Man gives up smartphone for a month, shares his experience

Can you imagine spending a day without your smartphone? Forget a day. Would you survive an hour? One man did — not for a day or a week, but for a month. Digital detox is quite the buzzword these days. A man named Nathan Covey made the decision to switch from a smartphone to a flip phone and says he has no plans to go back.In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), the man talked about how most people are addicted to their smartphones. “Everyone is more severely addicted to their smartphones than I thought. Once you have a dumbphone, you'll frequently find yourself as the only person in the room not on their phone,” he said. He continued, explaining how the addiction has affected people of all ages. “It's not just teenagers; it's parents and adults of all ages. It's like everyone is stuck in a trance. 75+ year-olds might be the only exception.”The man also expressed that making the switch seemed impossible until he actually did it. “All the objections I previously had to getting a dumbphone have turned out to be overblown and/or solvable. My iPhone addiction had fed my brain excuses not to do this earlier. If you really want to make the switch, you can,” he said.He further talked about how he felt embarrassed on several occasions when he had to take out the flip phone in public. “I've felt embarrassed to pull out my flip phone in public at times, for fear of being different or drawing too much attention to myself. But I have learned to just own it. Most people end up saying something like, ‘Oh, I probably should do that too.’”He started calling people more instead of texting. “Another thing that has surprised me is that I call people way more now. And I've discovered that calling is just so much more superior than texting for a lot of things. I think we tend to under-call and over-text as a society, especially the younger generations.” Not being able to use certain apps or spend time looking at what others are doing on social media has, in fact, brought some meaningful changes to the man’s life. According to him, he is more present and finally putting his brain to use. “I am using my brain more. Even though my flip phone has Waze, I find myself memorising maps and roads. I'm more bored and get lost in my thoughts. I'm using paper and pen more. Increased desire for tangible things over digital things,” he said.The man also expressed that he had no plans to return to smartphones. “Overall, it has been a great experience and I plan on never going back.”The post is flooded with comments, with many asking how he used digital payments and some even enquiring about where to buy a flip phone.