written by RichCat06 on June 3, 2024
A lot of people use smartphones for everything nowadays. But you really shouldn't use them because of the negative psychological effects of those devices (increased anxiety, it can worsen ADHD symptoms, etc.) So, today, I'm making a list of alternatives you can use to help cut down on smartphone use. So, without further ado, let's get started!
If you want a way to stay in touch with your friends or family during your digital detox, dumb phones (aka feature phones or flip phones) are a great way to do just that. Most of them are usually pretty simple, while others might have social media or YouTube built in. The switch to a dumb phone from a smart phone can be a daunting and cumbersome thing for some people, but it's worth it in the long run. It has a lot of advantages. For example, the stuff I just stated above.
These convenient little devices are an excellent stand-in replacement for music streaming services like Spotify. Most of them are offline devices that fit in the palm of your hand. Those are the ones we're talking about. You can either buy an MP3 player brand new, or you can get a used iPod for around the same price, if not more. They are also experiencing a huge rise in popularity thanks to a YouTuber by the name of DankPods. But iPods aren't devices you can just drag and drop music on. You need iTunes for that if that's the kind of route you wanna take. This alone makes generic MP3 players much more appealing.
Most of the cameras that come built-in with dumb phones are terrible, and it's one thing that has kept people from switching to them. You can buy a good point and shoot camera for a very affordable price, and they also have a bit of an appeal to them amongst fellow digital detoxers. You can also get a used DSLR for peanuts. And they shoot brilliant pictures.
GPS navigators are a very good, offline way to replace Google Maps if you were taking a trip during your digital detox. Some people might see these as incovenient, but they serve their purpose and they do it well. Hell, some companies still make maps for these age-old devices.
There a lot of advantages to using physical media & and an antenna over streaming services like Hulu and Netflix. For one, you own your movies and the movie studios can't take them away like they can on streaming services. Another (and this one has to do with the antenna) is that you don't have to pay a monthly fee to access television stations over the air. And they don't cost much at all. Philips makes one that is only $12, and it is amazing.
If you use iHeartRadio and are looking for a stand-in replacement to the platform, a transistor radio would be perfect for it. Now, you might be thinking to yourself "my MP3 player has that function. Why would I get a transistor radio?" Well, let's look at it this way: an MP3 player's FM radio function can only be used when you have wired headphones plugged in. A transistor radio has a dedicated antenna for it, so you don't need headphones to listen to it. But if you'd like to do that, there are lots of transistor radios out there with headphone jacks. For example, the Sony ICF-P27 has a stereo headphone jack, so you don't need one of those uncomfortable earphone devices to use it.
**These are not affiliated links. Just some recommended products.