The very first month that Instagram launched in the iPhone App Store, I was a user. It was a simple place for photographers to share their images. There was no such thing as Stories or a For You page. You simply followed the people you wanted to follow, used #hashtags to find other content like yours or what you were interested in, and that was it. You logged in once or twice a day, checked out some other photographers’ work, and moved on with your life. I immediately jumped on board and started posting my own photos from my old, used iPhone that didn’t have a cellular connection and only used Wi-Fi.
That wasn’t that long ago. Now, when I open Instagram, it’s filled with rage bait, political discourse, and evidence of the collapse of the fabric of society. It has become a 24/7 machine whose only purpose is to keep you on the app, interacting with content creators and advertisers, and spending more and more time on Meta’s platforms. One of the big turning points for me was seeing Facebook’s recent updates, where the default homepage is no longer filtered to just your friends. Instead, it is now a “For You” page. This means you see anything from political memes to Russian bot accounts and content you never even chose to follow or subscribe to. It’s yet another algorithm trying to feed off your data, information, and emotions. Ridiculous. What happened to the days of seeing people’s cute dog and cat photos? Also, why does everything need to be A.I enabled?
I recently wrote an article about how I am moving to self-host as many applications as I can. This has worked extremely well over the past two years. I have complete control of our data, and it doesn’t leave the house. There are no advertisers, and no packets are sent to outside servers. The data is mine. I own it, and it cannot be used to try to sell me more junk that I don’t want or need.
The Last Piece of the Puzzle
Next to the modern-day automobile, I think the cell phone is humanity’s worst invention of all time. What was once meant to connect us has now turned us into zombies. Next time you walk down the street, take a look at how many people have a phone in their hands, staring down at it even as they walk across a four-lane road in the crosswalk. People are driving 4,000lb metal cages at highway speeds and texting like they’re chilling at home on the couch. Hey, I’m guilty of this myself. I’m not trying to act like I’m the golden child.
There has been a recent popular rise in so-called dumb phones, which are usually e-ink-based devices that do just a few things such as phone calls, messaging, and maybe email. There is no social media, the screens are ugly in grayscale, and they have a terrible refresh rate, just like an e-reader. It’s simple and plain, and there’s no benefit to staring at your screen or trying to get that next hit of dopamine. The only drawback is that these devices, even though they have rudimentary software and screens, are rather expensive, some of them in the $400-$500 range. I’ve been an iPhone user for several years and wanted to see how I could turn my iPhone into a dumb phone without spending that kind of money.
I’ve tried to replicate as many features of a dumb phone as possible, but it’s not the same as having one of those actual e-ink devices. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is my grayscale screen. When I look at my phone now, it looks ugly! And I love it. There’s no color, and there’s no incentive for me to stay on it. How many times have I gone onto my phone to look something up, only to find myself scrolling Instagram 5 minutes later and totally clueless as to what I opened my phone for in the first place?
In fact, I now find myself wanting to put my phone down as soon as I open the screen to check something. I’ve also turned notifications off except for people who need to reach me in an emergency or for important emails, such as those from my college or professors. I’ve been using only essential apps and have turned my phone into what it was always meant to be: a utility and a tool, not something to sit on for hours a day wasting my life away scrolling through things that just frustrate me more and more. I could be reading, after all!
I believe turning your phone into a dumb phone is a bit easier on Android due to the software’s flexibility, but you can get pretty close to that state on iOS with the help of a few apps. My article is not really a guide on how to do this because there are plenty of videos and Reddit posts that show how to get close to a dumb phone experience.
I also have an e-reader, and I love the e-ink display and how easy it is on the eyes. If this continues to be something I want, I might consider e-ink phones once my current plan with my phone carrier ends. The benefits of e-ink are not only for the eyes and practical use, but the battery also lasts a long time. You can read your e-books on an e-ink device. While you can do this on any screen, trying to turn your iPad into a Kindle or another e-reader will strain your eyes more and drain the battery faster because it uses a full-color screen, unlike the e-ink displays that are gentle on the eyes and have excellent battery life. I think the prices of these devices will come down no matter what.
This isn’t new for me. In fact, I quit social media as an experiment back in January of this year, and the results were perplexing. I experienced a mental clarity unlike anything in recent years and found that I was much more productive without the bloat of algorithms trying to make me enraged and glued to their applications.
I continue to use BlueSky, which is basically old-school Twitter without the far-right Nazis and bots. I’m sure the app will change as they need to cover server costs. I’m not naive; I understand that this isn’t free. They have to make money, and unfortunately, that comes with a mental health cost as well as a privacy cost. Until I can host my own social media network, I think I’ll stick with BlueSky, especially since I need to market my upcoming novel and connect with readers.
My Hope for Humanity
I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. The popularity of ditching social media and cell phones is only becoming more widespread. I believe that, as a society, we are going to self-correct against the mass of AI, algorithms, and constant scrolling. Technology does have a purpose, and there are times and places for it. But these technologies are not sustainable because they disrupt the natural fabric of humanity. We crave connection, whether we’d like to admit it or not. I believe we’ll continue to see a course correction with this, though perhaps that’s just my optimism speaking. For now, I’ll keep enjoying more books, more meditation, and the simple gift of being more present in the world around me.
Images Used under license: https://unsplash.com/license
