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June, 2025

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Dumping Smartphone

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byubound
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 9,873
My current phone has been slowly deteriorating since I went OTB on my mountain bike last summer, and instead of replacing it with another smartphone I have been giving some serious thought to picking up a feature phone. Pretty sick of constantly breaking these things, crappy battery life, and wasting lots of time on instagram and the like. My two main reservations were spotify and google maps, so if I do go that route I am likely going to pick up a little spotify-enabled mp3 player and a cheap tablet to keep in the truck that I could pull up google maps on as long as I had wifi. Thoughts? Anybody else gone this route? I'd love to hear your experience.
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4 years ago
7 0
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eheath
Posts: 61964 - Karma: 126,873
Its called self control, smartphones provide us with some amazing features that have changed our lives for the better, just uninstall Instagram its pretty ez, giving up Spotify and maps because you can't stop yourself from looking at da gram?

Check out the iphone 12 mini (SE or whatever) or a goggle pixel 5, pick your software and enjoy 2 days of battery life, maybe even 3 if you don't scroll :)
4 years ago
15 1
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SofaKingSick
Posts: 9776 - Karma: 66,126
i mean do you but it seems like way more trouble than it's worth. there are some really cheap cell plans with smartphones so i doubt you'd actually save all that much money, and lots of things would be a huge PITA that shouldn't be

also what do you do for work? if i told someone in my office to do something and they told me "oh no sorry i don't have a smart phone" i gotta tell you i'd be put off. having a smart phone really is the norm these days. i think you should just use yours less and put a case on it
4 years ago
10 1
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Grom
Posts: 314 - Karma: 2,112
yea but then u cant follow drinkbutter on ig :(
4 years ago
10 1
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byubound
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 9,873
eheathIts called self control, smartphones provide us with some amazing features that have changed our lives for the better, just uninstall Instagram its pretty ez, giving up Spotify and maps because you can't stop yourself from looking at da gram?

Check out the iphone 12 mini (SE or whatever) or a goggle pixel 5, pick your software and enjoy 2 days of battery life, maybe even 3 if you don't scroll :)


That's fair, but like I said in OP I wouldn't have to stop using spotify or maps. Other than that, I'm not really sure my smartphone brings that many benefits to my life. I would, however, maybe get a simpler and less tech dependent daily experience, and worry less about battery and breaking stuff than I do with a phone. Thanks for the input, I wouldn't have made this thread if I was sure I wanted to go this route.
4 years ago
5 0
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byubound
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 9,873
SofaKingSicki mean do you but it seems like way more trouble than it's worth. there are some really cheap cell plans with smartphones so i doubt you'd actually save all that much money, and lots of things would be a huge PITA that shouldn't be

also what do you do for work? if i told someone in my office to do something and they told me "oh no sorry i don't have a smart phone" i gotta tell you i'd be put off. having a smart phone really is the norm these days. i think you should just use yours less and put a case on it


Good points. I am a university student and don't have any smartphone dependent responsibilities at work or school.
4 years ago
3 0
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SofaKingSick
Posts: 9776 - Karma: 66,126
byuboundGood points. I am a university student and don't have any smartphone dependent responsibilities at work or school.


yeah, you can free ball it quite a bit as a college student i guess but i still feel like you'll get in situations where you wish you had a smartphone, there are so many times having a smartphone has made my life a lot easier. up to you, i don't think it's a horrid idea or anything, i just don't think it's a helpful move for ya
4 years ago
4 1
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zues
Posts: 6434 - Karma: -5,330
I went a couple of months with no phone at all. It was awesome. You basically go about life as usual but instead of burying your head in your phone you talk to people or read the paper. You're not accountable because noone can reach you aside from PC access. I'd hit bars / restaurants and just talk to strangers like they used to do in the old days. I found that I'd venture out more on my own and try new things.
4 years ago
5 0
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byubound
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 9,873
SofaKingSickyeah, you can free ball it quite a bit as a college student i guess but i still feel like you'll get in situations where you wish you had a smartphone, there are so many times having a smartphone has made my life a lot easier. up to you, i don't think it's a horrid idea or anything, i just don't think it's a helpful move for ya


Mind sharing some of these times when having a smartphone has made your life a lot easier? Maybe it's just my disenchantment with my current phone, but I'm not really seeing these in my life right now.
4 years ago
2 0
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eheath
Posts: 61964 - Karma: 126,873
byuboundMind sharing some of these times when having a smartphone has made your life a lot easier? Maybe it's just my disenchantment with my current phone, but I'm not really seeing these in my life right now.


