Our generation has seen and followed the incredible rise of smartphones and technology. It has gone from phones like the Motorola Razr to Androids and iPhones (of many generations). It is now reaching the time when smartphones are at a level of production where they are as cheap as a flip phone to own, and soon, flip phones will be a thing of the past and will disappear from our lives, resting in our memories of the 1990s and early 2000s along with Tamagotchis and Bop Its.
While I realize that soon I will need to make the switch to a smartphone (simply because it will soon be cheaper to own an iPhone and because my mom keeps pestering me to just buy one already), I love my LG Octane. I have many reasons for loving it (and one may or may not be nostalgia), but here are the top five reasons I'm still holding on to my brick.
1. It's easier to type on
It's undeniable that touch screens are harder to type on. I'm sure there is some statistic somewhere that shows that autocorrect produces more mistakes and typos than it fixes them, but a quick Google search will show the massive amounts of autocorrect fails that exist. With my phone, I can type without looking and be assured that the message I am sending says exactly what I think it does. I can also type with crazy speed—super useful in any situation.
2. I don't want extra distraction
Smartphones can hold tons of information—which is great if you want to be distracted all day. They can have music, apps, games, movies, internet— so much that it's like having a laptop on you. When I have my laptop open to do homework I get distracted, so how would I be able to focus if I have the internet at my fingertips all day long? I procrastinate too much already, and it would definitely take away from my productivity. With my current phone, just texting can be distracting. I wouldn't get anything done if Facebook was giving me notifications and my phone was beeping every two seconds.
3. Two words: battery life
This is simple. iPhones die within the day, but my cell phone battery can last up to three days without charging. Why would you want to constantly be worried about your phone dying? I definitely appreciate that I don't have to buy portable chargers just to keep my phone alive for four hours.
4. It's indestructible
Anyone with a flip phone knows how indestructible they are. I once left my phone out in a storm, and I just plopped it in a jar of rice for a couple hours and it was fine. It has survived thousands of falls on concrete without the help of expensive accessories (I'm looking at you, Otterbox) and even survived me chucking it at a wall just to prove to someone that it was unbreakable. They are so strong they get the nickname "brick" phones. Or maybe that's because they don't do any more than a brick—but either way, this phone could survive a nuclear bomb. So worth it when you are clumsy like me and drop your phone a million times a day.
5. It keeps me social
This is probably one of the biggest problems of our generation. Over and over again people mention that our generation is getting sucked into technology and becoming less social in person and more social through online platforms. One of my biggest pet peeves is hanging out with a group of friends and everyone is on their phone. By having a phone that only does the bare minimum, you are less distracted (see #2) and can actually interact with the people around you.
While iPhones definitely have their pros, I am determined to hold onto my beloved flip phone for as long as possible. The end is nigh, but my brick will always be my phone of choice.
