It Really IS the Damn Phone!

My Dumb Phone Trial.

I had this idea, inspired by a vlog that I came across on YouTube, where a father and daughter took a road trip without their smartphones. I thought to myself, this is such a wonderful idea. How often do we find ourselves wasting away with our little screens glued to our hands?

Some days, I come home from work, sit on the couch and doomscroll for hours. I’m not consuming anything worthwhile. Instead, I’m constantly opening and closing apps for the next notification, the next post, or some random update that has absolutely nothing to do with me.

When speaking to close friends, family and colleagues, I realized this was a common experience. So, I recognized this as a personal issue — not only for achieving my goals but also in stepping out of my comfort zone in a city that’s still fairly new to me.

I moved to Calgary almost a year ago, and I can say I have definitely done things that I normally wouldn’t do, like going to halaqas and learning more about Islam in inspiring and engaging environments. But I could be doing more! I know, I know, maybe it’s enough for now. Still, when I notice I’m not staying disciplined in my eating, sleeping, reading, fitness and creative habits, I know something needs to change!

Not only that but… what else could I be doing with my time?

So, I ordered my first dumb phone. At the beginning of May, I became the owner of a CAT S22 Flip. Yes, not only was I now a flip phone owner — which by the way, I’d never been before (my first phone, at the age of eighteen, was a Blackberry with a full keyboard) — but I now identified as a construction worker. I have since pinched a number of fingers but that’s besides the point!

What I Discovered in My Short One Week Trial

Immediately, I realized the convenience of having an iPhone. Texting on the CAT was not peachy. I suppose that was the whole point: less screen time. But not only that, my friends and family — mostly my family — became frustrated with their inability to access me the way they did before. My friends and coworkers thought I was really brave for making the switch. They would soon get the front row seat to my struggles.

Transferring contacts was a pain because the two operating systems didn’t communicate. At first, I added a few phone numbers manually and at some point, I just let it go. I figured, whoever needed to reach me, would contact me and I could check the number on my iPhone to see who was messaging. So yes, I brought my iPhone along with me too. Carrying two phones became inconvenient really fast.

We are a family of iPhone users. There was a time when some of us had Samsungs or Google Pixels, but for several years now, it’s been all iPhones. This means iMessage groups did not transfer to my dumb phone. And — and this is a big one — FaceTime!

Many times, on my way home from work, I’d call my mom — just a regular phone call. After a moment of catching up, she’d start to say goodbye, expressing that talking without the video wasn’t much fun. She’d ask me to call her again once I got home.

One aspect of having a smart phone is having information readily available to you. Wihtout it, I quickly became aware of how little I knew about what was happening around the world. I especially missed updates on the situation in Palestine — something I had come to rely on through the voices of khaledbeydoun, wizard_bisan1 and motaz_azaiza on Instagram.

Now, I had to go out of my way to find that information, which I can’t see as a bad thing. It just means putting in a bit more effort than usual. But maybe that’s the point: to be more intentional about what I consume and more aware of where I go to find it.

What was really freeing about spending time away from social media was no longer feeling the urge to post updates about my life. I shared things with friends and family when it felt necessary and those updates stayed personal and intimate. I started looking forward to phone calls and focused more on the things I needed to do for myself.

I began reading more, watching TV without multitasking, enjoying my time at the gym without scrolling between sets and staying present when interacting with people. Life began to slow down a bit, and feelings of anxiousness and being on edge started to fade.

Sidebar

Several years ago, I sat in the backseat of my uncle’s car, relieved to be leaving Faisalabad and heading to Lahore, where I would catch a flight back to Windsor, Ontario. I had an extreme case of homesickness. The sun blazed overhead and the heat was overwhelming. I was overstimulated by the sounds of the city and felt slightly guilty for being so needy throughout the trip.

As we drove, my aunt began reminiscing about the time when my twin brother and sister were born. She recalled how difficult it was to make a simple phone call to Pakistan — how much effort it took and how expensive it was just to exchange a few words with family across the ocean. Her memory brought tears to my eyes, as I imagined my parents — just weeks into life in an unfamiliar country, so far from home — happy to spend their hard earned money to briefly share such a happy moment. I realized how easy we have it today — how simple it is for us to stay connected with people around the world and how quickly we take it for granted. How our phones have morphed into something more than the simplicity of staying connected to loved ones.

So, although I am sad to report the swift end of my CAT S22 Flip phone era, I am happy to share that after some customizations to my smartphone — mainly deleting apps where I waste my time, I find myself less attached to my phone and take pleasure in being more present in the everyday moments of life.