life without a smartphone
some home brew socio-psychological takes, plus practicalities
Soon, one whole week will have gone by that I haven't been using my smartphone. I wrote about the initial jolt of the "detachment" in this post: hey barbie! i love your new brickphone. Here, I'd like to share the series of realisations that – unexpectedly – continued to pelt me round the face in the wake of it all.
one: commitment issues
Who knew that WhatsApp could ramp up your penchant for flakiness. It was Day Two of No Smartphone, and I was surprised by this one: not having WhatsApp made me commit to my plans far more seriously. With WhatsApp, you can run late and let people know. You can switch the plan at the last minute, and let people know, and it all be “cool”, “no wozza”, “no rush”. You can cancel, with seemingly good reason, and let people know. Equally, you can be empathetic to changes from your friends or family — following along with the livestream of messages about still-sleeping babies or needing to stop for petrol on the way detours.
⟡ Note: Of course – and I think this will be the arguable point throughout – you can still send "live" updates with a brickphone. I could call or text to say any manner or combination of the above about changes to a plan. ⟡
Yet. The idea of live-texting updates on my brickphone is a painful proposition pqrS T tU abC jK ghI mN T pqR A deF deF ghI abC: stuck in traffic. This presents an initial, physical hurdle.1 Secondly, not being able to receive the in-between updates from others made me focus on the plan, and the plan alone. I was building my day around the plan, rather than letting it be a consideration, just something that might happen.
Thirdly, the quietening of all my communications in general made me feel very excited about any plans or communications. The prospect of seeing or speaking to real people, and not just people, people that I love and cherish, was, simply thrilling.
two: productive productivity
My sister-in-law, who essentially tipped the balance on the pro-brickphone argument, said: "I bet you'll be so much more productive". I really, really hoped this would be true.
And not to disappoint, it was 100% the case. By 1:00pm on Day Three with My Brick, I had (please note, I am purely telling you this for informational purposes, there is no embedded brag):
Cleaned the kitchen, put a wash on, read some articles in magazines, made the family breakfast, packed and dropped son off to preschool, filled the car with junk for the tip, driven to town, returned some shoes, bought ALL of and ONLY the items on my shopping list, went to the tip, went swimming, went to the sauna, cooked and eaten lunch.
This is, for most I'm sure, unremarkable. But for me, I was chuffing gliding through what would normally be a very stop-start sort of Thursday. Focused and busy without fuss and frenzy. And come the evening, I found myself that lovely, wholesome tired, where you know the day appreciated your service.
Through all of this, you may also be able to guess: I didn't once wish I was rather sat on my smartphone.
three: acutely aware
Having a brickphone doesn't mean living off-grid, obviously. There are still parts of my life that currently only exist in online spaces, and can only be performed in online spaces, so for that I need the InTeRnEt.
I decided to treat my internet-time as a to-do list item, rather than a haphazard foray at any given moment — as I would have done on my phone.
Down I sat with a specially made-for-the-job coffee, and logged on to the Local Council Website to book the aforementioned tip-slot (hahahaha) and catch up on some WhatsApps.
Whilst I was sat at the PC, the sun was just rounding the peaks of our roof and beginning to blast those ridiculous, clear, Spring beams into our back garden. I found myself rushing to finish my jobs. Keen eyed viewers may note that ‘if I was doing this on my phone, I could have been sat in the Sun at the same time’… Yes of course, dear. That is true.
The dedicated surfing time I allowed myself, however, made me acutely aware that I was spending time with a screen — rather than doing anything else. Should I have been sat outside, doing these tasks, what distractions and rabbit holes would I have found myself down, and how much time would have elapsed before I began with "the day" again?
I'd realised my smartphone is very useful for catching those stray thoughts and actioning them. But it seemed my soul much preferred the idea of being outside with the sun, and the sun alone.
four: tactically practical
It's only been a week, give me a break: there are still plenty of things I need to get used to. But I have found myself caught out – twice – outside the shops with no form of payment on me. I'd got very comfortable, as most of us have, with having bank cards in my Google Wallet, plus my beloved loyalties (thanks for the "free" toothbrush the other day, Boots 🧚♀️).
