Life without a smartphone
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Explore the intriguing world of living without a smartphone
Today, no one can imagine life without a smartphone. That’s because mobile technology has not only changed our lives, but in some form we have become slaves to it. Many of us can definitely notice the anxiety which may overcome us, when we forget to take our smartphone with us. We have this sense that we are losing contact with reality, resulting in panic.
Sometimes, when we’re not calling, texting, or even waiting for an important call, we are still gripping the phone tightly in our hand, almost like a crutch. Often, the phone absorbs so much of our focus and attention that we forget about others, we forget to connect with those around us - because we are staring at a screen in front of our face.
This brings us to an interesting question: Would you be able to survive a few hours, a day, a week - without a smartphone and the Internet?
These days, many people, especially young people, can't imagine life without a cell phone, or rather without a minicomputer with the Internet - because that's essentially what smartphones are today. Perhaps without smartphones they would not be able to do so many things! For instance, some individuals might think that it is not worth stopping to talk to a stranger, to ask for directions, since a smartphone comes with a GPS application. Why involve another person in our daily life struggles, when a mini computer can assist us in finding our way.
If you’re like me, you might remember the world before mobile phones and the Internet? It's hard to believe that people didn't always have phones in their pockets. That's why pay phones were so important. And even before that, there were telephone operators who would facilitate long-distance and international calls.
These days, it is not uncommon to see the whole family looking at their smartphones instead of talking to each other. Often even on the Christmas table - next to crockery and cutlery - lie the smartphones. Although the phone allows us to communicate quickly and effectively with anyone, anywhere in the world, in a way, it also takes away our ability to have a meaningful conversation. The type of conversation with eye contact and body language. The smartphone is present everywhere, and momentarily turning it off or leaving it at home can feel like part of us is missing.
Even 15 years ago, owning a smartphone was something that wasn’t so common. Even though most people had mobile phones, they were usually not of the “smart” variety. They allowed us to stay in touch, but we still felt connected to the real world. That all changed when the iPhone launched in 2007. Today there are fewer and fewer people who do not use digital technology in some form. There’s no denying that the smartphone changed our life. Those mini supercomputers in our pockets make us feel almost self-sufficient. As if we don’t need anyone else to get things done. However, we must be careful, because excessive and mindless use of these devices can turn into an addiction.
Our smartphones have become such an integral part of our lives that even our sleep is disrupted by them. The blue light emitted by screens can interfere with our natural sleep patterns, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. Additionally, constantly checking our phones before bedtime can cause anxiety and make it even more difficult to wind down. Using your smartphone as an alarm clock can also be problematic, as the temptation to check notifications and social media can make it harder to fall back asleep after being woken up. An offline alarm clock, such as Mudita Bell or Mudita Harmony can help solve these problems by providing a dedicated device for waking up, without the distractions and interruptions of a smartphone.
Mudita Harmony2
How many people can actually endure a few days of a "digital detox," and live their life without a smartphone, social media or convenience apps?
Spending time without digital technology allows you to control your tech habits and build a healthy relationship with technology.
Can we take a break from digital technology and limit our screen time?
Do you agree that the smartphone - a phone with internet and a huge variety of additional (sometimes useless) functions - violates our privacy, steals our solitude.... and thus - takes away our own thoughts?
Embracing a life less tethered to constant digital distractions, Mudita introduces Mudita Kompakt. This innovative device is crafted to support a more mindful and balanced approach to technology use. With its minimalist design and essential functionalities, Mudita Kompakt encourages users to stay connected to what truly matters without the overwhelming presence of a typical smartphone. Learn more about how Mudita Kompakt can transform your daily life and sign up to receive updates when the phone is launched.
Join the conversation and let us know how you feel about the digitally saturated environment we live in?
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I live every day without a smartphone and almost always have.
I generally use a Nokia 3310 or Nokia 800 tough, but also own a Fairphone 2, which I am currently using at the moment, because the app “KDEconnect” allows me to type SMS messages on my computer. I usually find myself switching back to one of the Nokias, due to the battery-life and flimsy construction of the Fairphone in comparison.
I use none of the “smart” functions of the Fairphone. I just call and SMS. I use a de-googled open-source ROM, and location services and internet-connectivity remain switched off, except when using KDEconnect, which requires WiFi. I’ve never had any need for maps or internet while on the go.
I do firmly believe that governments should mandate that a certain number of public telephone boxes (e.g. 1 per town/village, 1 per 1000 heads of population in larger areas) should be maintained. This would be a great emergency fallback option. Before now, at least one of my relatives has needed to make an emergency call and was unable to because their phone had been damaged. He was fortunately walking-distance from home at the time it happened, but if the situation had occurred in a more remote area or had been more time-critical, the outcome could have been very different. I once also had a minor car issue, and my cell phone had run out of battery. I was also travelling through an area of weak/intermittent cellular coverage (which probably prematurely drained the battery). I was fortunately close to one of the very few operational payphones left in the country, and was able to call a friend to get my toolbox from my garden shed and drive it to me, so that I could get the car home. Also - cellular outages are uncommon but they do occasionally happen, and there needs to still be a means of making an emergency call as a backup. It’s no use saying “it’s not worth maintaining the infrastructure for the little use it gets” - that would be like arguing that we don’t need seatbelts in cars, because careful drivers rarely need them.
Whilst I’d love it if everyone would ditch their smartphone, I’m not arguing for that here. I’m suggesting that, given the fragility of smartphones, their battery-life, etc., we need to have suitable backups in place, that I fear market dynamics are gradually getting rid of. A means of functioning without a smartphone should always be maintained, even if that means is uncomfortable or inconvenient.
I can survive indefinitely without a smartphone. But, I use the Internet on a computer every weekday for my income, so I would not survive long without the Internet unless I were to change careers.
