Surviving Modern Life with a Flip Phone (Barely)

Mama was right: Smartphones are frying our brains. App locks, screentime reminders, digital detoxes: we’ve tried them all. Nothing sticks because honestly? We’re just too good at tricking ourselves. (Even if it means pretending chess.com counts as “productive screen time.”)

So about 2 years ago, I switched to a flip phone. No irony. No minimalist bragging. I just genuinely needed a break… not a full digital exile, just WhatsApp, Maps and basic calling. Less noise, fewer distractions.

A few friends recently asked how it went, considering giving it a shot themselves. So here it is: my ongoing saga. The good, the bad and how I briefly caved and went crawling back to my smartphone before deciding flip phones were still the way to go.

Interestingly, as a computer science student, disconnecting entirely wasn’t even an option. Turns out it’s pretty common among tech people: the more technology we deal with professionally, the less we want it intruding into every waking moment.

My First Brick

The first flip phone I tried was the CAT S22. Built like a tank, ran Android and could survive a warzone. Perfect, because at the time I was doing my civil service at a forest kindergarten. Every day in the woods, every day kids pulling and throwing stuff around. That phone could fall a hundred times a day and just laugh at me. Also, it looked ridiculously badass, like the modern version of a 2000s Nokia brick. Heavy, tough, but not exactly pocket-friendly. Carrying that thing around felt like dragging a dumbbell everywhere. Cool at first, annoying later.

T9 texting, if you don’t know, means typing with the number keys where each key corresponds to multiple letters, pressing each key multiple times to get the letter you want. I tried. I really did. There’s a kind of poetry to it, once you get used to it. But honestly? It’s like learning to ride a bike without wheels. Every time I thought I was getting faster, my thumbs reminded me otherwise. I even tried using the small touchscreen display keyboard, but that’s even more impossible. After struggling for about two months, I started looking for something easier.

Round 2 (but not for long…)

Enter the Nokia 150. Cheap, incredibly lightweight and simple. Running KaiOS, a lightweight operating system that still had WhatsApp and Maps built-in. Exactly what I needed. The battery life was amazing, like I could easily get through an entire week without charging it, something almost unimaginable with a regular smartphone. It felt good. The keyboard was way more responsive and after some jailbreaking and removing the usual bloatware nonsense, it was basically perfect.

Until, of course, they decided to drop WhatsApp support. Right after I fucking bought it, naturally. Perfect timing. Literally can’t have shit.

Third Time’s the Charm

So, onto flip phone number three (phew): the Quin F21 Pro. Maybe the best phone I ever owned. Full Android, which meant slow but working banking apps, WhatsApp videocalls, even Bluetooth for my headphones. A flip phone that actually functioned like a modern device, just without the noise. It was exactly what I needed.

And honestly, life was better. Instead of doomscrolling, I read books again. Instead of staring at a screen during every free moment, I actually noticed what was happening around me. Conversations got better too.

I had more free time overall. Without the constant pull to check notifications, I rediscovered simple pleasures. Like actually enjoying the scenery on my commute or genuinely engaging in conversations. My sleep improved drastically too, turns out staring into the void is better for melatonin than scrolling reddit until my eyes bleed (wowie). I still had Google Maps for navigation and even apps like Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram was handy for checking artist updates or if friends posted something interesting, which I usually found out about second-hand through friends anyway, so i deactivated my account. Snapchat stuck around partly because it was fun and partly because some friends exclusively communicated there (yes, looking at you, Tami).

Interestingly, I never openly advertised having a flip phone, but whenever I pulled it out, it inevitably sparked curiosity and conversation. It wasn’t a desperate attempt at attention, but a genuinely interesting icebreaker. Unless you saw me daily, you probably didn’t even know I had one. My phone cameras were always subpar, so my photos didn’t really give it away and replying to texts quickly was never my strong suit anyway.

I also picked up a cheap digital camera from eBay for about six euros to capture moments. Surprisingly, it turned out perfect for parties and festivals. Nobody wants a smartphone pointed in their face, but a goofy, retro-looking digicam? Yeah, that seems to work.

Digicam picture of Elias, Julian, Tamara & Joey

… but why would i stop?

Life changed. I moved out to start university. New city, new life, new everything. Suddenly I needed apps. Bureaucracy apps like ID-Austria, student apps, public transport apps, all things that just didn’t work on a flip phone. Even my digital ID required an iPhone or a verified Android. Trying to keep up with everything while juggling old-school tech quickly became a logistical nightmare.

And then came the nudge from my family. Everyone already had iPhones. I resisted for years because I liked the freedom of Android, I liked tinkering. But reality caught up with me. My parents offered to help pay for it if I switched a few years ago and… here we are.

Data transferred. Flip phone off. iPhone in my pocket.

The adjustment was fast. Wayyy too fast. Within days I was back in the old habits. Screentime creeping up, falling into scrolling rabbit holes, just like before. No self-control app can fix this, because the real enemy isn’t the phone. It’s in front of the screen 【°〜°】. Weeks go by, months go by…

But maybe the story doesn’t end here.

Because eventually, I did go back. And I’m staying.

At some point, I realized I missed the simplicity. The quiet. The headspace. So I switched again and not because I had to, but because I wanted to. My flip phone is back in my pocket and the smartphone? Still exists. Still charged. But mostly sits in a drawer, waiting patiently for its once-a-month cameo in some bureaucratic horror story involving ID-Austria or my banking app refusing to cooperate. That’s it. It’s a tool now, not a leash.

And honestly? Life’s better this way.

Sure, sometimes people look at me like I’m a drugdealer (can’t blame them ngl). Sometimes I don’t reply right away. Sometimes I don’t reply at all. And yeah… that’s kind of the point.
I don’t want to be available 24/7. Maybe I don’t want to be reachable all the time. Maybe I’m just out living my life. Or maybe I’m ignoring you. Who knows. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

The thing is, I don’t miss the noise. I don’t miss the endless notifications or the pressure to stay „connected“ all the time. The flip phone gave me something I didn’t realize I needed: permission to check out. To be unreachable once in a while. And not feel bad about it.

So yeah. No cliffhanger here. No „maybe I’ll switch back“ drama for the next few years (shocking, I know, considering I could probably turn ordering coffee into an existential crisis). I’m keeping the flip phone. The smartphone stays off, unless I need it for some official nonsense or, I don’t know, decide to backpack to Novosibirsk (one day Florian, one day).
But until then?

I’m good.

(Even though they dropped WhatsApp support again and I had to root the damn thing and eventually use it as a linked device. Fuck me)

Anti-Smartphone, Digital Balance, Digital Minimalism, Flip Phone, Offline Living, Productivity, Screen Time, Smartphone Detox, Tech Burnout, featured — Sep 14, 2025