Reflections on a Month with a Simple Flip Phone

The writer mentioned that her 7-year-old daughter expressed her love for the simple flip phone, which made her mother not look at her phone as much and spend more time playing with her. Additionally, the writer noted that her desire to share every precious moment with her daughters on Instagram faded throughout the month. Instead, she could simply enjoy those moments without trying to capture pictures for others. Furthermore, her social circle diminished during this month as she did not send out a large group of “Happy New Year” texts, as it was very challenging to do so using her basic flip phone.

The writer revealed that as much as she enjoyed her life using the simple flip phone and the mental reset it provided, she feared she might lose her job if she failed to respond promptly to Slack messages and emails as she usually did during the month. Quoting Laura Zimmerman, an assistant professor at IE Business School in Madrid, the writer stated that what doesn’t help people control the time they spend in front of screens is simply tracking it. Zimmerman added that much of our smartphone use is incidental, where we open the phone for one thing and end up checking five apps in a continuous loop, repeating it all over again after a few minutes. Laura continued, “You really want to address the habit formation process.”

The writer mentioned that she designated a spot for her phone at home (a small coffee table with a plant and charger), keeping it there when not working so that it’s not within reach all the time. She also leaves it there throughout the night, so it’s not beside her bed to disrupt her sleep. Quoting Camille Carlton, the policy director at the Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit organization in California founded by former tech employees to raise awareness about the negative impacts of the products they work on, the writer shared, “More and more people are beginning to see that these platforms, and these products are deliberately designed to be addictive.” Camille compared smartphones and social media apps to fast food and tobacco, suggesting that lawmakers regulate the design of these products to protect our health.