. Just calls, texts, and a calculator. Also check out the light phone which looks good too.
The only thing holding me back from selling my iPhone is that my online banks (both Starling and Revolut) only work via their apps. I have spoken to them about it and they say as they started with the app before they even had online banking, everything is built to run through the app.
So I'm happy I've replaced the smartphone with my Nokia, but I can't totally get rid of my iPhone just yet until the banks update their authentication systems.
And if you're thinking 'why don't you just change banks?' whilst that's a good thought, I've changed banks twice in the past 4 years (bear in mind most people stick with the same bank account for an average of 17 years) and I'm not putting my customers through that again at least within the next year or two.
But for now my Nokia is my main phone which is a great help to continue the journey of detaching my smartphone from my life and gaining freedom, embracing being bored again, thus becoming more creative, engaging with people more and experiencing life first hand not through a screen.
If you are struggling with detaching from your smartphone and are concerned how it's affecting both yourself or your kids, and want more clarity around this, I'd love to help. Book in a free 30min, no obligation enquiry call and let's chat it through and I'll share the best way I can help.
Ps. I was interviewed by Katie Brockhurst for Wellbeing Radio about giving up my smartphone. Check it out in Episode 14.
UPDATE: The Mudita Kompakt a new minimalist phone is in development and I’ve ordered mine! I’ll keep you posted on what it’s like once I receive it early 2025. If you want one too, get it on the crowdfunding site here.
