Lessons from One Year of Using a Flip Phone
For context: I’m 23 years old, so I grew up with my face glued to either a phone or tablet for as long as I can remember. I had social media accounts by the age of 7.
I deleted all social media about 18 months ago, which led me to the idea of using a flip phone to further break the habit.
I started using a flip phone in December 2023, spent most of 2024 with it, and carried on through the first four months of 2025.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. If you do anything outside the social norm, people will look at you like you have three heads.
2. Employees at businesses that rely on QR codes were not thrilled to manually sign me in.
I was often seen as an inconvenience. It quickly became clear just how many services now assume you own a smartphone. It made me question a lot about the modern world.
3. I was either praised for my “off-grid” lifestyle or interrogated about it—there was no in-between.
About halfway through, I developed a sense of who would never understand my deeper reasons for giving up tech. I stopped explaining myself to those people, which in itself was deeply healing. I became comfortable with my choices and let go of the need to be understood.
4. The reactions to my phone were sometimes the best part.
I had a lot of laughs and great conversations because of it. Curious people made the experience enjoyable. It was cool to see how something as simple as a phone sparked such deep conversations with strangers.
5. People reach for their phones the moment life becomes even slightly uncomfortable.
In waiting rooms, grocery lines, outside someone’s house, during a lull at work, while waiting for food—any pause in life became a moment to escape. I saw this in myself, too. It made me wonder how much life I’d missed while staring at a screen. But more importantly, it forced me to ask: Why am I so uncomfortable sitting with myself?
I faced that question head-on in the first month. Now, I can confidently say I’ve found comfort in stillness. I’ve learned how to simply be.
6. Google was making all of my decisions.
I used to Google everything—from what I found in a grocery store to how to care for my plants. That may sound small, but I noticed something deeper: without my smartphone, I didn’t trust myself to make choices—not just in the grocery store, but in life. Over the past year, I developed a deeper trust in myself, in my own judgment. I’ve gone from constantly seeking direction outside of myself to learning how to turn inward first.
7. My relationships got better.
Not having social media helped with this too—the surface-level connections faded away. And with a flip phone, people knew I wasn’t going to be texting all day, so they started calling more. Conversations were richer, more human.
Without an endless pocket-sized distraction, I became truly present with whoever I was with and whatever I was doing. Life felt richer, more colorful, and deeply meaningful. It made me realize how the “always connected” world is actually leaving us more disconnected than ever.
8. I found a shocking amount of extra time.
Once I cut the distractions, my days filled with soul-giving pursuits. I hit goals faster. I read more books than ever. I learned a martial art (thanks to Jordan Peterson’s “you’ll never respect yourself until you grow teeth”—he and Rogan lit that fire), started running, spent more time with family, found a church, wrote more, tried things that scared me—the list goes on.
I discovered parts of myself that had been dormant for years. And I can’t help but wonder: if I’d stayed sucked into the scroll, would I have ever found them?
Final note.
I learned a lot about myself and healed in ways I didn’t expect by removing the smartphone from my life. I don’t doubt that others have learned these lessons without taking such extreme steps. But for me, I had never known life outside of tech—and I wanted to.
I’m so glad I took the leap. I’m not the same person I was when I started. And man, has it been fun.