My minimal phone experiment

For years I have considered my phone an annoying distraction. Ten years ago, I wrote briefly about this in ‘Distraction makes you stupid’. While a phone does not make you dumber, we recognize that its use can cause problems with focusing and unwinding. This piece does not delve deeply into studies, but is an account of my umpteenth experiment to find more calm and peace in daily life.

Dumb Phone

I have been fantasizing about a life without a smartphone for a few years now, longing for a minimal or dumb phone. My need for rest during long walks and real moments of relaxation is hampered by my iPhone in my pocket. Quickly looking something up in the browser, sending a friend a message or checking for an email from a potential client - it seems inevitable.

But is a dumb phone practical? To answer this question, I made a list of what I would miss if I had such a phone:

• Drain radar (alternative: always carry rain gear)
• Guru Maps for long walks(alternative: paper map or a Garmin)
• WhatsApp and Signal (alternative: texting or using only my MacBook)
• Spotify (alternative: mp3 player or silence?)
• Pay (alternative: bring debit card)
• Safari (alternative: bring notepad to write down later what I want to look up)
• Google Maps for e.g. in the car (alternative: TomTom)
• Calendar (alternative: use only on MacBook)
• Camera (alternative: bring my Sony camera, but how should I scan receipts?)
• Video streaming apps like Netflix (alternative: stream via other devices)

Clearly, this seems quite intensive and goes too far for me. After analyzing this list, I looked at which apps cause the most anxiety: WhatsApp/Signal and Safari, followed by apps like Buienradar and the Solar Panels App, which are not really noteworthy.

Feature Phone

My next choice is not a dumb phone, but a feature phone. A phone with useful daily apps and without expectations of more. In doing so, I have set some rules:

• Disable Safari. This can be done through the Screen Time settings on an iPhone.
• Remove WhatsApp and Signal. WhatsApp I may continue to use on my MacBook, with the caveat that once every two weeks I briefly install it on my iPhone to sync with my MacBook.
• Deleting solar panels app. Since we haven’t had solar panels for long, I was constantly checking how they were performing.
• Deleting rainfall radar. Whenever I go out by bike, I now bring rain gear by default. The weather won’t stop me.
• **Deleting Netflix and KPN iTV.**For streaming to the TV from my phone, I do look for other solutions.
• modify app icons. Instead of turning my phone black and white, I’ve grayed out all app icons with the corresponding function. For example, Spotify gets a gray icon labeled “Music.

Handy to know: I have blocked news sites on my MacBook; I don’t need commotion. Really important news I do hear from the people around me.

I run this experiment for exactly two months and then evaluate it, making any adjustments for a new period.

Findings

After two months, there are some recurring irritations:

1. Briefly installing WhatsApp once every two weeks turns out to be more irritating than expected because of synchronization issues. This effectively causes me to lose all my messages every two weeks, which, while not a major problem, is still irritating.
2. I open my MacBook a little more often to see if I have received messages, which occasionally causes slight anxiety at home.

The big advantage is that I genuinely experience more peace when I’m on the go. While walking, there is no point in checking my phone; I am more engaged with my surroundings and thoughts.

Before the experiment, my average screen time was 45 minutes a day. Over the two months, I experienced less restlessness, with screen time being about 20 minutes per day. The idea that you have a phone with you and can instantly check everything appears to cause enough anxiety.

Extra

Another insight I gained during this time is the following. You often hear people say, “now that I have stopped doing this, it has changed my life. Think about social media, smoking, alcohol, for example. Or ’now that I have started this it has changed my life’. Think, for example, meditation, gratitude, exercise. I notice for myself that every thing I try especially changes my life a little bit. It is always told prettier than it is, or they are exceptions. So take a lot with a grain of salt, but keep trying and experimenting from time to time. Hi ;-)