Reflecting on 30 days with a Flip Phone || Downgrading from an iPhone in 2021

 For the month of September, I have been using a Flip Phone. My normal phone before this has been an iPhone. Needless to say it has been a transition! But as I've let you know through out my blog posts on it, it has been an easy one for me!

I have not had any issues really arise from switching to a more basic 'dumb' phone. I honestly have not had any real trouble with it. I thought my list of complaints might be longer, but here are only about 4 real things bothered me.

Honest Issues I experienced:

1. Thumb Pain while texting

    When I first started using a flip phone, I had thumb pain from texting. It did clear up after sometime, but it really was a deterrent for a while. I am unsure on why exactly I had thumb pain from texting, maybe the physical keys actually got me, but it has disappeared for now.

2. Missing my music

    While this was something I expected, I did not realize how much I would miss my music. I only have had a working radio for just under a year, before that my car radio was broken so I drove in silence for 5 years, and I thought I would be fine with the silence. But honestly I really missed the music a ton and the silence bothered me a lot. I tried the radio stations and that wasn't terrible but I missed my music that I would stream in from an app. This has been one of the hardest parts of using a flip phone!

3. Low quality camera

    Don't get me wrong, the camera is serviceable! It takes a decent enough photo for some things. But there have been times that I wished I had a better camera in the phone or at least with me at the ready! But this was not a huge issue but still something that I was iffy about.

4. Being sent links/photos

    While my phone could receive links and photos via texts, it was not as easy of an experience as my iPhone. It was something I expected, but still not the best phone if you send/receive a ton of links and photos via texts. But if you are getting away from it, and let people know that you are, it might not be as constant of an bother. But it honestly was not the worst experience, just different.

While I had a couple minor issues with the flip phone, I also experienced some nice benefits. The benefits are to the point where I don't even know if I am going to or should switch back to my iPhone!

Benefits I experienced:

1. Disconnect from social media

    One of the main reasons that I decided to try a flip phone for 30 days is social media. While I don't think I had an addiction to social media, it defiantly was a regular distraction. I constantly was checking Instagram and Facebook every time I checked my phone before. Now I barely check it or even think about it. Which has been a detriment to my Instagram posting, but it has really saved me from the endless scrolling.

2. Less screen time

    Along with disconnecting from social media, it has reduced some of my screen time. I work on a computer and also do a lot with screens with my blog and YouTube in my spare time, but I've reduced some of my unnecessary phone screen time. So I think that is a bit of a start!

3. Lots of blog and video ideas

    While I am not sure if this has to do with my flip phone specifically, I have a ton of blog and video ideas lately! I have a huge list and even a calendar mapping out the next few ideas I'm brewing. I think it might be in part the separation from social media and in part the ideas that have bubbled up from trying this 30 day format of video/post that really has me excited to create. While maybe not because of the flip phone, this is how I have felt for the last 30 days.

Wrap up:

All and all I think I achieved my goals for the month. I followed the 'rules' I gave myself, regarding using my iPhone as a tablet by simply not using it at all. And not only do I feel increased my productivity because I didn't have the constant social media distraction, but I feel perfectly happy using the flip phone. That being said, I have decided to try using my iPhone again.

In going back to my iPhone I have set controls using the screen time limits for everything except calling, texting, and the camera. I think the month really taught me that I truly do not need much more than that at any given moment. It also made me conflicted about going back to my iPhone because I liked the flip phone so much. But I can always go back to using the flip phone at any moment. I also think the flip phone really is a great option for disconnecting from distractions online.

So with 30 days completed, I think it was a great experience and potentially something more long term for me.

My First Week Using a Flip Phone || Downgrading from an iPhone in 2021

 My first week of using my brand new LG Classic Flip flip phone was rather uneventful but I already have a lot of thoughts about it so far into my thirty day trial 'detox'. PS: I have a full blog post about why I am doing 30 days using a flip phone also if you want a more in-depth on it.

(All of these photos were taken on the Flip Phone)

First off, It was not too terrible to switch over. The hardest part was taking the time to relearn texting, which was kind of what I expected. I spent a long time going through my contacts in my iPhone then slowly transcribing them into the Flip Phone's contacts. Then I spent what ended up being 13 minutes trying to go through and clear out my voicemail that I have been neglecting. But through this I was able to learn the basics of texting and T9 again.

T9 predictive text is actually better than I remember. I remember not liking it and never using it with my first phone, instead just typing each letter. But it is surprisingly decent and useful at times. Other times I have to manually type words that it seems to skip or not know.

The camera is sufficient for a quick snap shot in brighter lighting but really bad in dimly lit areas, which I expected and remembered from my first phone. But daylight outside or near a window works well. It also can do screenshots which was kinda an interesting surprise too. 

So there are my initial thoughts on the flip phone so far! I suspect there will not be as much to comment on in the next three weeks because it has become more familiar now. But I will keep updating here each week and working away on my video about this experience. I think I will have to make one longer video on this as opposed to my current shorter weekly videos. So for now I hope you enjoy reading about it and can look forward to my upcoming video!

