Have you switched to a feature/dumb phone or minimized your smartphone usage?

[mistrene 253]

I’m quite curious if anyone else has made that change in their lifestyle where you’d rather not use a smartphone at all.

I stopped using social media and websites where my personal art and data will surely be used, like X and DeviantArt. All the targeted ads and algorithms really felt dystopian to see. I think my boiling point was January. At some points, streaming services really made me unhappy about their prices and quality of their services.

I am so tempted to switch back to a Sony Ericsson or Motorola RAZR since 3G networks in my country are still active with my provider till next year. That might be me moreso wanting to relive a time long gone, though. 

For now, I merely have Whatsapp and my bank on my iPhone. I got an iPod and have been ripping all my CDs and DVDs for portability and preservation.

Have you made any changes like these, whether it’s online or physical hardware? Or not? I’d love to know your experience!

[Snow 8,423]

I can’t say I don’t want to use a phone at all but I certainly want to use it in a better way, more learning and less distractions.

I have deleted Twitter, turned off network to Instagram and Facebook and only use them sparingly for socializing instead of reels and I have put a 2 hour limit on all other social media apps like Discord, I only have a short amount of free time before and after work and I’d like to spend that time doing productive things instead of just being on my phone, it’s not easy by any stretch but I’m trying. 

[Pentium100 2,294]

I pretty much never used a modern smartphone, as I dislike them. I tried to use one for a while, got fed up and continued to use an older phone. If I have to use one now (someone asks for help) I get reminded really fast why I dislike them and give the phone back as soon as I can. 

[Raskolnikov 1,578]

I commend the initiative and would love to do so myself - I have never used social media anyway so that's not a problem but I definitely hate the state of things online, and being very privacy conscious I find smartphones to have become an Orwellian nightmare. Unfortunately some of my jobs require smartphone apps to clock in and out as well as Whatsapp for work communication so I can't entirely ditch them :\ but I have considered getting a smartphone for work use only and installing a more user/privacy friendly OS on another smartphone for browsing and installing FOSS apps primarily. Just need the money for that plan and I have other priorities currently.

(I think being raised on text based platforms like forums and the like has made me averse to things like reels or shorts or TikTok-like formats though so I deliberately avoid those... I find the video format that's popular on the internet right now frustrating as I process more information far faster when reading and their video players feel deliberately counterintuitive. Feels like their hostile design has made me dodge a bullet from how addictive they seem to become to people)

Edited May 13 by Raskolnikov

[ZiggWheelsManning 13,041]

I've used dumbphones all my life and may stick to them.  

[Acinonyx 1,858]

I miss my Motorola Razr, it had the best ringtone.

Thankfully I've never been one for social media so that hasn't been a problem for me, very much not a fan of the privacy nightmare it has become though. My phone has blocked just under a thousand tracking attempts in the last few days alone - and that's on the lower end, it's usually a few thousand. Would love to replace it with something with the Graphene OS someday to help with this issue.

I mostly just use it to browse or for music related apps these days. Use the F-Droid store for most stuff if I can find it there.

[Crypty Scribbles 6,306]

Dumbphone lacks some important for me features. Like wifi hotspot for my laptop, decent camera to save some important information quickly, navigation apps.

But it definitely has some advantages like extended battery life and a small size. And they are pretty much disposable due to their price.

For me it's enough to delete all socials and time consuming apps on my smartphone and turn "do not disturb" on to avoid extra distractions. Also short walk outside without phone completely helps a lot ^•^

P.S. I'm using a dumbphone to store my home SIM card while I'm travelling to keep access to services with SMS authentication like banks.

Edited May 14 by Crypty Scribbles

[Dreambiscuit 11,040]

I’ve always minimized use of my phone. I never even wanted a phone at all except for use in emergencies, but alas, the world seems to require apps for everything now so I had no choice but to play their game. But I’ve never changed the fact that I watch movies on my TV, from dvds or in some regrettable cases, streaming services over a Fire TV stick. I don’t play games, but if I did, it would be on my old PS4 console. Aside from MLP Forums I don’t have social media and most basic stuff like checking email is done on my laptop. Most times my phone remains turned off. I don’t like phones and I minimize use of it as much as possible.

[mistrene 253]

On 2025-05-13 at 10:36 PM, Snow said:

I can’t say I don’t want to use a phone at all but I certainly want to use it in a better way, more learning and less distractions.