Any time I go anywhere, my smartphone helps me, especially when you're out of town, i couldn't travel without a smartphone. Whether its car or plane, a smartphone is pretty essential to me for travelling.

I use my phone to pay for gas, groceries, beers, etc with google pay.

I use venmo/banking/credit card apps daily, venmo has changed how I pay my friends and logging into my banking/cards with my fingerprint is so much better than on my computer.

Any time I want to listen to music or a podcast, I use my phone.

I use my phone for basically all of my TV watching, chromecasting to my TV, but I could do this with a computer but thats annoying.

This is just what I got off the top of my head, communication in general with smart phones is very nice, so many different ways to communicate with different people, texting/calling has been surpassed.
4 years ago
4 1
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byubound
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 9,873
eheathAny time I go anywhere, my smartphone helps me, especially when you're out of town, i couldn't travel without a smartphone. Whether its car or plane, a smartphone is pretty essential to me for travelling.

I use my phone to pay for gas, groceries, beers, etc with google pay.

I use venmo/banking/credit card apps daily, venmo has changed how I pay my friends and logging into my banking/cards with my fingerprint is so much better than on my computer.

Any time I want to listen to music or a podcast, I use my phone.

I use my phone for basically all of my TV watching, chromecasting to my TV, but I could do this with a computer but thats annoying.

This is just what I got off the top of my head, communication in general with smart phones is very nice, so many different ways to communicate with different people, texting/calling has been surpassed.


Venmo is definitely one I use frequently and hadn't considered. Thanks
4 years ago
2 0
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SofaKingSick
Posts: 9776 - Karma: 66,126
byuboundMind sharing some of these times when having a smartphone has made your life a lot easier? Maybe it's just my disenchantment with my current phone, but I'm not really seeing these in my life right now.


things that come to mind are portals and websites/resources used by employers, or in your case, school stuff. checking your emails (oh shit when is that assignment due again? let's check, okay done), getting to new places without taking double the time, looking up info on google and stuff on the fly, a lot of things expect you to be able to use apps, at my work for instance there are 3 that we use for stuff and if i told them i don't have a smartphone they'd be like wtf

also for girls and friends and sports or hobbies, it's better to be able to text easily and quickly, or maybe you're talking to a new love interest and she sends you a link to her, idk, etsy. you don't want to have to be like oh actually my phone is 15 years old, i'll check it out later on my computer. idk, just spitballing
4 years ago
3 0
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BrandoComando
Posts: 1486 - Karma: 18,805
If certain apps like insta bother you or are too distracting, set restrictions on them in your settings. It's easier to do self control when your phone tells you to stop. Like others have said, at this point, smartphones are pretty much necessary for daily life in our culture. Cheap ($300ish) smartphones have gotten pretty good nowadays too. You don't need the $1k+ flagships
4 years ago
3 0
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stinky_cheese
Posts: 1221 - Karma: 5,176
my first thought is that it would be super sick and that you should do it. I've been thinking about doing the same thing myself for quite some time. It gets really tempting to throw out the smartphone and get a beater after having wasted a couple hours on social media, but at the end of the day there are a LOT of really useful things that smartphones allow me/us to do. some of them have been mentioned here but i'll just mention some more. Venmo, trailforks, mountain project, udisc(disc golf), voice memos, camera, photos, sharing apps like dropbox and google drive. YEah a lot of that can be done on the computer, but it is so convenient on your phone. especially with apps like trailforks and mountain project, are you gunna be pulling out a laptop from your rope bag when trying to find a hidden route up some canyon? probably not. idk there are guide books for that i guess
4 years ago
0 0
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theabortionator
Posts: 52691 - Karma: 175,139
eheathIts called self control, smartphones provide us with some amazing features that have changed our lives for the better, just uninstall Instagram its pretty ez, giving up Spotify and maps because you can't stop yourself from looking at da gram?

