What's so peculiar is that you even feel you need to justify your decision, with necessary throat-clearing about your supposed hypocrisy. We are not required to use all technology in order to use some technology. No one would rightly say to me, upon seeing me crack open the bottle of ibuprofen, that I also need to slam down some fentanyl, else I be labelled a hypocrite about pain relieving drugs. I applaud your flip phone! Keep on flippin'!
I totally agree with you Lydwine. One of the most insidious arguments from the technocrats is that if we don't fully embrace the Amish life style then we're being hypocritical and shouldn't try at all. The funny thing is, the real central principal behind the Amish life style is not a complete rejection of technology, it's simply asking the question with each new invention "is this good for our community?" I too will likely never arrive at such a detachment as those communities, nor do I believe that to be necessary, but I do want my wife and and I to always ask the question "is this good for our family?" and "is this good for our souls?" I believe we're probably called to a greater level of detachment than how we're living, but you have to start somewhere. Dropping the iphone seems like an excellent place to start. I have a dumb phone sitting on my dresser waiting for me to activate it. Perhaps this article will give me the push I need to do it.
That's a fair point. I suppose I see many of the technologies I use in daily life as having similar negative effects as smartphones which is why I called it hypocrisy.
Calling myself a hypocrite was mostly lighthearted, though. I really see myself as someone working towards a goal (use of technology that conforms with human flourishing) that I just haven't reached yet.
What I find most insidious about the so-called "smartphone" is how it helps further abase language. Most of us can't be without the phone because of all the non-phone activities it's taken over - it's a clock, it's a flashlight, it's email, it's a stereo, it's an app for car insurance or an airline or the weather it's a GPS, it's a camera, it's Zillow, it's Airbnb, it's Uber and Lyft, on and on and on. But it's all, "Hey, what's that!" "It's a phone!" It tries to hide what it is, and what it does. It speaks like a snake in a garden.
I got rid of my phone for a month and experienced a lot of the insights offered here but I found it too difficult in the long run to do my banking and go back to school, etc without.
I have eliminated a lot of the time-wasting apps I used to spend time on, games and such and I think breaking the habit was good for me and wish I could go “all the way”.
I think getting rid of the time-wasting apps is a big part of the solution to those who can't get rid of their smartphones due to their state in life.
I have some friends who use a plugin on their phone that makes their homescreen just a list of names of apps, as well as putting their phones into grayscale. That seems to go a long way to making a phone less addictive, while allowing you some of the genuinely useful parts of having a smartphone.
"For many of my students, I’m the first person in their life who thinks smartphones are bad for us and has actually done something about it. This is necessary for them to take this view seriously. Teenagers will not listen to their parents who say that their smartphone is bad for them and then proceed to spend their day browsing Facebook. "
Great point. I can point to people in my teenage years that set a similar example (that were not my parents) that had a massive impact in my worldview and relation to tech.
One of my favorite parts of the school year is early on when they see me pull out my flip phone for the first time. It usually derails the whole class with them asking how I do various things ("How do you drive anywhere? What if you need to look up a restaurant? etc.") and why I chose to have one. I've had one parent tell me that their child came home and asked for a flip phone after one of those days, so I consider it a winning strategy.
That was my bachelor party mentioned in the intro and I thought he was dead on the side of the road when I couldn't get ahold of him.
What's so peculiar is that you even feel you need to justify your decision, with necessary throat-clearing about your supposed hypocrisy. We are not required to use all technology in order to use some technology. No one would rightly say to me, upon seeing me crack open the bottle of ibuprofen, that I also need to slam down some fentanyl, else I be labelled a hypocrite about pain relieving drugs. I applaud your flip phone! Keep on flippin'!
I totally agree with you Lydwine. One of the most insidious arguments from the technocrats is that if we don't fully embrace the Amish life style then we're being hypocritical and shouldn't try at all. The funny thing is, the real central principal behind the Amish life style is not a complete rejection of technology, it's simply asking the question with each new invention "is this good for our community?" I too will likely never arrive at such a detachment as those communities, nor do I believe that to be necessary, but I do want my wife and and I to always ask the question "is this good for our family?" and "is this good for our souls?" I believe we're probably called to a greater level of detachment than how we're living, but you have to start somewhere. Dropping the iphone seems like an excellent place to start. I have a dumb phone sitting on my dresser waiting for me to activate it. Perhaps this article will give me the push I need to do it.
That's a fair point. I suppose I see many of the technologies I use in daily life as having similar negative effects as smartphones which is why I called it hypocrisy.
Calling myself a hypocrite was mostly lighthearted, though. I really see myself as someone working towards a goal (use of technology that conforms with human flourishing) that I just haven't reached yet.
What I find most insidious about the so-called "smartphone" is how it helps further abase language. Most of us can't be without the phone because of all the non-phone activities it's taken over - it's a clock, it's a flashlight, it's email, it's a stereo, it's an app for car insurance or an airline or the weather it's a GPS, it's a camera, it's Zillow, it's Airbnb, it's Uber and Lyft, on and on and on. But it's all, "Hey, what's that!" "It's a phone!" It tries to hide what it is, and what it does. It speaks like a snake in a garden.
I got rid of my phone for a month and experienced a lot of the insights offered here but I found it too difficult in the long run to do my banking and go back to school, etc without.
I have eliminated a lot of the time-wasting apps I used to spend time on, games and such and I think breaking the habit was good for me and wish I could go “all the way”.
I think getting rid of the time-wasting apps is a big part of the solution to those who can't get rid of their smartphones due to their state in life.
I have some friends who use a plugin on their phone that makes their homescreen just a list of names of apps, as well as putting their phones into grayscale. That seems to go a long way to making a phone less addictive, while allowing you some of the genuinely useful parts of having a smartphone.
A great ponder.🤔📲⚖️
I will spend some time with this.
Grace and peace to you Amigo!
Grace and peace to you as well!
"For many of my students, I’m the first person in their life who thinks smartphones are bad for us and has actually done something about it. This is necessary for them to take this view seriously. Teenagers will not listen to their parents who say that their smartphone is bad for them and then proceed to spend their day browsing Facebook. "
Great point. I can point to people in my teenage years that set a similar example (that were not my parents) that had a massive impact in my worldview and relation to tech.
One of my favorite parts of the school year is early on when they see me pull out my flip phone for the first time. It usually derails the whole class with them asking how I do various things ("How do you drive anywhere? What if you need to look up a restaurant? etc.") and why I chose to have one. I've had one parent tell me that their child came home and asked for a flip phone after one of those days, so I consider it a winning strategy.