Using A Flip Phone for 30 Days || Downgrading from an iPhone in 2021

 When I was in fourth grade (around 9 years old), I got my first cell phone. It was a prepaid Samsung Flip Phone through Verizon. I do not remember exactly how much the phone itself cost at the time, but I remember the data plan being like $10 or $15 a month for unlimited texting to other Verizon phones. All I really used it for was texting. This is what my phone looked like back then:

Now I am 22, a few months away from 23, and using an iPhone 6s. I use it for so much more than texting now a days. I use it for Social Media like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. My credit card and insurance companies have apps. I use the camera on it, buy on Amazon, and browse the web. Now when I pick up my phone it is not always to talk to someone or text them, it is to check between the various apps and almost escape reality. My average phone usage per week is about 3 hours a day, 19 hours a week, most of it being on Instagram!

So after some thought, I am going to switch back to a flip phone for a while. I am going to start with about thirty days and see how I fair. It has been literal years sense I've used a flip phone so I imagen there will be a learning curve of usage along side the quick access social media 'detox'. 

Here is the phone that I will be using:

It is a LG Classic Flip phone that I will be using through Straight Talk (No Affiliation, they are just the carrier I use already with my iPhone). It appears to be a very straightforward flip phone with limited capability compared to an iPhone. However the biggest upgrade from what I remember from my first phone, is that it can connect to the internet and use Bluetooth. I could be miss remembering but while my first phone could browse the internet, it could not connect to a WIFI connection. But while this flip phone can use the WIFI, it is still limiting the easy social media access for me.

https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones/lg-classic-flip-prepaid

My self imposed rules:

1. I can access my iPhone as a mini tablet when I am at home. Only in the morning and night, never in bed. 

2. I cannot bring my iPhone to my work station or out of the house.

3. I can access social media and the internet via my iPad and Laptop as usual. (I do not have Instagram or Facebook on my iPad or signed in on my Laptop so it is a bit harder to access)

The only exception is if there is a more immediate direct message via Facebook Messager.

The general idea behind using a [Dump] Flip Phone:

It seems like there is a bit of a community around both using your smartphone less and/or getting rid of your smartphone in exchange for a simpler 'dumb phone' online. Here are some of the reasons I have seen constantly discussed or brought up.

1. Social Media negatively impacts us by showing, or at least focuses on, the positives or hard to obtain things.

2. It takes time out of our day that we could have been more productive.

3. It makes it harder for us to focus by giving us the option of endless distractions.

4. It makes it harder to live in the moment if you are comparing yourself to a version of other people that they present themselves as.

General Pros and Con's:

Here are the general pros and cons that I have seen about using a flip phone/dumb phone in 2021.

Pros:

Easier to disconnect from social media/the internet as well as separating from work in general.

Feeling more creative or developing new hobbies to fill time that was previously used on their phone.

Feeling more connected to both themselves and those around them because they aren't using a phone to distract themselves.

Feeling calmer overall.

Cons:

Harder to communicate with people or groups who use messaging apps like WhatsApp as apposed to texting. Some 'dumb' phones do in fact allow the usage of WhatsApp though.

A lot of 'dumb' phones also do not support group messages.

It makes navigating harder because you do not have google maps.

It is more difficult to listen to music, podcasts, and audio books because the phones do not have the apps for them and also some simply do not support the functionality.

It is not functional, or as functional, to be used as a primary camera.

T-9 texting can take time to relearn, making it (for some) not ideal for texting at all.

My Personal ANTICIPATED Pros and Cons:

These are the Pros and Cons that I am expecting to personally have with switching to a flip phone.

Pros:

Being more productive by not getting distracted by unnecessarily checking social media and other apps throughout the day.

A smaller sized phone will fit better in my pocket or purse.

It will be a nice touch of nostalgia in my day.

It will still maintain the same ability to contact people via talk and text that comes with having a cell phone.

Cons:

I am not just switching SIM Cards, I am committing to using a phone that might not work out for me personally. It might not be as easy to switch back to my iPhone or a different Phone because I am transferring my data plan to the flip phone instead of adding a new line or trying to simply switch SIM cards.

I am loosing the ability to stream music from Pandora in my car/truck.

I might miss an important message on Facebook Messenger.

I will not have access to Google Maps if I need directions.

How I feel currently [Before making the official switch over]:

For me the personal Pros and Cons helped me decide on making this switch, even if I intend to commit to it only for about 30 days to see. I see a lot more benefits to reducing my social media usage than I see negatives. The biggest negative would be that I hate the flip phone, for whatever reason cannot move my service back to my iPhone and have to buy a new smartphone.

But every other Con on my list is manageable. As much as I love streaming music into my vehicle's radio, I could try and find a normal radio station or use a cd. For the two people that message me on Facebook, I can remind them to text me if they want a timely or immediate response. And honestly, I super rarely need Google Maps sense I normally know where I am going or I am with someone who knows the way.

So overall you can kinda get the idea of where I am at going into this 'challenge'. I think it is pretty interesting the reasons other people are choosing to use flip phones or more limited feature phones over smartphones. It feels very validating to hear that other people feel the same as I do in regards to the pull of social media and the general shock of how much time we are spending on our phones.

 Also a reminder that I am not fully quitting anything, I am just changing how I access social media to help curb my mindless usage. So feel free to check out my Instagram, YouTube, or the rest of my blog and comment away. I will check and respond to things on my own time and I am committed to posting on my currently weekly schedule regardless of my phone. So with that being said, Thank you for checking out what I have to say!

I am interested in hearing what you guys think of all of this too! I am still debating on how to best create my video. I think I might end up making one large video covering all 30 days instead of 4 shorter videos like the ones I normally make. So please let me know and hang in there if the video takes longer than usual! Please let me know what you think in the comments here or when my video(s) on this come out over on YouTube!