I have deleted Twitter, turned off network to Instagram and Facebook and only use them sparingly for socializing instead of reels and I have put a 2 hour limit on all other social media apps like Discord, I only have a short amount of free time before and after work and I’d like to spend that time doing productive things instead of just being on my phone, it’s not easy by any stretch but I’m trying. 

You’re right! It definitely isn’t easy, especially considering everyone messages through Whatsapp, Discord and social media. It’s tough not staying in contact with friends, amazing artists and potential friends! I’m really happy to hear you’re trying to manage your productivity though. Have you made any discoveries in that time, like new hobbies?

On 2025-05-14 at 1:13 AM, Pentium100 said:

I pretty much never used a modern smartphone, as I dislike them. I tried to use one for a while, got fed up and continued to use an older phone. If I have to use one now (someone asks for help) I get reminded really fast why I dislike them and give the phone back as soon as I can. 

Really? What about them annoyed you?  Was it the physical design or rather the way it functioned? Smartphones not only rapidly spread in use but also in design! I find it really annoying how quickly the compatibility decreases with networks since they keep changing them. My former Samsung was a 2019 model and completely unusable outside of my country, forcing me to buy an iPhone purely to be able to CALL my parents worldwide! 

On 2025-05-14 at 1:50 AM, ZiggWheelsManning said:

I've used dumbphones all my life and may stick to them.  

Which one do you use and how to they hold up now? Some amazing phones sadly stopped working since most countries got rid of 2G and 3G. 3G still available in my country until 2026, it’s so tempting to buy a Sony Ericsson… Some other feature phone models are either very poor Android phones or have a worse quality build like Nokia/HMD. 

[Snow 8,423]

22 minutes ago, mistrene said:

like new hobbies?

Absolutely! around the same time I started limiting phone use (and computer, that is a bigger factor) I bought a guitar to learn on, I’ve also been drawing more frequently which I’m very proud of.

I found myself going for more walks, wanting to spend more energy learning to cook..

I really thought I would be bored if I used entertainment and socials less but I’m actually really happy with how things have changed.

I still used discord way too much but I’m not out to build Rome in a day here, just gradual improvements. 

[Pentium100 2,294]

2 minutes ago, mistrene said:

Really? What about them annoyed you?  Was it the physical design or rather the way it functioned? Smartphones not only rapidly spread in use but also in design!

I dislike touchscreens in general, but specifically on smartphones it's not just the touchscreen.

• The screen is relatively small, so when the phone displays a full keyboard it is difficult for me to hit the key I was aiming for.
• Even worse is that since this is a touchscreen, I have zero tactile feedback whether I am pressing the correct key. I can type better on a physical keyboard with the same size keys. If the keys on a physical keypad are smaller than my finger, there is no problem, as I can still feel which one I am pressing. Not so much on a touchscreen.
• Making the phone display just the numpad and typing like on an old phone is better (larger keys), but still more annoying than on a phone with physical keypad. 
• A lot of functions are not obvious. That is, on a PC I can left click, double click (performs some action) or right click (displays menu). On a phone it's tap or hold, but sometimes I have to tap something and then find a button to edit or whatever, some other times I have to press and hold until a menu shows up. 
• The phone itself is big and uncomfortable to hold in my hand. I am used to holding the phone with one hand and pressing buttons with the thumb of the same hand. This is difficult to do with a big phone and especially with a touchscreen. Making it smaller would make the UI or rather trying to press a key suck even more.
• The software is crap. Everything wants an account, logging in and then agreeing with tracking. If I could have pure Linux (something like Debian) running it woudl be better in this regard, though it would make the hardware/UI part suck even more.
• Advertisements. I despise ads with a passion. 
• The phone itself is less durable. I am sure there are ruggedized versions, but in general an old phone handles dropping much better. I just need to find the battery and put it back in.
• Speaking of batteries, they are hard to replace on most phones. There are ones with replaceable batteries though, so I guess if this was my only problem I could get one of those phones.

The smartphone I actually tried was with Android 2 OS (IIRC), but sometimes I have to handle more modern ones (someone asking me for help etc) and IMO the modern ones suck more than Android 2 as far as UI goes. 

Also, I do not really need it. I can call and send text messages from my current phone. I can (and usually do) carry a handheld PC (for example, GPD microPC, but I have a few others) if I need to actually use a computer (which is not often), it is way better than a phone (both the hardware and the fact that I can use normal Linux on it).

