Difficulties of living like it's 2009

This little space isn’t intended for me to brag about “how much better things used to be” or to act like I have it all figured out. It’s simply about sharing the honest, everyday difficulties that might occur when you step off the digital treadmill and choose to live a bit more outside of today’s hyper-connected society. I’m actually planning to make a longer, more personal video about this journey on my YouTube channel soon, and maybe a little glimpse on TikTok (even though I am truly, deeply considering ditching TikTok altogether to protect my peace).

1. Old tech is old tech. And sometimes, it breaks.

I’ve backfired on my very first step! I tried starting my digital detox with a BlackBerry Q10 using a SIM card adapter. Unfortunately, the tiny SIM got stuck and completely destroyed the internal contacts. So, no BlackBerry for me just yet. Oh well, a little lesson in patience! I managed to find my old Alcatel OT-810 and I’m using it instead for now. To be completely honest, the audio call quality isn’t the best and the little QWERTY keyboard is so worn down that typing a simple SMS feels like a tiny, daily test of my patience.

BUT! What feels like a small miracle is that so much of our country’s infrastructure still relies on the 2G network. It means we can reuse these old dumbphones for at least another two years. Armed with that hope, I actually just won an online auction for two vintage BlackBerries and I cannot wait to hold them. Hopefully, they will work beautifully.

The online auction platform shares your personal data with the seller, so instead of just shipping them right away, I received four phone calls from the gentleman explaining why he couldn’t mail them yet (insert every excuse under the sun here!). He was an older man, quite slow with technology, but he was so incredibly nice on the phone, so I trust he was being honest about their condition. Since it’s Thursday today, the package might arrive tomorrow, or perhaps Monday. That means another quiet weekend without them. Everything happens in its own divine timing, I suppose! Thank God I still have my trusty iPod Nano and my little Alcatel to keep me company.

2. Saying goodbye to socials (and my iPhone) is a battle on it’s own.

And it’s not entirely our fault, you know? In our country, almost every single card and official document has been moved into digital apps. I’m talking about our transportation coupons, debit cards, and even health insurance. We can even load our passports into a special government app so we don’t have to carry the physical copies around.

Since I don’t have all my physical cards back yet, I literally need to carry my iPhone with me out into the world. Every time someone needs to see a document, or every time I pay for my morning matcha, I have to reach for my iPhone. It makes ignoring Instagram or TikTok so incredibly hard when the device is physically sitting in your bag all day. I am trying my absolute best, but mornings and evenings are definitely the hardest. The modern urge to just mindlessly scroll is so strong. I try to practice a strict offline start and end to my day by keeping my iPhone as far away as possible: either tucked away in a bag or left in another room. But sometimes, the temptation to resist scrolling for “just a minute” is a real struggle. It’s been an eye-opening realization of how deep that digital addiction of mine goes.

3. The quest for the physical “Holy Trio”.

I’m not just sitting around waiting for my vintage BlackBerries to arrive. I’m actively working on getting my “holy trio” of cards back into tactile, physical forms so I can function daily without needing to rely on my iPhone. Those three essentials are:

• My debit cards

• My transportation card

• My health insurance card

To be completely honest with you, it has been a mountain of administrative trouble to make them physical again. The health insurance card has been the biggest test of my resilience. It has literally been seven months since I asked my insurance company for a physical card. They kept telling me, “It will be ready in the next couple of weeks, just check the app.” LIES! After calling them numerous times and finally standing my ground firmly, it is finally being delivered next Monday to one of their branch offices. A small victory for my persistency!

The physical transportation card takes 30 working days to be issued. Once it arrives, I will have to physically transfer my coupon from the mobile app to the plastic card, because the transit inspectors only allow you to use one medium. That’s perfectly fine, but it means I’ll be waiting a month. To avoid getting fined on my daily commutes, my iPhone will have to tag along with me for another 30 days.

And the debit cards... oh dear. I’ve tried ordering physical copies multiple times through my internet banking app, but with no success. Every time, the app tries to force me into buying additional monthly services just because I want a piece of plastic in my wallet! I’m currently waiting on email responses from the bank’s support team to get this sorted out.

It has been quite the journey so far, but I am absolutely not giving up. The pure freedom of being truly offline, living fully in the present moment, is so much sweeter than any of these temporary inconveniences. I am deeply grateful that our society hasn’t fully digitalized yet, because it means we still have a choice. At least we still have 2G. We can give these beautiful, forgotten devices a second life without creating more electronic waste.

Every day, it will get a little bit better. And life will feel even more beautifully present.

Sending you so much warmth and my best wishes,

Rosie 🕊️✨