Convivence has sacrificed my happiness.

Most of us can remember a time without modern technology. We had MapQuest to navigate us to new places. Ask Jeeves for those hard questions. Mp3 players, portable CD players or Walkman's for our on-the-go music needs. Email was something only done from home and file sharing was normally a much more physical swap- floppy discs, USB etc. 

Then along came the smart phone. It was a computer you could take with you for our on-the-go busy lives. Email, music, file sharing, GPS all right at your fingertips. From then on, they just kept perfecting newer and newer models until they had everything you could possibly think of, that you could ever need was right there at a moment's glance. Somewhere along the way however things no longer needed to be advanced further for amenity but rather just to be the newest prettiest thing that you *had to have* in your life. It would make you *cooler* if you did. 

Don't you want to be cool?

Don't you want to be famous?

Don't you want to look like this insta gal?

Look how many followers they have it's because they follow the trends.

Look how attractive they are it's because they have this thing you don't.

Aren't you tired yet...?

Most of us wake up and the first thing we do before we put our two feet on the ground? Reach for that ticking time bomb on the bedside table. These bombs started off as a way to make life outside the home easier for the everyday Joe on the go. Problem is most of us aren't him meaning big corps have had to adapt their marketing strategies to fit the youth. 

You wake up and you put your face in your phone. From the moment your eyes open in the morning to the time you plug it in to sleep you're consuming dangerous media. Fake news, unhealthy real news, celebrity drama, chronically online takes, cyberbullying, new products, corn addictions, and filters god the filters are the worst...

I don't think you're a terrible person for using them, hell I do. The more you use them the easier it becomes to spot them. We can ALL spot the facetune girl. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about... they all have the same face. To make matters worse you can edit videos now too. No matter how much you can look at a picture or a video and tell that it's fake you still want to be them. You want to be plastic. You want to be perfect. You want to be what's totally unachievable. Why? Because Hollywood says so. Because the news says so. Because social media says so... The common denominator? Big Corps and your pockets. 

Now I could rattle on and on about how many of us were groomed and aged too quickly on the internet or how 5g is just a plow to ensure tabs could be kept on us and invading our privacy, but I'll leave those up to you to decide. With that in mind I leave you with this. Last year I gave up all social media for 6 months. The first month was really hard you don't realize how addicted you are to that tiny little box until you catch yourself reaching for something no longer there. Something to fill that void of space to mindlessly scroll because you have nothing better to do. Then I discovered I do. I have books to read, wilderness to explore, people to have meaningful conversations with, hobbies to find and a gym membership not in use. I was finally happy. 

One day I decided I had healed enough. I was happy with the way I looked in the mirror and could logically think about how harmful social media could be, so I was ready to try it again right? Biggest mistake. I found myself in the consumer rabbit hole once again. The newest iPhone to a relapsed ED. Gotta love it. 

So, I'm making a change. The rules are simple, no smart phone. I'm still allowed to game and access all socials via computer. But since it won't be easily accessible at all times that means ill only have access to them for a few hours each day.

I told everyone I was going old school with a flipper, and they brought up some challenges for me and funnily enough from people born before the age of the internet- does that tell you how far gone we are? 

Q: How will you get around to new places without your map's app? 
A: I have a perfectly good Garmin in my car & MapQuest still exists. 

Q: What about pictures, how will you capture those special moments?
A: Thanks to consumerism I have not only an old digital camera, but a newer polaroid camera. I also think that if I'm not focused on what looks good for social media, I'll enjoy the little moments a whole lot more.

Q: You're always listening to music how are you going to survive without it?
A: I'm not they still make mp3s! And I know how to *totally legally* download YouTube videos as mp3 files...

Q: I feel like you're over complicating things, why not just delete those apps?
A: Simple. I have no self-control.  ._.

Q: How will you plan things? Keep track of bills and to-dos? Get answers to important questions. 
A: Two words. Pen & Paper. There are several solutions honestly. If you're creative you can make your own notebook full of calendar dates, to do lists, chores etc. If you're not so creative like myself, I've found lots of free templates online or some cheap templates I can reuse over and over that I will link below. 

I challenge you to find your happiness again as well even if it's something as simple as deleting or limiting socials or just looking at and adjusting your screentime. Seriously just look at it the number of hours wasted on your phone may shock you. 

Here are some things to help you get started:

Maps
Getting around. You can print maps & step by step instructions here.

If maps aren't your thing here's my go to.
-The Garmin is a bit pricey but there are lots of lesser-known brand GPS devices for under $100 out there. Just remember to do your research and check reviews. 

Music
For music this is the MP3 I recently purchased. It has Bluetooth capability, 32gb of storage & radio.
-They have one for $10 more that's a bit fancier & one for $10 less that has less storage. Again, there are cheaper options out there. Some of you may even still have that old iPod laying around somewhere. *If you need that totally legal and free tutorial mentioned above let me know*

Here's a list of 500 things to do to keep your mind occupied.

My favorite planner. Has a water tracker. Financing journal. Chore list. Bill tracker. Habit tracker etc.
-If you're going to look online here are a few keywords to try to incorporate in your search. ADHD Planner, Adult Planner, Life planner, Organizer, Templates, free printable. You can even find inspiration to make and print or design your own on paper.

Cellphones
Here's the phone I went with- I'll update after a month of use when it comes in.
-This one is $60 and after flipping through reviews on multiple sites the bad reviews seem to come from user error or the phone not being compatible with some phone service providers.

This was a close second for my consideration and probably would be the better option for most people as it has some internet capability.
-This one weighs in at a whopping $90 and has amazing reviews.

Another fan favorite for just $20

-If you're looking for a new dumbphone here are some things to keep in mind. If you're in the US you have to get at least a 4g phone as 2g & 3g are no longer available here in the states. This unfortunately means no cute motorola razr v3 or a sidekick or old blackberry with the cool scroll wheel. This also means that cute sanario hello kitty phone is a no. As are most Japanese based phones. If your country still has 2g towers and support this will be a lot easier of a search for you. Most of these phones will not have bluetooth capability so you'll want a pair of headphones that will fit into a normal headphone jack if you're a hands-free type of user. While the phone may not be fit to your aesthetic you can find or make phone charms, dust plugs and even bling out or put stickers on your device. If you search far and wide enough, you may even be able to find old flip phone cases online second hand for pretty cheap but with the new smart flip phones that have come out the search for them has become even harder since the key search terms are relatively the same. TwT

Common Calculations
-If you're someone who regularly needs a calculator invest in a small portable one- they have some at the $1 store. Or if you're like me where your job requires you to know percentage off here's a cheat sheet similar to the ones our employees use. (Bonus points if you're actually good at math and don't need these)
Tip Calculator
Percentage Off Sales Calcutator

For me this experiment will be a way to heal my inner child as I feel I grew up too fast on the internet. I've even gone as far as to get myself a Furby like I always wanted to occupy my time- which I may talk about separately if anyone is interested in that journey or Furby's in general. It will also be a way for me to work on and track my mental health since cellphones and social media are proven to increase anxiety and decrease dopamine... which you can learn more about here. Do you plan on making any changes for your happiness? 

Thanks, if you made it this far- you're wonderful. You're loved & you're perfect the way you are.
xo Sunny

PS I'm refusing to look over this so I'm posting as a rough draft- if you find any grammar mistakes shhhh no you didn't.