Check out the iphone 12 mini (SE or whatever) or a goggle pixel 5, pick your software and enjoy 2 days of battery life, maybe even 3 if you don't scroll :)


Idk man. A lot of people theae days are fucking addicted. Saying just don't use certain apps is like "hey man just hang out in the bar just drink water."

Honestly i don't have a problem with the phone but I've watched people ski into lift towers, walk into walls, walk in front of cars locked into the phone.

People are getting throne a tablet to stare at from 2 years old on and getting smart phones super young. Some people can simply use apps less or delete problem ones. Some people it's honestly probably better to get rid of it.

I think well see more phones popping up that have music and maps etc but can't run insta facebook etc. Idk the logistics of making that happen but there's a huge market for that. A lot of people are recognizing that smart phones are a huge problem for them.
4 years ago
5 0
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freestyler540
Posts: 13238 - Karma: 20,486
Id be one of the first to discourage upgrading all the time, but disposable phones make tech waste. We all know these things dont get recycled in north america.
Investing in protective casings will improve phone life by at least a year. I never broke a phone and I give my past phone to a neigbour that is low income.
Plus if you love to take pictures, high end phone have unreal resolusion. Ive been printing pics from my phone from wall mart and selling them for cheap.
4 years ago
3 0
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TOAST.
Posts: 7780 - Karma: 40,087
Just buy a cheap smartphone and dont install apps that distract you. I have never bought a phone over $150 and never have broken them, sure they are a little laggy, but battery easily lasts me an entire day.
4 years ago
4 0
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HypeBeast
Posts: 10097 - Karma: 76,790
byuboundMind sharing some of these times when having a smartphone has made your life a lot easier? Maybe it's just my disenchantment with my current phone, but I'm not really seeing these in my life right now.


Eheath kind of killed it for how smartphones are useful in daily lives. I'm guessing map quest is before your time? That shit was revolutionary. Holy hell directions you print off. The Garmins came out and that was the shit. Now having Google maps on phones is taken for granted way too much and people literally can't function if they lose service. I know everyone is too afraid to say it but porn before smartphones- woof was that a challenge riddled with viruses.

I use my phone for pretty much everything electronic. Voice and text communication, email, bill pay, mobile banking, investing, research, online shopping, planning and booking trips, reading the news, alarm clock, music, setting reminders, brainstorming ideas, creating lists, taking photos and videos, and so much more. There's not much you can't do on a smartphone.

I agree people are beyond addicted and can't communicate anymore. If you're worried about that or want to jump back to a semi stone age, just flip your phone into "extreme power saving mode" or "emergency mode" as Samsung changed its name to. Only basic features available.
4 years ago
3 0
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Chunderface
Posts: 2566 - Karma: 10,057
You can wax poetic all you want about the benefits of smartphones. But the data is in. Our lives were better before the smartphone. And especially before the advent of Facebook. If you can manage to get the thing out of your life, do it.
4 years ago
11 3
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theabortionator
Posts: 52691 - Karma: 175,139
skeirmanYou can wax poetic all you want about the benefits of smartphones. But the data is in. Our lives were better before the smartphone. And especially before the advent of Facebook. If you can manage to get the thing out of your life, do it.


Man's not wrong. It has a ton of useful options but it can be a trap. If you need to bail, bail...
4 years ago
1 0
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zues
Posts: 6434 - Karma: -5,330
skeirmanYou can wax poetic all you want about the benefits of smartphones. But the data is in. Our lives were better before the smartphone. And especially before the advent of Facebook. If you can manage to get the thing out of your life, do it.


Deleting FB was a monumental moment in my life
4 years ago
1 0
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Butterytips69
Posts: 732 - Karma: 8,237
I've thought about doing the same thing OP. No spotify would kinda suck but you could just pirate a bunch of music and put it on CDs or an old iPod. Paper maps are pretty cheap and easy enough to read. Can also print directions from computer before you leave.
4 years ago
1 0
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eheath
Posts: 61964 - Karma: 126,873
Butterytips69I've thought about doing the same thing OP. No spotify would kinda suck but you could just pirate a bunch of music and put it on CDs or an old iPod. Paper maps are pretty cheap and easy enough to read. Can also print directions from computer before you leave.


