Well, I need to figure out what to do about my iPhone. I need to make a change when it comes to the technology in my life, and this is one I’m finally willing to execute. I’ve realized I don’t need to have a smartphone and am trying to figure out plan what will work best for me in the future. Technology is advancing way too fast for anyone to keep up with and I’m starting to think the neo-Luddites really have a point. Within two days of having a flip phone I already enjoy the decentralization of my technology setup. I like that all I really need is the flip. I can call and text on that and read emails and run Depop on my laptop.
This simplicity is interrupted by the fact that I still use my iPhone, though. Primarily for music and social media. This is ironic because I think social media is a bigger problem for me in general than anything else. I don’t want to delete it though. I enjoy social media, but I think that might be the very issue. I don’t want to use it. So I’m at a crossroads. I bought an old iPod to load some of my music onto, which should be here in a few days. We will see how that works out. I made the chart below to try to help my brain better interpret each option. I am leaning towards the second plan, which would sort of turn my iPhone into the flip phone (make it really simple) and rely on the iPod for music. I like Apple Music, I just don’t like paying for it every month, and I don’t like that I don’t own the music I pay for.
| iPhone | Flip Phone | iPod | Pros | Cons | |
| Plan 1 | Keep and use for everything (texts, calls, music, social media) | Get rid of or keep put away | Keep put away or sell | -I’m used to this plan -It’s convenient -It’s simple | -Dependency -Stressor -General dislike for it |
| Plan 2 | Keep and use as phone, but delete social media | Get rid of or put away | Use for music | -I will own my music rather than streaming it -Absence of social media should reduce some of the dependency and distractions | -FOMO from no socials -Getting songs from Apple Music to iPod files might be difficult |
| Plan 3 | Get rid of | Use as primary phone (calling and texting) | Use for music | -Ultimate goal -Would be ideal for me (in theory) to get rid of smartphone | -Complicates things by taking away the centralization aspect of iPhone -Texting on the flip takes forever and doesn’t work very well |
Here’s a list of things I dislike about my iPhone to contextualize the situation, plus some ideas on how to fix each issue
cluttered photo library: go through and delete pictures
apple music: $10.45/mo: figure out how to get music on iPod and start using that as primary listening method
Instagram addiction: DELETE IT
lack of privacy: idk how to fix this one
I prefer the flip phone as an ~object~: iPod will provide some of that feeling
Snapchat memories (take up storage): delete most of them
Sooooo I guess I will keep posting about what I decide to do. https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/ has some interesting info. Cal Newport wrote a book on digital minimalism which I’d like to read but haven’t yet.
Also I’ve really been liking the song Playhouses by TV on the Radio lately. The lyrics amaze me. And Shoutout Abby because she asked! <3
3 responses to “what do i do about my iPhone…”
Wow wow this was a gorgeous and intellectually sound blog post I loved it so much! I think plan two sounds the most promising. My mom read that book by Newport and she said it was enlightening. But also English is her second language so how reliable is she really about literature? Instagram is lit as fuck if you ask me.
Ohhh I knew Karla would be on that! Thank you for your compliments🙏 Instagram is lit maybe I’ll keep it around awhile longer…….big things are coming
thank you for the shoutout my beautiful glorious queen boots slay