- Maneesha Panja, 30, joined Month Offline, a program that syncs smartphone data to a flip phone.
- She spent a month using her flip phone and meeting with other members of the group.
- She said she made new friends and had more time to read. In the end, she decided to keep her dumb phone.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maneesha Panja, a 30-year-old product leader at a small startup living in Brooklyn, New York. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in the '90s and early 2000s. Many of my early memories of technology are associated with discovery and delight. I remember getting my first iPod — that was such a big deal for me.
As I got older, my relationship with technology grew more complex. At first, social media was great because I could keep up with my high school friends while in college.
Then, it got overwhelming. Social media went from something I used primarily to stay connected to friends to something I reached for even when I didn't want it — or when I wanted to ignore an unpleasant emotion.
Having unlimited access to everything at any moment was getting in the way of other things I wanted to do, like reading or creative writing.
Still, it was hard to give up my smartphone. It was so helpful for checking my email, texting friends, and looking up directions. I also work as a product leader at a small startup, and couldn't completely separate myself from technology. App blockers and Bricking my phone didn't work for me; they felt like they went against the device's design.
I heard about Month Offline, a roughly $75 program, when they hosted a phone-free event after a concert my husband and I went to. The program would help transfer my contacts to a flip phone, which I would use for a month alongside a cohort of people I'd meet in person.
My husband and I both decided to sign up in January, even though we were nervous. He and I both had different things we wanted to get out of the program, but it all came down to the same reason: We wanted to cut back on our screen time.
I was worried about inviting friction into my life
The week before we started the program, I remember telling my husband I didn't feel ready. What if we postponed it for another month?
I wondered how I would do my job or navigate the city without my smartphone. I wondered if I needed to invite those elements of friction into my life right now. Despite my reservations, I decided to at least commit to the first session.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the dumb phone we got through the program — a TCL FLIP Go — still had some of the same perks as smartphones. I could still text my friends and family, even if they had iPhones. I could access basic navigation tools like Google Maps. Even the camera was surprisingly good for a flip phone. For work, I could use it for two-factor authentication via SMS-based codes for certain applications, such as Google.
There were still some inconveniences, which I eventually learned to look at as benefits. For instance, I had to get used to buying and loading an OMNY card to use the subway, instead of just tapping my smartphone. I missed the train a few times as a result.
One of those times, I sat down, frustrated and bored. The next train that came wasn't the one I needed. I looked up at the train conductor, who just smiled and waved at me, and I waved back. That human connection just gave me so much joy.
It's not like I wasn't having those experiences before, but having this flip phone gave me space to appreciate these moments.
I made new friends and spent more quality time with my husband
Month Offline provided us with suggestions to help us adjust to life without smartphones. One suggestion was to create an "internet room," just like the one I grew up with when I had a family computer. I even bought a printer and started printing out drafts of my writing to hand-edit them, instead of spending more time at the computer.
The best part of the program was the built-in community. My husband and I were assigned two buddies called flipmates, who we'd meet with at least once a week, with the option to keep hanging out.
I ended up becoming good friends with my flipmates. We hung out together, including one time when we all got up early on a Saturday morning and went to the Transit Museum in Brooklyn, since none of us had ever been. As soon as we left the museum, a snowstorm started, and we all took photos with a disposable camera. I just couldn't imagine having that experience without this phone.
Another nice memory was when my husband and I went to East Williamsburg in Brooklyn, which we're not as familiar with. We got lost trying to find the train and ended up at a bar we'd been to once. We decided to stop in and hang out for a bit. We realized we never do that. Normally, we'd plan an evening ahead of time. Not using smartphones brought so much spontaneity and more quality time to our relationship.
The program also invited us to work on art projects to present at the end, things we wanted to accomplish without the distraction of smartphones.
At the end of the month, we had a party with a huge turnout. Someone read the play that they had worked on. Someone made a film, another person wrote a story. I made a painting. It was a visual artifact of the time we spent together, off our phones.
The flip phone makes me less anxious and more present
Now that I'm done with the program, I decided to keep using the flip phone. While I still have my smartphone, I pay a $24 monthly subscription to the dumb phone that gives me access to the hardware and phone line. Since the program, TCL now also offers limited Uber capabilities, making it even easier for me to use.
Sometimes, I still need to use my smartphone for work; two-factor authentication can be more seamless for certain apps than on my flip phone. Still, I deleted all my apps other than the ones I strictly need for my job.
Since using my flip phone, I feel more connected to my friends and family than ever, which is so ironic, since so much of the phone reduces your ability to be available all the time. I call my friends more. I set aside time to hang out with them in person. I wasn't doing that when I had a smartphone.
One of the biggest changes was a drop in my anxiety. Before, using my phone numbed inconvenient feelings like frustration. Now, I've gotten better at processing my emotions, and I can better handle what life throws at me.
I also learned to associate getting lost or feeling bored positively because they can lead to more creativity and surprise. One day, I was in the Upper East Side and had time to kill. I called one of my flipmates who lives in the area to ask for recommendations on what to do. He met me at a coffee shop an hour later, and we just talked. The last time I just randomly met up with someone like that was in college.
