librinaut

This "trend" resonates with people because they do want to be less online, or at least because they feel like they can't "just use their phone less" (AMAZING advice people love to give) despite wanting to (which IS a scary thing to acknowledge). There are a people out there who get paid a fortune just to figure out how to make it harder for you to "just use your phone less". It's not that easy for most of us, myself very much included. If it is that easy for you, that's great. This conversation isn't about you then and you shouldn't give advice to people who aren't like you. For example, I am disabled, often times house- or bedbound and I suffer from severe chronic pain. My brain latches onto scrolling like an ant onto sugar. Installing app blockers just makes me deinstall them when I am in more pain and want distraction. Throw neurodivergency or being prone to addiction into the mix and I bet that "just use your phone less" can become downright impossible. Fill a kitchen with beer bottles and tell an alcoholic to just take a sip every two days. Again: not you? great, so this isn't about you. But that's just a side note.

I don't think it's a coincidence at all that I started on this journey and this trend happened vaguely around the same time. I have complained and heard people complain about the internet for years. The old internet is dead, everything is bots, dead internet theory, everything is ads, we are the product, I want to stop scrolling, I want to stop using my smartphone, I want to live more in the moment etc. Most of us, again myself included, didn't do anything about it though. Except maybe getting Linux and pirating stuff or something. Still scrolling though. But gen AI has now underlined all of these issues with the modern internet, made it more obvious than ever and also made it significantly worse. So of course this is the last straw for a lot of people. And that's good! It should be!

So the acknowledgement and that wish isn't something to mock or laugh at. That it's so big that it can become a trend is actually a very significant thing. I just wish people would stop and think and take it slowly instead of buying ready made"analog bags" full of trash you don't need or new electronics that just look Y2K. That's the frustration, the defeat that I feel when people are just going "this trend is bad" without any nuance to it. And I get it.

At the end of the day and if we look at this genuinely and not to sell stuff or to get views, this is about having less reasons to get your phone out. That's what analog bags are about, that's what dumbphones are about. Maybe these things help you, maybe not. At the core of this stands the fact that every practical use the smartphone has gets overshadowed and is accompanied by the distractions it provides everytime you just want to use it for the practical things. Again, to recognise this is GOOD. Wanting to change that is GOOD. Being willing to take more drastic steps to achieve that is NEAT!

I don't want someone who realised that for themselves to be screamed down with "JUST USE YOUR SMARTPHONE LESS!!! We all use them! Keep using and buying them!!!" (that's what this argument ends up at btw: "don't stop using and buying smartphones". You are just advertising for smartphones and implemented gen AI usage. Especially if you don't provide extensive and actually useful advice and best experience on how to actually do that and keep doing that for people who struggle with it)

Instead I wish we could meet the trend with actual advice. My advice is to start with learning about your own smartphone usage, internet usage and THEN giving yourself less reasons to get the phone out of your pocket. Write down what you use your smartphone for, what you use the internet for. Most phones have a function under "settings" and "wellbeing" or something where you can check how much time you spend on your phone and with which apps. But also write down why you use those apps. For example, I tended to put on a youtube video when I care for my wounds to distract myself or when I cook. Most people I know think they use their phone for way less things than they actually use it for. So this takes time. You will have some "oh wow I use it for this as well" moments. And some "I have no idea how to find a substitute for that" moments. That's okay, it's just about being mindful and aware of what you are doing with your time in front of a screen. Then, first find easy solutions in what you, your family, friends or your local second hand shop have. I started with a wristwatch (date, weekday, time, alarm, four less reasons to get the phone out). And a little sudoku pocket book because I like sudoku. Grab something you already own, ask family and friends or at least pick something you know you will actually like/do. Most families still have old digicams, mp3 players and alarm clocks floating around somewhere. Heck, a pen and a piece of paper instead of a notes app. Just work with what you have and see how it feels. No need to buy a ton of stuff immediately, no need to rush anything. No need to immediately throw your smartphone out of the window. Using your smartphone less is also about resetting your brain. The smartphone trained you that things always work out fast. Go slow!

If it's impractical and not helpful? Ditch it. If it feels nice and helpful? Keep trying. Just go slow and take your time and figure out what works for you. Don't mindlessly consume, save electronics from a landfill if possible if you reach a point where you feel confident that you want to use an mp3 player instead of spotify etc for example. Also aim for using stuff much longer than you would use a smartphone. Give yourself time when looking for substitutes, save up for some good quality things for example or look out at second hand shops until a good option comes around. This can take months or even years. Being slow and making intentional descisions is worth much more than an impulse purchase that will end up being trashed. If you go all the way, keep your smartphone shut off in a drawer or something. It's a little emergency pc now (be mindful about battery deterioration though). You can also give it to places that refurbish old phones if you really want to get rid of it. Just.. think for yourself. Use that trend as an inspiration if it resonates with you but NOT as a tutorial or "what to buy". And don't make it an aesthetic, make it actually useful for you.

At the end of the day, buying a few (hopefully long lasting) items to ditch the smartphone will save a lot of people a lot of money and make them consume much less. If you aren't one of those people, if you love scrolling (genuinely, I don't mean this sarcastically! If it brings you true joy don't stop), if you don't have an issue using your phone less etc etc. This just isn't for you. And telling other people they are "mindless consumers" for being interested in getting three to four possibly used gadgets to never use their smartphone anymore while people are literally doing shein hauls every week is INSANE.

Like.. a thing being a trend always has its bad sides that you should critique. Analogue bags, mindlessly buying, not thinking this through, ultimately going back to the smartphone and trashing the new shiny stuff... stupid. Yes. But this trend expresses something very good at its core and if just a few people learn how to not feed the algorithms and gen ai as much and have some hours of less screentime? That's amazing to me. This is a nuanced thing and I don't like how little nuance some people who should know better are giving it.

Because a lot of the backlash also feels like a knee jerk reaction or very defensive "I don't want to give up my smartphone" or from youtubers/bloggers/influencers specifically "don't ditch the internet because I need you to consume my content".

Because the backlash tends to come from people who talk about buying second hand stuff, how to produce less trash, how to reduce your carbon footprint, how to have more privacy online, how bad gen AI is, how to buy less/consume less etc.

But the the thing is... these people need you to be online. Desperately. They need you to keep watching. If their audience actually followed through and became less online and completely disinterested in consumption, they'd have no audience. If people who want to be offline and consume less really did these things, these people wouldn't have so many followers.

And I don't even mean this in a very mean way. I appreciate some of these content creators and obviously still watch them occasionally, or else I wouldn't have noticed this. And I am, very obviously, still on tumblr. Even though I am working on changing that as well.

There is a reason why the backlash is so swift and so snarky, often times with little room for nuance beyond "yea we shoudn't be online as much I guess but just use your smartphone less". And why we can't just pause and reflect on why a trend like this can be a trend. Why there is a craving for this.