25 minutes ago, mistrene said:

My former Samsung was a 2019 model and completely unusable outside of my country, forcing me to buy an iPhone purely to be able to CALL my parents worldwide!

Interesting. Here, in Lithuania, 2G (GSM) network is still active and runs great. It's not just old phones, there are alarm systems and various other devices that likely use 2G for calls and text mesages. I have visited Poland and had no problems with my phones as well.

I have a tablet that I almost never use. I got it for free and use it if some stupid site insists on it for identification or if I need to test an android app for a customer. A tablet is a bit better than a smartphone as it is bigger, so I do not have as many problems with typing. Still, it stays turned off for months until I need it. 

[mistrene 253]

1 minute ago, Snow said:

Absolutely! around the same time I started limiting phone use (and computer, that is a bigger factor) I bought a guitar to learn on, I’ve also been drawing more frequently which I’m very proud of. (…)

Wow! That’s awesome! I’m so glad to see you’re doing so much. Y’know, Discord is just a successor to things like AIM, MSN, and Skype. I don’t blame you for that. 

Show me your cooking sometimes! I’m super curious now. 

[Iforgotmybrain 6,854]

I noticed I use my phone a lot less since I stopped using Twitter a few months ago. That was like my main source of distraction and doomscrolling on my phone. Now Reddit is really the only app I find myself doomscrolling on, and even then I’ve been going on it less and less now because I’m getting sick of how samey the comments and posts are on a lot of subreddits. And any other social media, such as Bluesky or Instagram, I only use on my laptop or desktop.

That pretty much just leaves the essential utility type apps I have on my phone. So texts, Discord, phone app, web browser, email, music app, bank and financial stuff. Those all provide some benefit or utility to me so I don’t see them as necessary to cut out. Along with the single mobile game I play, Dokkan Battle, which takes up at most an hour of my time a week. And I have fun playing it, so I see it as being beneficial.

I think overall it’s important to consider rather you’re having a net positive experience with any app, service, or website you use. Using Twitter as the example, I didn’t gain much of anything from using it. I wasn’t learning anything or getting any enjoyment out of it, I did meet some people from it but those were small positives in a sea of negatives. Using Twitter was a net negative experience for me, so I got rid of it. 

[mistrene 253]

23 hours ago, Pentium100 said:

I dislike touchscreens in general, but specifically on smartphones it's not just the touchscreen.

 

Woah! It's true that many small features like these are more comfortable, like tactile feedback, no ads and the sheer size of the phone. My iPhone is too big for me, some of these sizes are just plain ridiculous and uncomfortable to hold in one hand. Don't even dare put them in your pocket because they stick out like a sore thumb. It also sucks how some phones are made to be disposed short-term and there's very little you can do to repair it yourself. But that's consumerism it seems. 

Glad to see 2G still works in Lithuania! I wish the same could be said in the Netherlands. But they're quite ambitious in quickly replacing cables and network towers.

2 hours ago, Iforgotmybrain said:

I noticed I use my phone a lot less since I stopped using Twitter a few months ago. That was like my main source of distraction and doomscrolling on my phone. Now Reddit is really the only app I find myself doomscrolling on, and even then I’ve been going on it less and less now because I’m getting sick of how samey the comments and posts are on a lot of subreddits. And any other social media, such as Bluesky or Instagram, I only use on my laptop or desktop. (...)

It seems we basically had the same experience. I'm sorry to hear that these had a negative impact on your life.  It seems an overwhelming majority of comments aren't even engaging, either bots or farms meant to gather as much engagement as possible for monetization. Reddit has become flooded with people repeating the same things and not really taking further initiative to do research or help themselves with whatever they need on the site. Especially the political situation worldwide has caused a big ruckus, making things less fun.

In the end, you got a few things that really bring you enjoyment and that's good! I also just use my pc for websites like MLPforums, where it isn't purposely designed to be addictive. 

[Pentium100 2,294]

15 hours ago, mistrene said:

Glad to see 2G still works in Lithuania! I wish the same could be said in the Netherlands. But they're quite ambitious in quickly replacing cables and network towers.

If/when they switcho off 2G I'll just buy a feature phone that can do 4G (yes, they make such phones).

15 hours ago, mistrene said:

It also sucks how some phones are made to be disposed short-term and there's very little you can do to repair it yourself.

Yeah, though it seems that EU will force phone manufacturers to make batteries replaceable. On my phones, replacing the battery is no "repair" - remove the cover, remove the old battery, insert new battery. In fact, removing the battery is needed to access the SIM card.