Just think about it for a second or two. Could you go about your daily life without a smartphone by your side? Can you just give it and all your apps a time off? Not surprisingly at all, you can.

So hear me out. Almost two months ago my phone got really acquainted with the wall. Of course it got smashed, not into pieces but really damaged. I threw that fucker like I was playing baseball. At that point I had no working phone and for a few days I actually felt quite good not having to go online or answer some dumb call. This didn’t last long as I live in another city really needed to be contacted by family and friends, I couldn’t go full commando off the grid, hermit style.

I got my hands on a so called dumb phone, just a cheap dual-sim Nokia phone. It’s java based, doesn’t run your usual social media apps, which is really good. The only “app” that the phone has and is quite useful is the Microsoft weather app. Nothing more, nothing less, just your basic call and text phone.

I eventually came to the conclusion that I really didn’t need more and that was enough for me. Yeah, I gave up on social media and all the bull crap that comes with them. I stopped wasting time on things online that really didn’t matter to me, and that I went with the herd culture. I rediscovered reading and I also have more time to game on my pc, because gamers gotta game.

When I had a smartphone by my side I would always click on this and that, view that Youtube video and so forth. Yes, like any other human I was wasting hours and hours on crap. But don’t get me wrong, there are downsides to not having access to smart apps.

For example navigation, I had to keep my eyes always on signs so that I wouldn’t miss a turn or an exit and I also have a map in my car. Remember those? Ordering a taxi is more difficult and Uber or Bolt are not even an option. The same goes to ordering food, but that’s not that bad as I started cooking again and no to brag about it, but I do make delicious meals. Should start posting food pics on Instagram. Wait, NO! I do miss the option of playing online music while driving. If I really want to take photos I’d take my Sony Alpha a6000 and take some cool and professional snaps.

So it is what it is. I don’t really miss my Xiaomi that much, I can manage without it. When I had it I always had the tendency to keep on using it just because, without any reason in particular. I do waste time like any other person, but I limit my online interactions because I have a desktop pc and it’s kinda’ hard to drag it to bed to watch fail videos on Youtube before I fall asleep.

I did order parts to repair the phone, but it’s going to take a long time until they arrive from China. So basically I’ll be a hermit of sorts. Even if the parts arrive and I won’t be able to fix the phone it really won’t matter to me that much. I became free the minute I smashed it. I regret nothing. I did order an LG G6 a few weeks ago, but I returned it, I didn’t even open the box. I’m quite happy now, as I have enough time to do things I never had time for. Work, play, write and eat good.

So the question is this. Can you put away the smartphone for a while? Let’s assume you don’t have a job the requires you to check your email on the go. Can you leave all the social media non-sense? Can your precious online presence take step back?