Dumbphone is a practical solution for those who suffer from overuse of the phone (every one of us).
We are addicted to our smartphones. They are a distraction that we carry with us everywhere, all the time – from the moment we wake up till the moment we go to sleep. At worst, they are actually addictive to us, causing withdrawal symptoms. In a parallel article, you can find some interesting insights about it.
We are constantly distracted by our apps, and they compete with remarkable sophistication for our attention.
Some people like me held onto their old Nokia phone with pride when this crazy mobile revolution was just getting started. Today such brave people are rare to find.
It’s true, you can still buy a dumbphone, but very few people do. So as always, I recommend and encourage implementing minimalist strategies in the current digital environment.
What can you do? Turn your smartphone into a dumbphone.
It’s not a magical solution for heavy addicts, but rather simple actions that can be taken to reduce friction with the phone and curb our digital addictions.
So how do you turn your smartphone into a dumbphone in 10 simple steps? Let’s begin.
1. Delete apps from your device
Apps make our phones smart, of course. Regardless of what kind of phone you have, you need to know how to delete apps. You can use this opportunity to get rid of all your smart solutions that you have downloaded over the years. Although it may be difficult for some of you to delete apps that you might really use in the future, for the sake of the experiment, I recommend deleting, deleting, and deleting again. You can always reinstall.
If you have a hard time parting with apps, put the ones you still want to keep in a dedicated folder.
It’s helpful to know that the device comes with some apps that cannot be deleted. We’ll get to that soon.
2. Disable apps that can’t be uninstalled
If you cannot remove an app, at least you can disable it.
On Android (at least on mine), it’s in settings — applications — “application name” — disable. A built-in app may not have the “disable” option since you can only have so much freedom of action. If it is an app you downloaded, then “Uninstall” will be displayed instead of “Disable”.
The iPhone also has the option to disable basic apps. However, you will have to look for a guide that deals with it because they change with every release. Here, for example, is a clear and comprehensive guide.
3. Change the display to grayscale (black and white)
It is said that by replacing the colors (which stimulate neural activity in our brain) with black and white, we are less motivated to check our phone even when it is not ringing or alerting. In the words of Tristan Harris, who has already been featured here on the blog a lot: “Looking at even just the colors of your screen activates banana-like rewards for chimpanzees. If you just turn that off, it makes a big difference.”
The phone becomes less fun, which is an advantage if you want to eliminate or reduce undesirable habits. Surfing Facebook or Instagram newsfeeds becomes boring and lifeless. It is no longer fun to watch videos on YouTube or play addictive games.
How to switch to black and white on an old Android
Switching to black and white on Android from version 10
Setting black and white on an iPhone
4. Disable notifications (bye-bye, push notifications)
The next step is to disable notifications for what’s left after we’ve minimized most apps on our phone. You should still consider silencing apps even if you have left them. If you cannot do without WhatsApp or Gmail because of business or family commitments, you can log into it at intervals that are convenient for you rather than letting them dictate how long and how often you use it.
It’s true that all notifications are distractions, but push notifications to your phone’s screen are the worst.
5. Make your Android screen more customized with a minimalist launcher app (Launcher App)
An application that allows you to customize the phone’s screen is one of the most effective strategies for changing the way we use our phones. This is both for the purpose of creating a dumbphone as well as for productivity and effectiveness.
It’s worth experimenting with, there are many options.
6. Disable WiFi and mobile data
I know it’s difficult, but come on… do we want a dumbphone or not? 🙂
We don’t need cellular data to make calls or send texts. The only thing that requires constant WiFi and mobile data is our distracting smartphone.
All of these are on-device manipulations we can all do. Now I’ll add some other relevant tips.
7. Use Waze (or other GPS apps) for complex navigation
People I know depend so much on their Waze that they navigate with it even on incredibly easy routes, or on routes they drive every day. It’s true that the app is very useful when it comes to traffic jam updates and the like, and I agree that this may be critical at times – but it’s worth examining when you don’t need to use a navigation application and can glance at home for a moment on Google Maps and close the issue.
By the way, the ability to navigate without technological aids greatly improves cognition.
8. Get a landline
A landline is genius. While most of the world has a smartphone in their pocket, a small portion of the population still has a landline at home. This is a shame, since a landline phone can be used to communicate with friends and family, negating the need to put one’s hand in their pocket unconsciously. When you have a landline phone, you don’t have to rely on your smartphone all the time.
9. Download content for offline viewing
The ability to download content such as music, video and even maps for offline use is a practical way to make use of WiFi services less frequently. It does require a bit of preparation in advance, but once established it is extremely easy.
10. Invest in a dumbphone
Hehe, with one title I made this article unnecessary. Just kidding.
A wide range of dumbphones are available on the market today, some of which are very reliable and convenient to use.
This is one of many reviews of popular dumbphones in 2023.
That’s it, you’re all set!
We all have pretty bad digital habits, as I wrote at the beginning of the article, but that doesn’t mean we should give up. Small changes in the direction presented here can help us get closer to digital peace. You have to take time to adjust since hey, after all, we are addicts, so it’s understandable if it is challenging at first.
It’s worth the effort, and you’ll notice the difference over time.
