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Smart or Dumb Phones

me working with a laptop and monitor

I was walking past a store selling a large range of smartphones, laptops and whatchamacallit laptop-tabs. I was piqued. I approached the storefront with a careful intake of breath, praying fervently for an affordable price tag.

There wasn't one.

Look, I have a laptop. My kids have their computers, and we each have our phones. Is there a reason to invest in yet another gadget in this house? The damn laptop Surface Pro keeps whispering to me, though. I swear. lol

via GIPHY

Window shopping can be life-sucking because it reinforces the idea into you that you can't afford everything you'd like.

I find myself arguing with myself:
  • I could save the money for a family travel
  • Mother Earth is staring at me with the searing accusations of 'Reallyyyy? More trash. You're stepping one foot into the core of the dying planet'
  • I don't need it. Really, I don't. In fact, I already have a spare laptop that I use for an alternate account. Because? I watch Netflix on it. What?
  • I've been meaning to live a simpler life. Having another device to maintain and take care of is just going to derail my plan
  • It'll burn a hole in my wallet. Plain and simple logic
From another aisle, my younger son was rushing to towards me with something in his hand and he screeched to a halt in front of me and thrust the object into my face. 

It was one of those old Motorola phones with huge dial buttons? He exclaimed, 'Look, mom. Your generation!'

As we laughed it off, I couldn't shake the feeling of being slightly smitten with the old-style phone. It had everything it needed to do...which was to make phone calls. End of story. And it had all the endearing qualities of not being connected to the internet. 

It's servile function was to make calls so that we can talk to people and it's what makes it so damn appealing. 

In fact, I've a love-hate relationship with technology and the flood of devices it brings into my life. How am I supposed to work if my Whatsapp is consistently at the brink of a blowout? 

With dumb phones, I can do just that. Shut up the smart one, answer only the dumb one. Phone, I meant phone, not people. Thank you. 

How Far Are We Willing To Go To Dumb Down Our Lives?

I don't think I will ever be completely vegan or vegetarian in this lifetime. Being a monk is also quite out of the question. But keeping life simple, I am up for it.

We rely on our smartphones for literally everything these days. Just this morning, I was searching up is repairing a kinda broken gas stove expensive? 

Last night, I was on my way to my cousins place just minutes from mine and I was using Google Maps. 😂😅 The other day as I was trying to find a friend's place, I switched between Waze and Google Maps because I was trying to avoid the madness of Friday traffic. As far as getting things done is concerned, I pretty much rely on Trello, Google Keep, and Invisionapp. 

There are so many more apps....exercise, note-taking, podcasting, image and video editing, social media...like OMG. 


And then last week, I spent about 45 minutes scouring more apps, the internet and some cookbooks to come up with a list of recipes to try out for dinner at home. 

So, I've pondered this question over and over again - how far are we willing to go to dumb down our lives for the sake our own mental health? 

I don't know how far I'll go but, you know what? I think taking one step in the right direction is the only thing I can do. I cannot live without technology, that, I am pretty damn sure about. What I can control, however, is the number of times I dumb things down. 

Well, tomorrow's Monday and I've got stuff to do with Kiddo No.2 because of his college thinghy.

Nights, peeps of the world. 
XOXO,


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