Hong Cheung 
Intro
More and more people are starting to realise the negative impacts of their lives caused by excessive usage with social media, and technology in general. Which has ruined their ability to focus, and even the quality connection of their families has been affected. So, they now opting for digital minimalism - by using certain kind of apps and tricks, or cut down on using digital devices, to gain back their control with online media consumption.
Dumb Phone is another term for the feature phone - which basically means the old school Nokia and Motorola phone with only keypad, no touchscreen, and no internet and apps. For those who want to cut down their excessive use of internet, to avoid doom-scrolling or binge-watching, this could be their answer.
However, it is not an easy task to quit using a smartphone in the modern days. I’m not talking about the optional restaurant QR code menu which you can bypass by ordering through the waiter. Or that you can offload all online tasks to wait till you have access of a computer and just carry a basic phone. I’m talking about the niceness of having a multi-tool in your pocket all the time: Camera, music player, note-taking, book reader, and maps, etc.
Smartphone doesn’t have to be online, and it’s better that way, I figured.
Smartphone Doesn’t Have to be Online
Most people in online reddit communities like r/degoogle, r/dumbphone, r/digitalminimalism, as such - They tend to go with:
- Total dumbphone - No internet, no camera, but they carry all other gadgets with them to replace the functions.
- Modern dumbphone - Have basic apps like Whatsapp, camera, and some necessary apps only but still the outlook of a dumbphone and has less features
- Screen time apps - To block usage per app after a certain amount of time by using apps and extensions on a smartphone.
- Change home launcher (Android only) - By changing the home screen to be less simulating, it prevents you of using your smartphone excessively, although not blocking you from accessing them.
But What About an Offline Smartphone?
I don’t see enough people are talking about it. I personally believe it is a fine middle ground. You can still keep and use what you used to for friends and even online communities, but only able to use them when you have access to the internet. So not all-out, yet you still have control. You will be able to use the internet only when you need to.
For me, I’ll go to the library to connect to the internet only if I want to or planned to. So I can always know the intention of wanting to access the internet. Not a random question I have in mind that I just want a quick answer with, but a thorough process of gathering thoughts, processing them. And, after a while, if I still want it as it’s worth for me to go to a place with internet - I will then go.
Messaging
SMS will be the only communication method other than calling during offline. Although it is not encrypted, I don’t feel like it is a big deal because we should always talk about serious stuff in-person anyway.
Apps
Great news! You can still keep on using apps but only offline! Apps like Google Keep, any note apps, dictionaries, offline maps, they all work! And they also sync to cloud when you connect your device to the internet. There’s just no need to go all offline by using and managing external drives. You can still subscribe to cloud storage and use them as you usually would.
If you have something you want to have access during offline, you will have to download them beforehand. Netflix, Apple Music, books, they can all be downloaded and access without the need of internet.
Social Media
Well, this is best part - You don’t get instant gratification of randomness anymore. And by doing so, you will have to value your time more, because you need to make an effort to go to a place to have access to the internet. And if you do, you better make it worth it. So it won’t be binge watching, it has to be something that justify the effort, more than just swiping with your fingers.
However, you can still keep your social media accounts to connect friends with, read their posts and reply to them - it’s just not the major part of your phone use anymore.
Restaurants
QR Code can be scanned if you’re in a mall and they have free Wi-Fi. If not, order them through a real person.
Banking
It is much more easier to make transfer on the phone than in-person at the branch or even on the website. With a smartphone, you can have that convenience too!
Government Services
Let’s just face it, I would prefer online over in-person any day. No queue, no hassles. With a smartphone you can still do that, though of course you can use them on a desktop anyway.
Online Shopping - Google Pay, Apple Pay - Everything Works!
On the plus side, you can even just get the things you actually wanted instead of brainless browsing. (Though I admit it is a form of entertainment in itself.)
Cons?
I’ve been using a physical bank card to tap and pay and completely ditched the digital wallet. Though I think on Apple Pay, you can actually offline pay forever, according to a post discussion with Apple documentation here , but Google on the other hand only allows 5 to 10 payments made offline at a time.
I’ve always thought and kept using phone Wallet mainly for the security concern, because if anyone stole my phone, they can’t use the card on that phone. But I changed my mind since I notices I always carry a card “just in case” anyway, why not just use the card. To make it more secure, I only carry a card with a daily spend limit set to a certain amount for myself. Anything higher than that needs to be adjusted in the app, which is locked. So it’s all good.
My conclusion
Offline smartphone is better than online smartphone for those who care about their digital well-being, but don’t want to lose access to go goodies on a modern smartphone.
