u/Rinna99

Hello there! Long time lurker, first time poster in this community.

I've been looking at ways to become less attached and of reducing screen time for over a year now, which has worked.

Slowly, I decreased from 12h a day to 7h, then to 5h, then during the happiest months of my life to 1h (and that only due to whatsapp calls). I'd been looking heavily into dumb phones, but then I gave up on the idea, deeming it too extreme and unfunctional. BS asides, what about my plane tickets? How can I prove my identity to enter my gmail account? The bank? Talking to abroad friends? What about all of that? Maps? Am I forgetting anything else?

That and a certain attachment to my Samsung Z Flip 2 has stopped me. It's impossible, right? Or is it not?

Last night, I had it. I've spent 2 and a half weeks at home, 1 at the hospital due to a stomach bacteria. My screentime rocketed back to at least 5h a day again or more, depending on the day and week. I downloaded Youtube again (my only socials were Reddit, Pinterest seldomly, and, if it counts, whatsapp, as I have deleted my instagram account without looking back nor missing it for months).

I feel like this thing is such an extra appendix to my life that takes away all the colour and true fun of things. Like I'm going from Ghibli to Severance (personal favourites, but you get what I mean).

I decided, at 2AM last night, that I would sell my phone, keeping my friend's memories, the bought downloadable content and all the covers to a friend who has always loved my phone for pretty much two peanuts. Also, I would get a distraction-free, functional, fun looking dumb phone with at least Maps on it. I found it and behold, it's the Nokia flip Barbie phone.

Created for digital detoxes (mine would be hopefully for life), exchangeable covers that come in the pack just like in the 00s, calls, texts, maps, radio, downloaded music, T9, headphone jack. The whole deal.

I was dead set on using whatsapp and whatnot only on my laptop, and either at working environments or at home. I can live with no banking app. About metro/ train tickets, only some countries are digital only (the UK and Portugal are not, and surely other techi-er countries have alternatives). Gmail would be an issue, but maybe I could ask authentication through texts? Maybe I can just print the plane tickets, no?

I told this to my boyfriend today, and he absolutely flipped out. He is a minimalist himself, btw.

He deems it unrealistic and even naively utopian to live without a smartphone in your pocket, at least. He said I was going on dangerous grounds and strongly advised me "not to be dumb/ impulsive about it, and that it was still consumerism."

I have doubts and mixed feelings now.

We do travel often, as we live outside our origin country and even plan on moving within the next 2 years again. I'm 27 F, and he's 25 M. We are between fresh-out-of-academia and fresh-into-the-job-market.

All of this said, help a girl out. Am I delusional? Is it really impossible to go tech-appendix free? Do we truly have no functional choice?

Has anyone done it, and how was it?

Edit for typos AND- TLDR: I want to sell my phone for half a penny to a good friend and only have a dumb phone with maps. Boyfriend hates the idea and says it's impossible to survive in this century this way. We travel alot, live abroad, and are in our mid to late 20s.