Yes.
Watch early seasons of the American TV series Law & Order, and you’ll see police detectives going to curbside payphones after getting paged by their lieutenant at the police station. The American RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies) installed, operated, and maintained their own payphones in their regions but eventually decommissioned them. Now I believe that nearly any payphone that you find in the USA is installed, operated, and maintained by smaller companies. The American payphone business is not what it used to be.
The good news for American college students is that many campuses have emergency-call boxes scattered about them. The backup for those boxes in an emergency is for a student to ask another student to make the call, given that essentially every American college student has a cellphone today. But, this backup approach requires that people be willing to talk to strangers and to ask for their help … and for those strangers to be willing to help!
Its funny I never realized pay phones have disappeared in my country lol
There is a certain nostalgia to them.
I have a smartphone for my daily work. I have the data off most of the time, and I use it as a standard phone. At home, I only use the internet on the computer.
I have installed only the main apps I may need daily because I want to concentrate on all the “technology” on my computer.
Like Kirk, my main business is internet-based, so I cannot disconnect completely. However, I maintain a strict working schedule to have a life, and I easily disconnect from everything. I don’t create unnecessary stress by answering immediately to someone or expecting the same from the other side.
Not having personal social media (only a business Instagram that I access on the computer) and a dozen of apps and games (only the necessary to “survive” in another country), it is easy to be offline and enjoy life.
So, why do I keep a smartphone? Because I don’t like to carry or have too many things in my life. The smartphone allows me to have a translator, an offline GPS, a good camera, and quick access to email. I can also quickly type notes or preview a presentation and make minor corrections on the go.
As a natural science person, I believe in balance for everything in our lives. Technology should serve us and not the opposite. It is hard to have that balance these days, and perhaps it is one of the biggest challenges for the new and subsequent generations. In the end, it all depends on our needs and wishes. I say to my students: We are owners of our decisions and slaves of their consequences.
About subsidized public phones, I agree! It’s just poor planning to expect everyone to have a working personal phone, charged up and on their person, at all times and in all emergency situations.
So, here is a interesting experience from last week.
We went to Poland (!) on a short vacation. Two of the people in the company has the exact same network provider, with a monthly prepaid plan with a certain amount of data and unlimited text & calls. One of them has a smartphone, the other a gsm only dumb phone. As it turns out, free EU roaming is deactivated when you prepay your data plan. It has to be activated manually while calling the network provider and allowing them to do a cr check.
Freely using the GSM network for calls and text was working perfectly though, so the dumb phone user was happy with his printed maps and working phone. The smartphone user only saw “no service” on his screen since the manufacturer has removed the 2g chip. He used the camera though
@John_Andersson My family has had this same experience, traveling from the US to Poland. My dad has T-Mobile in the US & even though his plan has “unlimited international roaming,” when he visits me, he has to “enable it” with the provider.
I am getting more and more upset with my smartphone and the digital disturbance coming along with our technological development. I have to use my desktop computer for my business and tablet and/or portable computer for lectures, workshop etc., but I am trying to stay away from the whole digital thing in my spare time (and have deleted all Social Media apps from the iPhone). Thus, to be accessible via phone but without any digital tchotchke, I have ordered a Mudita Pure. I am really looking forward to receiving it!
It’s 2023 now. I am planning to do a smartphone detox. But I’m still not sure if this will work out.
@hypocrite It can be difficult at first, but it’s definitely worth it.
I have survived but the addiction in my opinion never goes away. I recently got the Unihertz titan pocket for a insanely cheap price ($180 dollars canadian) not as my daily driver but just as an upgrade to my keyone that was running android 8. The phone is disconnected and in my sons room only to be used if I am going downtown etc, need a uber, or on a trip. I was in this situation last weekend and right away I got back to my old habits. I felt physically ill having to go back to this addiction and being a slave to my phone. I think people need to give detox a chance. You say you cannot live without your cell phone but that is a lie. You choose to live with it and choose to let it control you. I am not saying get rid of it completely. But try getting a dumbphone and putting your smartphone just for the evenings to start and then from there make it a full day, weekend etc. Even if thats all you ever do that is fine and you keep your smartphone. Just never let it consume you. Lift is short, don’t live it starting at a device that adds no value to your life.
I think this sentence highlights the essence of our life with technology. Very well said. Thank you @anon52747040
PS: As you know, I’m a BBQ10 user. Can you tell me a bit about your experience with the Titan Pocket? Do you like it? How does it feel in the hand? Is it bulky?
I hope I stand by this detox and may this bring positive change in my life.
It is bulky but I don’t use it. It is literally in a box in my sons room. Certainly not a blackberry Q10 that phone was awesome
Also there is still a Mudita available the cream color on ebay. 415 bux canadian and thats with the case included…this phone continues to be on my mind. Now that I have the Titan I am thinking when I absolutely need to have a phone where I can be reached than I can switch over…I honestly keep trying different phones , Lp2, Punkt, Nokia 225, Sunbeam, none of them are like the Mudita…
@anon52747040 It’s your first love.
We get it 
YEAH honestly i cant fine a replacement for it. I have owned the punkt, lp2, sunbeam and they are great to start but eventually after a week or so i return them. The one on eBay is a white one too. When i think about it when i used the phone it worked outside and inside the house sure it would cut out ETC but overall it was a great experience. I have literally been debating buying the phone all day long. At least if i get this one i cant return to u guys LOL. I figure its such a good price why not give it another try. God why did u guys Jake this phone look and feel so good lol
@anon52747040 Please make sure to get the proof of purchase from the seller if you do buy a Mudita Pure from eBay or any other site. This ensures that we can provide aftermarket service if you need it.