A new Pew Research Center analysis finds that 66% of Americans own at least two digital devices — Smartphone, desktop or laptop computer, or tablet — and 36% own all three. The age group most likely to own multiple devices is 30- to 49-year-olds, half of whom report owning all three, according to its 2015 survey data. Interestingly, some 16% of American adults do not have a Smartphone, desktop or laptop computer, or tablet.
While many adults in the United States can’t imagine not having regular access to the Internet, social media, or addictive games, there are many millennials who are ditching Smartphones for good and refusing to let nomophobia or no-mobile-phone-phobia rule or ruin their lives.
Mic asked a couple of young Americans, who’ve abandoned or never actually owned a Smartphone, what it’s like to go against the ‘norm’ and live a less ‘connected’ life. Here’s what the younger generation, who doesn’t care about the new iPhone, had to say…
Giada and Evan
22-year-old Giada, a student, and 24-year-old Evan, an artist, are dating but neither of them has a Smartphone. So how do they stay in touch? They visit museums together, read together and try to be outside as often as they can.
Giada, who owns a “shitty pre-paid phone” that resembles a Blackberry, told Mic:
“I feel like it’s kind of an addiction, and if I had a Smartphone, it would be like having the addictive substance within arm’s reach at all times… I’m trying to cultivate mindful relationships and a mindful life, and a Smartphone is something that I personally have made a decision not to own. I wanted to cultivate my own relationship with technology, rather than having it take over my life.”
Evan, who once regretted buying a Smartphone and didn’t pick up another when it was lost within a month, added:
“I basically just never really got a Smartphone. It was never appealing to me. They really promote such a mental state and type of behavior that I’m not really about. I really didn’t like it [owning a Smartphone]. I felt like I caved in this way that wasn’t indicative of who I am. [But] I would probably have to have a Smartphone [once I start work full-time as an illustrator].”
“I feel like more and more people will ask you to make an online avatar of yourself [when you own a Smartphone]; Avatar in the literal sense — sort of like a totemic, digital manifestation of yourself that you have to tend to all the time. It’s time-consuming, and can begin to feel like an obligation rather than a choice.”
Smartphones don’t ruin lives. We’re kidding ourselves if we blame phones and don’t take responsibility for our negligence of other people.
— Connor Haskins (@RonHaskins) May 14, 2015
Grace
22-year-old Grace, who owns a flip phone whose battery lasts a week between charges and has withstood falling down a flight of stairs, told Mic that she had a Smartphone in college, but she returned it after a month because “it was more expensive, irritating as hell, too much phone, and made everything so much harder”. “All I want to do is text and call, the basics of communication,” she added.
Adam
27-year-old Adam, who works as an attorney in New York, had to buy a Smartphone as a professional necessity after using a flip phone for most of his 20s.
“I held out on getting a Smartphone because I don’t think they’re particularly necessary. But the demands of my job outweighed that. It makes life a lot easier to be able to answer emails on your phone. That’s pretty much the sole motivation.”
Are Smartphones Making You Stupid?
A study by the University of Waterloo has found that people who have strong cognitive skills spend less time on their devices than those with less brain power. Gordon Pennycook, co-lead author of the study, said that heavy Smartphone users may look up information that they actually know ‘but are unwilling to make the effort to actually think about it’.
Are smartphones making us dumb? New study suggests we have “digital amnesia” https://t.co/F6svaogKl3 #wcvb pic.twitter.com/T0I2rdHqDI
— Emily Riemer (@EmilyWCVB) November 5, 2015
Another study conducted at the University of Derby study revealed that the more you use a Smartphone, the higher your risk of becoming addicted. Dr Zaheer Hussain, who co-authored the study, explained that higher scores of narcissism — defined as excessive interest or admiration of oneself and one’s physical appearance — is the most common and obvious sign of the addiction; other indications being moodiness, loneliness, jealousy, and obsession with taking selfies and posting them on social media.
This article (Meet The Millennials Who Couldn’t Care Less About Smartphones) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.
I gave smartphones up 4 years ago, when I saw Google was tracking everywhere I went regardless of whether my location was turned on or off. The total invasion of my privacy, the fact that whether I wanted to be contacted or not, people could hound me all day, the fact that I was permanently hearing facebook notifications and eventually I was hallucinating the fucking thing ringing.
I do own a phone, but it’s a burner. I can change the sim, it’s unregistered, I pay for top ups in cash, I don’t keep it turned on. I use it when I need to contact people, and It’s an end of the world emergency.
It’s not the phone’s fault. It’s society’s evolutionary path. It’s not for me.
Remember that one time you turned location on to use google maps and clicked the “Use wireless networks button” and were prompted whether you would like to send anonymous location data to google regardless of whether an application is running or not?
Probably not, But you don’t ever get the option to turn that off once you press yes to use the feature. They told you. You just weren’t paying attention.
This guy gets it.
i’m 24 and i only just got my first smartphone, and i don’t have service for it either (still use my indestructible pre-paid flip phone). i only got it because my aunt wasn’t using it anymore (it’s cracked in back) and i wanted to get on instagram because i’m trying to promote my music. i also like that it has more music storage than my ipod. but i would never let myself get sucked in by the constant distraction; my parents made me read books instead of watching tv as a kid and i thank them for my lovely attention span
A smartphone is a tool that can greatly enhance one’s life if it’s used constructively. These individuals “inability” to refrain from frivolous texting and browsing merely confirms the general lack of discipline and willpower that characterizes this latest generation of young, lazy adults.
We pay for them to spy on us lol