“Downgrading” is the term I adopted to describe making the switch. I aim to help others do the same. They are often skeptical. “I have no sense of direction” is a common objection. Others are “I need to use FaceTime” or “I need to log my runs.”
I love the idea of downgrading, but…
These articles always cite superficial attachments like this to make it sound like anyone could give up a smartphone if they really wanted to. But I need a smartphone to unlock the package room in my apartment and work the elevator at my office. Most homeless people need a smartphone to apply for a job. It really isn’t optional, from where I stand.
I’m lucky enough to not really need a smartphone for anything and I’m also planning on getting a “dumbphone”, but I may be in the minority in being fully unchained from smartphones. It feels like you can’t do anything anymore without creating an account, downloading an app, or both. However, switching to a dumbphone doesn’t necessitate completely getting rid of the smartphone. A smartphone could probably be strictly used as a tool to accomplish anything that requires an app without putting a SIM card in it. Of course, that’s still a dumb thing to have to do and might not be practical for everyone, but maybe it could help ease the transition to lower-tech solutions.
I haven’t done too much research into the dumbphone market, but I’m a little disappointed in what I’ve seen so far. I was considering the particular Nokia phone mentioned in the article, but the operating system on it doesn’t look as stripped-down as I would like. It also looks to me like dumbphones might currently be one of those things that are either cheap plastic garbage or super overpriced.
On a less serious note, I think it would’ve been funny if the author described the switch as “upgrading” instead of “downgrading”.
i feel like the idea of getting a dumbphone instead of just dumbifying your already existing phone buys into consumerism a little bit- like Spots said, a lot of current “dumbphones” are either garbage or overpriced. i’ve seen some that are like $300 and that’s outrageous for what you’re getting in my opinion. i’ve seen people simply dumbify their smartphones and it works just fine for them- they just delete any apps that aren’t completely necessary, including browser apps(you can just look stuff up on your computer, if you have one, and im assuming everyone here has a laptop/computer considering the forum theyre on xD). i think its a more resourceful way to limit your smartphone usage, while also keeping the necessary things that you may actually need in your day-to-day.