Better were the days when we used cell phones as they were intended. We made our calls and texts and that was enough. Then came the dark days of the smartphone and its brothel of applications that came to dominate our lives and rip our attention away from reality. For me, the better days weren’t that long ago. It was only 8 months ago that I made the transition from flip phone to smart phone and I’ve been regretting it every day since. I first got a cell phone in 2010 and it lasted me five years without needing a single improvement or upgrade. It did all I needed it to do and nothing more. I could:
1. Set reminder alarms
2. Use a calendar
3. Take notes
4. Take photos
5. Call and text people without error
And if you’re thinking about all the things the flip phone couldn’t do, then fine. Let’s talk about what it didn’t do. For starters, it didn’t constantly annoy me with update notifications. It didn’t require my constant care. It didn’t tempt me with an array of gizmos and features that would distract me from actual life. Most of all, it didn’t beg me to recharge it every god damn day. No. My flip phone could go at least a week without a recharge meaning I didn’t have to account for battery life in my day to day plans. I didn’t have to say, “Well I’m not sure if I should go because what if there isn’t a charging station around”. Its body was strong and durable. At least more than the smartphone. I didn’t have to worry about a cracked screen nor be fooled into buying tempered glass or some shock resistant, bullet proof, flame retardant, anti-radioactive massive rubber case for the phone. You couldn’t store much valuable info on a flip phone, therefore you didn’t have to bother with a password just to make a call.
People were always trying to convince me of how if I just got a smartphone, I could listen to music, watch videos, use email and social media, to which I always replied, “That’s kinda what I have a laptop for”. If I’m going to listen to music, I’m going to do it right and make time for it.
Another thing that gets to me is how everyone has the nerve to say, “Oh wow! The future is now!” because of the seemingly infinite uses of the smartphone. The future isn’t now until we have hover cars, jet packs, force fields, and space ships. Everyone having their own computer that they can carry on them at all times isn’t the future. It’s the delusion of a four-year-old.
Best of all was style. There’s an inherent awkwardness in talking into the flat and boring rectangles, which is in stark contrast to the natural angle of the flip phone which appropriately shapes to your head as you talk into it. Flicking the flip phone open is like Captain Kirk calling up the Enterprise. Plus, there is nothing better than hanging up on somebody by simply closing the phone with one hand.
To end, I will say that the smartphone has led to the age of social media run amok where everyone is so obsessed with posting/tweeting/snapping/sharing every thought that pops into their little minds that they don’t even stop to think about what they’re doing in the first place. Whereas the flip phone was the peak of personal communication technology, unmatched in reliability, efficiency, and sheer style.
Picture a person on their smartphone and a person on their flip phone.
Ask yourself who looks better. On second thought, don’t ask yourself that. You already know the answer.
