So, what's happened a month into my experiment of dumping my Samsung smartphone and using a really cheap, very un-smartphone, Nokia 105? Well, it has been a little tricky. I've stuck with the Nokia as my phone but I've also had to carry the Samsung with me, the reasons why I'll explain shortly. Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of using the Nokia.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Advantages
- Only had to charge the Nokia three times in the last month
- Barely notice it in my pocket (unlike the Samsung 8+ which is almost like carrying a tablet around!)
- It has stopped me idly browsing through Twitter, Facebook, emails or searching the web whenever I reached the limits of my attention span. Over previous months this had been about 2 minutes max. This was initially the main reason why I wanted to get the 'dumbphone' as I was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything for a long time with feeling for the smartphone.
- I've pretty well broken my addiction to Twitter and generally feel much happier. I can still login through my laptop but I must have only done this about twice in a month and then only stayed online for a couple of minutes.
Disadvantages
- Texting. I generally don't have a huge number of texts to respond to but when I do it's tricky on Nokia. Firstly, I often can't tell who the text is from unless they are in my contact list on my phone which only has my family and close friends added. Every work contact I have, which is 1100+ at the moment is held in my Google Contacts. This has been brilliant in the past when I've moved phones. As soon as I've signed into the new phone with my work account everything comes with me. All my documents, emails, contacts and calendar. Not so with the dumbphone. If a text comes in from someone now, I have to quickly search for the number in my Google Contact via the laptop or Samsung to find who it is. Nobody adds their name to the end of a text anymore. Secondly, the process of texting is slow. There is no predictive text so I'm typing in every word, clicking each button several times to get to the correct letter or punctuation. The keyboard is also very small.
- Having to carry two devices. In the first week of the experiment I was still on my Christmas break so wasn't engaging with schools. Once I started work in the New Year it became clear that I needed access to my calendar and contacts. In the first week back working I was in discussion with the headteacher and they needed a date for a follow up staff meeting. Not having my Samsung meant that I had to quickly login to my Google work account on a school computer to find the information I needed. It would have been so much quicker if my smartphone was with me. So this is the main reason why I now carry around the Samsung with me. I can still look at my calendar even though I might not be connected to the internet.
- Can't connect the Nokia via Bluetooth to my car. Actually, I'm not sure if this is an advantage or disadvantage?? If my phone does go off in the car I just ignore it until I stop and can then return the call. How many calls do you receive that demand immediate attention? Not many I'm guessing. My average driving time when working is around 30 mins. I'm sure whatever the call is about it can wait until I've stopped.
- Podcasts. I love listening to Podcasts when I'm driving on my own. Again, the Nokia can't help with this so this is another reason why I have to carry the Samsung.
- Photographs. It's surprising the number of photos I take so this is another reason me to have to carry the Samsung.
So what have I learned from my experiment so far? I've learned that the Nokia is great just as a pure mobile phone and if I'm not working I'm happy to carry only this around with me. But I am struggling with sending text messages and knowing who I've received them from. When working I have to now carry a Nokia phone, a Samsung 8+ as a smart device (not a phone anymore, more a small tablet) along with my laptop. At the moment I'm ok with that. I've also definitely cut down on social media use that I was accessing via the smartphone and feel much better for doing so. It's not perfect but I'm going to stick with it.
Wider Concerns
As I said in a previous post, the initial reason I started this experiment was because of my own concerns about how I felt I was becoming addicted to the smartphone. Always having it by my side, looking at it constantly and being drawn into reading and engaging with social media applications. It just didn't feel right. However, as I started to read more widely around this I realized there were much wider issues around the use of the smartphone that started to get me concerned - surveillance and privacy in particular. Your smartphone is an outstanding device in tracking every single step you make. As long as your smartphone is on your mobile phone company can track exactly where you are. If location services are switched on, your device is tracking you where ever you go. If you have a Google account have a look at your Google Maps Timeline which has your location history - everywhere you've ever been on a particular day and time. Apps you install may ask for access to location services. Why does that app require location access and who are they then sharing that information with? I've now switched off location services on my Samsung and deleted off my Google location history which went back many years. Much of this is obviously linked with privacy issues too, why do these large (and small) tech companies want this information, what do they do with it and who do they share this information with? My digital life over about the last 10 years has been pretty much tied into the Google ecosystem, like many people having my own personal Google account, along with Google for Business accounts. But now I am really looking at how I might be able to disentangle myself from this due to Google and privacy. They have been aware of every search I've carried out through my Chrome browser, the emails I receive and send, the events I post in my calendar, my list of contacts and much, much more. I believe Google know me more than I probably know myself :-) Therefore I'm trying to 'fight back'. I've stopped using the Chrome browser and now access the web through the Brave web browser, that blocks trackers embedded in the website you visit. I've also set DuckDuckGo as my default search engine instead of Google. I've also started to look at the Tor browser which allows you to "browse privately" and "defend yourself against tracking and surveillance". I also began investigating into safe, secure email services and finally bought a years subscription to Proton Mail and Proton VPN. I'm not using the email much at the moment but I am looking at slowly moving more across to this email and contacts. I chose Proton Mail as the interface is easy to use and I understand that their intention is to grow the product. They currently are running a beta version of a calendar application. It would be amazing if they could offer cloud storage somewhere in the near future. At that point I would definitely move all my personal GMail / Drive stuff across.
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| Brave Web Browser - 18,614 ads and trackers blocked in the last couple of months |
I don't think I'm the only one feeling like this and wanting to make a change to their digital lives. Some people have spotted my phone and asked "Why?" When I explain my reasons many have said that they feel the same. Whether it's that I'm more aware of it, but there does seem to be more in the news about privacy and surveillance and our tech lifestyles. The Facebook / Cambridge Analytica story kick started many questions in the general public about the use or misuse of our data along with the hash tag #deletefacebook regularly trending on social media. A report titled "Out of Control" released two weeks ago from the Norwegian Consumer Council said:
"In this report, we demonstrate how every time we use our phones, a large number of shadowy entities that are virtually unknown to consumers are receiving personal data about our interests, habits, and behaviour.
As we move around on the internet and in the real world, we are being continually tracked and profiled for the purpose of showing targeted advertising. In this report, we demonstrate how every time we use our phones, a large number of shadowy entities that are virtually unknown to consumers are receiving personal data about our interests, habits, and behaviour."
It's interesting to see a recent TV advert from Apple that was totally focused on how Apple are "committed to protecting your data". I think 2020 is going to be a year of big tech fighting to prove that they have our privacy in mind. I feel that horse might have bolted already for some.
New York Times - The Privacy Project
Privacy International - What is Privacy?
Privacy International - An Open Letter to Google
The Atlantic - The Dark Psychology of Social Networks
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