This is why I went back to a basic cell phone.

Once upon a time...

Il etait un fois.....

Having a smart phone was cool. It was innovative. It was the thing to have. Today's smart phones can navigate, surf the web, turn lights on & off as well as a myriad of functions.

I had one. 

I was turning into one of the rude, anti-social zombies which so many people have become in today's world. Out to dinner at a restaurant, in a movie theater, at a playground with children or just hanging out with friends at home.
I was becoming one of those rude people who was so addicted to technology. I ignored the people around me, texted while driving, woke a few times during the night to check texts & text back.

It felt very foreign. As if my social skills were dwindling, my appreciation for people who were right there with me was diminished. It caused episodes of depression, lack of interest in forming new friendships. 
Technology was becoming my life. It's supposed to be a life enhancement vs the life replacement many use it as.

There was also the cost of data & data streaming. The cost keeps going up & most people are paying it. They complain about it, yet, they still pay the ever increasing cost that cell phone services tack on. Sometimes with notice, many times without notice.

Before my life became so swallowed up in technology, I disengaged.
Selling my iPhone for as much as I could get, I went back to a basic phone. It fills my needs for texting, calling & snapping an occasional photo.

Many hours of my life became freed up. Awareness of surroundings returned in the sharpness I remembered. Social skills which had waned, began to come back. The bouts with depression became less frequent. There were no more headaches or pain due to "text neck".

People often remark on my low tech phone. There are many times when I have to get up and leave when people I know are so glued to their phones & laptops.
Sitting there, with them starts to feel so empty, so pointless, it becomes obvious that it doesn't matter if I'm there or not. 
Frankly, it's a richer existence to exit the scene & go elsewhere to truly live vs stick my nose into my laptop.
Occasionally is fine, doing it as a 95% practice is no bueno.

Taking the ribbing, the jokes, the teasing for having a basic flip phone is minor. 
As long as I know, I have a better life free from tech addiction.