Ditch your smartphone in 2024

Today's video is a back to basics with a back to basics type of device: the dumbphone. In this video I break down the 3 steps you need to cover to effectively make the switch to a dumbphone (and stick to it). Let me know what you think in the comments!
Links:
Spencer’s Adventures Discord Invite: / discord
Jose's channel: ‪@JoseBriones‬
Digital Minimalism book:
(USA Link): amzn.to/3zh6cxW
(Canada Link): amzn.to/3XBjP54
Punkt MP02 phone:
(USA link) amzn.to/3OKN5RY
(Canada Link): amzn.to/3XE5R2C
Radio New Zealand dumbphone interview: www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/5...
The mic I use: (Canada Link) amzn.to/42D1bdG(USA Link) amzn.to/42K6IPOThe camera I use: (Canada Link) amzn.to/3ODxN16(USA Link) amzn.to/42CjkItLens:(USA Link) amzn.to/4bIHoO4(Similar Lens Canada Link) amzn.to/3T3WNRUDisclaimerAll Amazon links placed in the description section are Amazon Affiliate links, and I receive a small commission on any purchases made through this link. Thanks for your support
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:37 Step 1
01:48 Step 2
04:29 Step 3
06:40 Final thoughts

[@kenhartman2706]

A good option I found is getting an old android phone and rooting it with something like LineageOS or GrapheneOS. This is without installing something like G-Apps or Aurora Store

[@_emmad]

Exactly! Planning to do this since it’ll allow for certain apps that you can’t get on dump phones. I think older phones also tend to be smaller so it works out as being more comfortable too.

[@darius444]

Great point, here in Europe where I live you can find phone for like 30 euros that has great custom ROM support, 5 year old phone with custom ROM and with F-Droid and other FOSS apps works great

[@user-ti6ef7jd3l]

Hello. Thank you for the wonderful video. I'm a Japanese author! Due to my smartphone addiction, I started using a dumbphone for my mental health. I've written books and videos about my experience. I think digital detox is necessary worldwide. I'm excited to hear that dumbphones are experiencing a resurgence overseas. I hope there will be more simple phones like this!

[@spencers-adventures]

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate you watching the video and I’m glad you enjoyed :) I agree with you 100% digital detox is needed worldwide!

[@FranciscoBo]

As general advice I think it's safe to say that buying more stuff is no necessarily going to solve all our problems, especially if most of us already own a smartphone. There are many ways to start simplifying and being more intentional with the way we consume, like deleting apps and keeping only the ones you need and keeping certain activities like social media to a device like a laptop or desktop, changing themes or display colors to make using your phone less attractive and so on. It's important to get out of the mindset that buying more is what we need.

[@spencers-adventures]

Exactly, and well said! My thoughts as well - I have a video on that I did a couple months ago about simplifying your current smartphone if you haven’t seen it 👍

[@jessicaslunacy]

I agree with that on principle, more consumerism isn't good, but for some folk (I include myself in this to a degree) the nuclear option is the best one. Smart phones were engineered to be as enticing and addictive as possible. Most apps are designed to create as much dependency through convenience as possible, and there's little left on the mainstream app market that isn't harvesting your data and selling your information to the tech overlords and their advertising buddies. Discipline is great and should be part of the goal, but, sometimes you just gotta take all the beer out of the alcoholic's house, right?

[@TheWisdomOfOdin]

I have been rocking my iPhone 13pro in greyscale, with the minimalist launcher. No social media. Honestly it's been great. I think creating a discipline around your smartphone usage is the healthiest option. I know I need certain things sometimes. But having them on my phone the other 90% of the time is when they use me instead. Love seeing your channel grow 👍

[@spencers-adventures]

Thanks for the comment! I love your approach - I think the way you’re doing is a what most people should strive for. Cultivating a level of discipline is key!

[@user-on5nc7om5p]

Great information as always and tips. Keep them coming. Great interview on Radio New Zealand!!

