I want to give up my smartphone but how the hell do I navigate modern life without it?

[TheWoozer]

I'm addicted and I'm sick of it.

I removed tiktok, I sit watching Facebook. And YouTube.

Im ignoring my kids to just scroll bollocks.

Am thinking of getting a basic £30 phone to stay contactable during the day.

But everything is online now. Accounts, banking, communication, WhatsApp etc.

Is it possible?

Following! I feel the same

Watching with interest because I’ve considered this too and not done it because of the reasons in your OP!

You can use a laptop?

Get a clunky PC for all the online accounts. It's not portable, so no laptop on lap. It will take a while to start up so no 'quick browse' that turns into several hours scrolling crap.

I'm thinking more when I'm out...

Bus times

Clubcard

Uber when stuck

Forgot bank card.. Use googlepay

Googling banktimes

Googling numbers etc..

I wnat to delete Facebook but need to download a decade of photos first.

Then YouTube.

But I still think I would sit mindlessly reading articles or online 'basket' shopping

Omg THIS IS ME!

I've bought a basic off-grid phone,
Use my laptop for most things
Sat nav for maps in my car
In just struggling on what I'd use for music/audio books, if anyone has any ideas please share!

Also following, I spend so many hours wasting my own time!

Why do you need to be dramatic and give your smartphone up completely?

all you need to do is limit your usage to important things only - such as your banking app or emergency calls.

It just takes willpower. You can even place restrictions on certain apps, eg prevent them from being downloaded to your phone so you can’t even open them.

An iPad? Not easy to mindlessly sit and scroll when doing other things as it's too big. Will give you access to apps you need but hopefully break the addictive cycle.

I feel the same though, I hate how obsessed with phone I am!

I feel similar but I’ve just deleted the main timewasters, but I often read the paper on my phone, use maps, check my bank etc. I don’t think I could be totally without it these days.
I also always bring a book (kindle) with me for times when I have to wait for things as it feels less timewasty than Facebook and the like.

Also me. I've uninstalled Facebook- no need to completely delete it- and instead spend hours scrolling on Mumsnet! 🤦‍♀️ Next step is to turn mobile data off. You have to consciously turn it on to look something up.

Because I have an addictive personality and I've tried a dozen times to do that unsuccessfully.

Following with interest. At the weekend I had to visit hospital and to park I had to download an app to pay - how would anyone without a smartphone do this?

The likely reality is that the world will be even more digitally connected in the future, so going cold-Turkey seems to be pointless. It is great being able to do all of you have listed in this post - none of this list sounds like unhealthy behaviour. If you just use your phone for these things and not hours on social media, you’ll be fine.

There's normally a number to call but it's a PITA.

Op isn't anything on Facebook picture wise backed up in your cloud? No one uses fb anymore apart from advertising or local groups, IME, what are you looking at?!

I gave up my phone about 12 years ago now - but in the last couple of years it's got really hard in some aspects.

Just remove the social media apps from your phone and only access them from home on a lap top or iPad.

If it's going to be hard remove one for a week and then the next.

I watched this documentary about instagram/Facebook - gives you a glimpse of how social media makes you addicted:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00149j7/the-instagram-effect

basically if they see you interacting with something, they will target you more of that content- good or bad. So if you like fashion, you’ll be targeted with loads of fashion content. But if you like “bad things” (the document mentioned self harming and eating disorders), the app will show you more of that content. The algorithm doesn’t distinguish between good and bad, just what gets your attention or not.

You don't need a smartphone for those when out. You just need to be more organised and find things out in advance (and get a plastic clubcard).

Alternatively get a really old smartphone that will work if you're desperate but takes so long to do it that you lose the will to live.

I've lived sans smart phone until about a year ago. Modern life means it was increasingly difficult to access basic stuff like ...

School apps (so many of them). Some will have browser access but not all and often not as functional

Verifying identity so much easier with a phone and camera. Or indeed photographing documents to send to accountant etc

Paying cheques into back account

Paying in shops with bank transfers (a small number but very annoying when you need to pay and they won't accept a card)

I refused the COVID app stuff but smartphones were obviously a boon when checking in places or showing vaccine status

Returning parcels with Amazon. Just have the QR code on your phone. Yes, it's printable but a hassle (also true of other bookings like theatre, concerts etc)

All the WhatsApp type communications

It makes me very angry the world is going in this direction. They make it such that there are considerable advantages. For example, I left my wallet at home, arrived in the mall with no money, parking to pay, potentially having to call on dad to travel to town and bail me out 🥴. I enabled the wallet function on my phone and I was able to have the spend up I'd planned, no pestering anyone.

How did you manage these things before phones took over everyone's life - or are you not old enough to remember those days? I've never owned a mobile - borrow DH's sometimes but have never had one so manage perfectly well without. Just take a wallet with all your cards in whenever you go out, bus timetables are sometimes up at the bus stop - but surely you only ever catch one or two different buses anyway and the times tend to be easy to learn.

I have to watch tiktok etc for work and I found it massively encroaching into my life, browsing hours after in my personal time, it's so addictive.
But I need it for work and various apps for life. I used an app blocker that time limits what i use after a certain hour, yes I could just uninstall it/disable it but the couple of times I've done that it's really made me think, wtf am I doing, and I've stopped and didn't uninstall it. Could you use something like that? An app that limits the amount of time you spend on certain apps or blocks it after a certain time in the day?

It's doable. I don't have a smartphone, just an ancient old standard mobile and also a laptop. It is getting harder to manage some aspects due to the assumption you can just use an app, but I'm stubborn and refuse to give in! I'm well aware I'm in a minority and do worry that it will become impossible to maintain my luddite ways in the future.

I have an brick-style Nokia. I charge it about once a month. It does texts, but they take ages to send as lots of words I have to do letter by letter. It does calls. My contract is £4.95 a month, and the phone cost me about £15.

It is bliss. I am never distracted, find I have plenty of time to do things like writing, reading, working on projects.

I have a PC that I do other stuff on - eg look up maps on Google, banking, email. I use Instagram and Twitter online, but to do it I have to go and sit in another room at a desk so it is non-addictive.

I don't want to be more specific at is it is too outing but (ironically) my job is in communications. Not having a smartphone has never, ever been a problem. I do work calls and emails at a desk, in working hours. I am not constantly available.

The only time I have ever really wanted a smartphone is when lost in a city - no Google maps to work out where the hell I was or where I was supposed to be going. So I asked someone for help. Like in the olden days.

Also, I get a kick out of looking dodgy with my "burner" phone.