So, yeah. An easy one — I've always got to take more gubbins with me now when I leave the house, rather than just my phone slung in a pocket.
The other (almost) essential purchase I've had to make is a physical diary: the previously cited Filofax. There is no way in Hell, the Underworld, or Infinite Oblivion, I could remember everything I need to do, or everywhere I need to be, without writing it down. My smartphone had been very useful at keeping me in check with All Things Great and Small, from calling friends to dental appointments.
Thus: enter the Filofax. And also enter my imagined adult-state as a lowly 8 year old, desperately trying to fill her own Filofax at the time with important information and events (written in glitter gel pen).
five: don't eat the marshmallow
Delayed gratification is real, and it is rewarding. All of my SubStacks are written offline anyway, but having to wait for a convenient moment of online-time to upload them was definitely frustrating in the first instance. But, I don't resent the fact that my "values" here are pulling harder than my "addiction" to sharing my writing immediately as it's finished — in fact, sitting with the articles longer has absolutely improved them for the better. Plus, the increased focus of not having a phone nearby has meant I've written faster, with more ferocity and fluidity than I ever have before. As above in Point Two, this isn't a brag, I'm purely in shock that it's made such a marked difference.
six: my set-up and surroundings
I'm a Full Time Mum in a long-term relationship
My close family live in the same town / nearby towns
We have an internet connection at home, plus a home computer, and a 'Smart TV'
I don't travel often, and travel alone even less
Switching to a brickphone made me very aware how much we are dependent on technology, and how increasingly symbiotic our devices are becoming with our economic and social mobility.
If I was living in a city, on the dating scene, and had friends scattered in various boroughs, there is NO WAY I would have made this decision, for practical purposes and preventing all-out insanity. Equally, as a woman, I would not feel safe without my smartphone if I wanted to go out alone, and mostly relied upon public and gig economy modes of transport.
These are just two critical barriers that I am fortunate enough to overcome because of my relatively rural, and small-town lifestyle, plus living close to trusted people who can support me, should I need help.
There are – obviously – other (safe) ways to disconnect if you live in a city. And yes, I'm sure there are women there who have made the brickphone decision and feel secure in that choice. I have a huge amount of respect if this is you.
Where many of us find ourselves now, however, is facing the stark realisation that you cannot simply cut yourself loose from your smartphone. I am loving my Barbie phone life, but my Google Pixel 6 (not-spon) lies waiting for me in my desk for when I do travel, as I know I won't feel safe far from home without it.
Our world is now (as I've read in a thousand other guises) inescapably intertwined with digital, yet so many of us yearn for ways to become less entangled with its grasp. What I have concluded, however, is that there is no general safety net for this in-between, semi-virtuous state of "less digital", unless you create it yourself. Life has moved on.
In 2025, the desire to not rely upon technology all the time means fundamentally having to reimagine your life, and plans, should you want to leave the house without your smartphone.
This choice I have made: to predominantly use a brickphone, is based on the belief –without exaggeration – that I can survive without my smartphone in my general, day-to-day life. And I mean that literally.
What a terrifying thing to write.
🆘
With that, I'll clock off because I desperately need another cup of tea before my son wakes up from his nap and there's a chubby pigeon on the wall outside that needs shooing away before it eats all the seeds that are meant for the blackbirds.
I'll be back with another Barbie update soon, but not that soon, as I now need a break from writing about brickphones.
:)
Thanks for reading.
Sarah xoxo
(Since writing this I have found out how to turn on predictive text, praise be.)
Flashback to preteen days before any phones, waiting an hour (who knows, no concept of time or a watch) at a meeting point for a mate who may or may not turn up, contemplating dashing to a pay phone to ring their mum and ask if they had even left. Worrying about said friend turning up just as I went for that 30 second call. My patience and perservenerance not being reciprocated. They leave just as I return from the phone booth. A part of me is still waiting.