By the end of January 2023 I've decided that I would stop using mobile phones.As a consequence I expected there to be much more inconvenience in my life, but actually I feel way more mentally free. I generally have much less temptations with it and can focus better on what I'm doing.
How did this happen
You might think that I stopped using phones because the insane privacy violations that come with it, or because I just wanted to be a hipster that walks arround with his librebooted thinkpad and looks down upon normies who scroll through instagram on their phones.
The real reason why I left phones is that I find phones to be utterly irritating. You can't do anything useful on these bricks, they are designed to be debilitated devices that are used to coom to porn and consooming youtube. Installing an operating systems of your choice them is a leap of faith and making them acceptably privacy-respecting is a herculean task. I actually wanted to install a newer version of lineage OS on my phone but I managed to soft-brick it. Now, A soft brick is fixable, but I think the right decision was to not waste time with these stupid devices and just not use them
Now, I do still use a phone. I use a nokia 6 with stock android on it, which I leave at home and never ever bring it anywhere with me. It basically serves as a kind of a landline. For the few normies that still for some reason prefer to use inferior communication methods.
Drawbacks (or not really drawbacks) of not using phones
Money-related things
You might think that I'm sacrificing a lot in my life, but I found out how little I actually generally relied on phones. Some poeple use non-free banking applications in their cell phones which I think is ridiculous because they force you to use non-rooted, google android which are literally the most unsecure thing ever, for the very reason of security.
Don't get me wrong, I think that would be a great practice for normies. But tell me, what normie would use a de-googled rooted android rom on their phone? You know how painful and technical it is to install a custom rom on a phone? Someone who manages that probably knows how to secure his stuff.
My solution to money is to just pay use cash. I can hear people who read this screaming in disbelief, but it is true. I only use cash, I always did and I dont know why I should stop. I honestly don't even know why I get so many weird reactions when I say this, or actually very cheerful reactions from people involved in Free Culture or Privacy. As if it was something hard, almost impossible to do. I truly don't know what is so hard about it. Cash is the only good way of transacting privately nowdays, without being surveilled by Big Brother. I think people should be more aware of how dangerous it is for democracy that the government knows what each and every person is buying, where they're sending money etc.
Miscelanious things
I used to use a phone for some handy things. One of these things was having a flashlight. I bought a small flashlight that is much stronger and I have it on my keyring. Other thing is that I sometimes listened to music in public transport. Well, I could spend money and buy an MP3 player I guess but I mean I can just not listen to music in public transport... so I did that.
The most severe drawbacks for me
There are only two things that I seriously miss about a phone. One thing is mobile hotspot. Going somewhere in the middle of nowhere with my thinkpad and having access to the internet is a nice convenience. I've adjusted my computer usage more for offline use, and I'm able to go without it.
Another thing that I miss is a camera. I might just buy a physical camera from a second-hand store, that is my plan. I'm not exactly a photography enthusiast, so some basic one might suffice.
Conclusion
Living in a city while not having a cell phone is becomming increasingly difficult, but with enough will it's not impossible. I think everyone should try not brining their phone anywhere or using it for some period of time, just to experience true freedom. I feel as though I am more mentally free, less teathered to the system and less reliant on technology. Which if you ask me, is a good thing.