> Does anyone live without a smartphone? I'm the author of this book [1]. I've never owned a smartphone. Working with them early in the mobile social-media da

> Does anyone live without a smartphone? I'm the author of this book [1]. I've never owned a smartphone. Working with them early in the mobile social-media days made me realise what was to come, and how addictive and dangerous they would be. > What does that look like? A $10 Nokia serves my needs for occasional use. It gets used only for voice and personal SMS coms, not for music, video, 2FA or any of that "mission creep" silliness. A landline is good for serious, lengthy conversations where a comfy chair and a hot cup of tea are also required. > Do you feel isolated from your friends/family, The absolute opposite. Visiting people in real life is very important. When I meet people face-to-face I feel very connected with them. Still live in a culture and age group where it's reasonable to call round unexpectedly "on my way somewhere" and get a very warm response. But I don't really have pretend-friends. Can count my closest friends using my fingers, and the rest I try to meet with at least once per year in real life. We do real things like bike riding, beach BBQs, or jamming some music together. > do you have some other more traditional way of keeping contact? I have a phone book, a paper one and address book in Emacs. Try to connect with people, send a life update or ask "how are you?" every now and then. Emails are quite important to me. > Do you think it's beneficial to you? I would put it another way; It's not harmful to me in the ways that people who are dependent on smartphones clearly have problems, and tell me they have problems. I've forgotten how often I've heard " I wish I could be like you", so that makes me think something might be right about my choices. [1] https://digitalvegan.net https://digitalvegan.net