[@bassmanwho]

Imagine all the charging cables you need to bring during travel. I am not against the dumb phone route and have tried dumb down my smart phone. Truth is the smart phone is a great handy tool and personal assistant. We just need to develop the skill to use it strategically instead of overuse it. Tips like turning the screen black and white works for me.

[@xabierdesp]

They are made to be overused

[@spencers-adventures]

I agree that the smartphone can be a wonderful tool and quite beneficial, but it’s also true that many of the apps are designed to be extremely enticing/attention grabbing. So while you’re right that workarounds with the smartphone can be very helpful, I think it’s not entirely up to the consumer to solve the issue in the long run. However in the short term we’re the only help we have lol!

[@doolar]

I just don’t use social media except KZbin. So no such apps on my iPhone, in fact I’m really picky about installing apps at all. But I have maps, music and internet in a great device. I looked into a dumbphone before, but realised that the iPhone I already have can be just as smart or dumb as I want it to be.

[@darc1290]

I never thought about using my iPhone as a tablet! I’ve been in a situation where I want to switch to a dumb phone but I’m still paying off the iPhone. This is a great solution!!

[@bravestarr19]

Punkt HAD a strong philosophy against digital distraction until they released a smartphone of their own..I moved on from Punkt to the LP2, fantastic phone that has the key tools you need. And I pre-ordered the LP3 which looks super nice!

[@Sakurasan2023]

Great video 📹 👍

[@gurbo_]

I've been using a cheap second hand alcatel dumbphone for months now, and It's been really liberating. My screen time on the smartphone was actually very low, but just the fact of having it was distracting enough. For me, the best solution has been to use my old smartphone just to keep the whatsapp web alive, which I use kind of in a way of how we used to use the old MSN, and I use the dumbphone for everything else. It's light, small, distraction-free and has physical buttons, which I love. Maybe someone else finds this combination helpful.

[@spencers-adventures]

That’s a great way to approach it! Thanks for sharing :)

[@missv7689]

I’m so doing this

[@darius444]

Also you can use some older phone you have,I have newer smartphone, but I like to listen to local radio, instead of using smartphone I chose to use old Xperia phone with Android 2, works great for me

[@paulbainjr]

I just bought the Nokia 2780 off Ebay. 🎉Most are 50 percent off new in mint condition. Your right people dump them after a while. 😊 I like mine.

[@spencers-adventures]

That sounds like a great deal!

[@mypradasatthecleanerss]

I recently came across this book on Apple Books about dumb iPhones, literally just called ‘A Dumb iPhone?’ It explains how to lock down an iPhone to remove distractions

[@mypradasatthecleanerss]

Like on your point about being able to redownload apps, I find what Cal Newport discussed about social media on a schedule very useful. This dumb iPhone book explains how to strictly set up a schedule, so you can’t remove it on a whim

[@AkeeWynneSuarez]

I think that the best option I found for myself so far has been the jelly star. I tried going the dumbphone route and I find that people really expect certain things from me. Like my partner and sharing locations. If the light phone 3 end up being an affordable option I might consider that because of having a map.

[@AkeeWynneSuarez]

Another thing I do with the Jelly Star is that I use Beeper to connect to Instagram messages. People constantly text me there instead of sms so this helps lol

[@spencers-adventures]

The Jelly Star looks like a great option! I’m hoping to test one in the near future 👍

[@Luncheon23]

This video is for me. If only I didn't lack the resolve and self-discipline 😅 Btw, looking forward to your reviews of the CAT and the Jelly phone 🌟

[@spencers-adventures]

That’s okay, it’s definitely tough to give up the smart world! Even people who use dumbphones mainly use them part-time I’d say. I’ll hopefully have the CAT review up sometime in July!

[@railway187]

I would like to find an affordable and lightweight dumb phone with a good camera (at least 5MP), a music player that accepts m3u playlists and the possibility to insert a large MicroSD-card (at least 128Gb). Not easy to find I think, most have very low quality cams and are expandable to max 32 GB...