All of this because you wanna use social media less? seems silly just delete social media
4 years ago
3 3
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hdubs
Posts: 1133 - Karma: 11,690
Butterytips69Can also print directions from computer before you leave.

I remember the days when we used to do this. Crazy times
4 years ago
5 0
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deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
I have a flip phone and a semi-shitty smartphone. I do all of my texting and calling on the flip phone, and I'll use the smartphone for Google Maps, Gaia when I'm skiing or climbing, and my school's covid app. Other than that, I leave my smartphone off and at home most of the times I go out. I haven't seen the thing in days and it feels great.

After I'm done with school, I'll be working in a profession where having your phone visible is mostly forbidden, so that should help.
4 years ago
1 0
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Granby_killdozer
Posts: 2533 - Karma: -14,947
You can just delete your FB, Instagram, reddit and even snap if you really want to be hardcore about it and keep the smartphone. I did and I haven't looked back. It took a few weeks to really shake the desire to undo the delete (which takes 30 days on Instagram and facebook) but honestly, it's not that hard. My friends just text me memes now lol. But getting rid of social media was one of the best things that I've ever done for my mental health. I don't really give a fuck about the political opinions of someone I went to highschool with or the world traveling adventures of some rich kid on Instagram.
4 years ago
1 0
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EdogEdog
Posts: 8 - Karma: 30
I have also thought about this, however my work requires me to have a smartphone for emails/teams. There is an interesting device called the LightPhone II (https://www.thelightphone.com/) which I though about getting. It is a cool concept but costs way too much, and is still lacking a few more features I would like (navigation specifically). The main reason I never cut the cord is like others mentioned above, its not actually that much cheaper per month, so unless you are literally addicted and can't stop, you are probably just better off having the self control and then still having the phone for all the good stuff it does have.
4 years ago
0 0
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Poikenz
Posts: 1589 - Karma: 4,720
Cell phones can be very useful in emergencies, so if that worries you a flip phone might be a good route. Get something with a replacable battery to extend it's life, had my last phone for 10 years because of that. You don't need spotify or google maps. You can look up how to get somewhere before you leave the house and you can discover new music organically, or just listen to the same ol' on some cheap mp3 player.
But you should probably just get rid of it if it's a problem for you. You think you'll be missing out, but you won't be.
4 years ago
1 0
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CatdickBojangles
Posts: 6489 - Karma: 66,547
Pretty sure you can limit your time on social media with iOS.
4 years ago
2 0
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byubound
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 9,873
Aight guys, I think I am going to go with the smartphone sans social media apps route. Getting a cheap car tablet+spotify player+feature phone was getting a little clunky and expensive for my tastes. A couple concluding points though:

Lots of people in here talking about social media habits. While this is a really valid point and something to be addressed, in my case it is a pretty neutral point. I don't feel like I have a massive problem with social media to the point where I couldn't stop using it without getting rid of my phone, but I also feel like I would lose out on anything at all by getting rid of it either, and wasting less time on that stuff wouldn't be a bad thing either.

My bigger issue is with how disposable phones are these days. Glass backs, nonremovable batteries, etc. are the bigger frustration to me and the bigger part of what I would like to clear out of my life. Honestly, it was kind of a bummer to realize over the past few days of thinking about this that I am fairly dependent on some of the stuff that my smartphone does. Is it convenient? Sure. but I also feel like it is wasteful and kind of a huge pain to deal with modern nonrepairable tech. Oh well, guess that's how it is these days.



My hope now is just to use my phone so little that it will be far less likely to break and needs to be charged less, extending the useful life of the battery. We'll see how it goes. If anyone does go the feature phone route, please keep me updated on how it goes! I might consider switching in the future if KaiOS picks up spotify and a couple other apps.
4 years ago
3 0
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HaydenB
Posts: 1075 - Karma: 8,194
Nokia 3210 or a flip if you're core
4 years ago
2 0
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