This post made me click and read it (from a link on MALW) since I’ve been thinking of getting rid of my smartphone, selling it or just giving it away, and instead, getting a normal feature phone.

I recently deleted my FB profile which was a huge distraction for me, even though I am not an addict and didn’t use it as much as some people do. Next thing, I thought of the chat app on my phone called whatsapp. I’ve stopped messaging people and so they also almost stopped messaging me. Been days now, I checked the messages. Feels better and light.

Whenever I’m on the bed, the smartphone is with me. This is a bad habit I need to overcome.

I didn’t have to think of the pre-Internet era about how much and how easily I could concentrate. I’m able to concentrate that way even now when I sit in a garden to write a blog post or article. I make sure not to carry my phone when I go for a walk or for writing. 🙂

My cell phone era started in 2008. Before that year, I always refused to buy or accept a cell phone even as a gift. Not even from my bosses. I still know a friend who does not have a cell phone and it is by choice. He works in a big bank but is much happier and satisfied.

Most people with smartphones are unlike our Alicia Rades. I’ve heard of people checking their FB or email or whatsapp the first thing after they get up. This is super bad. The first 10 minutes after we get up, our brain is still in the alpha stage and whatever we do affects our whole day. Think what could happen if someone sent a bad or angry message or email!

Yes, there are things and apps in a smartphone which can be very helpful. But I think, we can do without them. It still depends on our fortune and past karmic actions. God helps us through someone, if we have a good connection with him and have been good to others, at times of need – whether you have a smartphone or not.

I will post here again, once I’m done with my smartphone, and let you know the experience. Also, I’m glad and appreciate your wise decision of not getting a smartphone. Our needs can be fulfilled, but not wants. Smartphone isn’t a need IMO – it’s a want which increases our wants.

Even if an emergency does come up, I am so rarely without wifi that I am easily reached.

I have thougth about getting an Ipad with cellular service in the past but that always comes back to too much connection. I like to have the option to block out the rest of the world every now and then.

From a sociological perspective, smartphones are changing the way we interact with information and our surroundings. There’s a world of distraction available on a smartphone and it’s no surprise we find a sea of people in social settings interacting remotely with people by text, email and social media. We are all less engaged with our surroundings thanks to our phones. The volume of distraction and availability of so much information also is teaching people to conform everything in life to a few sentences that will be immediately replaces by a stream of other concepts put together in tweet-sized form.

All that said, I do love my smartphone. I do need mobile access to email and work apps. I like the ability to make use of idle time that would otherwise be wasted so I can choose my free time for my personal desires. However, I feel like I use my phone far less than many other people.

Matthew, I have seen many people who just can’t seem to relax because they are constantly checking the smartphone.

Jake, you exemplify the balanced approach to smartphone use.

At the risk of being redundant at what’s already been said, you need to do what makes sense for your own situation, in life and business. I went to an iPhone about 3 or 4 years ago and it’s helpful on both counts. Sure it’s good for handling client emergencies or checking the status on a project, but as several others have pointed out, it’s my wifi hotspot for remote work on my laptop, radio/music for working out or doing yardwork, and the Nike+ app is a great training device. As long as it stays in my pocket at times when safety or social interaction should take precedence, it adds to my life rather than being a distraction.