[@Kansasbaptist91]

What about the problem that most dumb phone are not 5g or at least 4g and most networks don’t allow any phone under that what phones are available that will work?

[@lilPopper]

Im being honest. I may never go back to the basic cell phone. But that doesn't not mean I won't use it. I still have one at home on deck in case a situation where my main phone broke. Though I have done this before: when I had a tablet, I used a basic cellphone. After my tablet broke, that's when I upgraded to a smart phone. After 7 years, that phone would not connect to the carrier any more, but wifi still works. So after upgrading to the current smart phone I have now, my old smart phone became my media device/tablet. As for apps, very little distracting apps are on my main phone, but they are on my old one. And there are apps I refuse to install like banking apps. I never gotten used to the layout on a mobile device and I don't feel comfortable using it. When it comes to banking, I make a visit to the bank. If I have to do some banking online, I'll do it at home on a computer

[@Ruben-GG]

Personally, I've found that installing a minimalism app worked best for me! It completely changes your phone's interface to just text-based. This, combined with removing problematic apps and leaving it down to the bone essentials, has made the difference. Thanks as always Spencer!

[@spencers-adventures]

I don’t have any experience with that app but I’ll take a look at it - sounds cool! Thanks for the comment!

[@Ruben-GG]

@@spencers-adventures Anytime Spencer! It's called the "Minimalist phone: Screen Time" - I think you're going to like it.

[@adamwragg4606]

I'd like to try this but I'm not sure my modern self and missing out on studs will let me, maybe I'll try it at some point. I think I just have to be more intentional about when I use my phone

[@spencers-adventures]

I’m with you Adam - I think for most people being more intentional with their existing phone is the best way to go!

[@adamwragg4606]

@@spencers-adventures yeah I think so too. I was talking with my wife about you and your channel and she said, why can't they just their own phone less 😅😂 I said it's very hard as I struggle with it but she found it ammusing. She said so dumb phones are like the old ones we used to have but making us pay again for 😅

[@BuckFangs]

The price of that Punkt phone is offensive. Was interested till I saw that pricepoint. Will look into other tactile non-touchscreen phones. I hate the extent to which data is mined and used to send targeted ads towards me.

[@spencers-adventures]

Yeah I think for a more budget option a standard flip phone would be a good one to consider 👍

[@user-xg6zz8qs3q]

I have 2 problems: no WhatsApp Messenger and no Maps.

[@Henkibojj]

All your old GSM phones like Nokias and SonyEricssons, do they really work? I've heard of the 3G network getting shut down in European countries (not necessarily the EU from what I know), so why would GSM still be alive? Won't you need a new, dumb, phone designed for modern times but without apps?

[@spencers-adventures]

In many places 2G and 3G are being shut down. In Canada on a couple networks 2G is still available, but I don’t think that’s the norm. I used some pictures of older “dumbphones” in this video, and some of them will still work in some areas, but using a modern dumbphone like the Punkt, the Light Phone, or a new flip phone will guarantee you get service for a good while. Hope that helps!

[@djangor4969]

All it needs is a few celebs like George Clooney and Tom Cruise to be seen pulling out their dumb phone and chatting away and it would suddenly become the trendy thing to do. Unfortunately peer pressure will always be a brake to people making changes in their lives. It takes a lot of guts to go against the grain and be thought of as a nerd. As the old saying goes, " Fashion Rules".

[@DaMu24]

There are better dumbphones, I hope

[@spencers-adventures]

You’re right, there are tons of options 👍

[@kevinwong_2016]

98 views in 50 minutes☠️

[@spencers-adventures]

Is that good Kev?

[@kevinwong_2016]

Maybe🗿

[@emielboerefijn]

First! :)

[@spencers-adventures]

Thank you!

[@moodydude6790]

Oh no, PLEASE don't tell me "dumbphone" is a term for older mobile phones or non-smart phones....

[@jobshadow]

Okay, I won't tell you.

[@moodydude6790]

@@jobshadow Cheers