to Back FlipPhones

by Lucas Ribeiro

Students reflect on a phone-free lifestyle

Isthat a flip phone?” asks an enthusiastic student, as senior Lauren Fisher walks by, her Alcatel SmartFlip in full display. Fisher is one of a few Jefferson students who has recently switched to a flip phone in a bid to combat cell phone addiction.

The movement to drop smartphones for flip phones has reached high schools around the country, as students gain greater awareness of their relationship with their mobile devices.

Lauren Fisher

Fisher switched to a flip phone after her iPhone broke last November, and she spent a few days without any phone at all.

“It kind of made me realize how nice it is not to be tethered to a phone,” Fisher said.

Fisher mentioned that many of the services people use from their smartphone can still be accessed from a laptop or other device.

“I can connect to Messenger and Instagram on my laptop. It made me realize that using a smartphone wasn’t essential to my life,” Fisher said.

The absence of a smartphone gives Fisher more control over when and where she uses social media. This has had positive ripple effects on her sleep.

“With the flip phone, I have the ability to check in and check out of Facebook,”

Fisher said. “When I’m about to go to bed, I used to scroll on my phone for half an hour, even if it was 2am. I’ve definitely cut that habit which has been really nice.”

Like anything, giving up a smartphone is a tradeoff.

“It is more difficult to communicate,”

Fisher said, “Just now, my friend told

“The reason I am the way I am is partially because I don’t have a [smart] phone,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “It’s not necessarily by choice, but it has definitely made me view the world through this lens that I don’t think many people will ever go through, living in a society where [the] entire world is online and where we feel more secure with our devices on.”

One situation where living smartphone-free makes a major impact is during awkward moments, where ‘ escaping into your smartphone’ has become a normalized behavior, despite its inconsiderate nature.

“I’ve noticed when an awkward conversation happens or a tiny awkward silence, the instinct of almost everyone is to pull out their phone immediately,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “I have to deal with awkward silences in ways a lot of other people don’t. I tend to try to continue the conversation, which is very much a struggle. People don’t even realize they’re doing it because they do it so often.”

These repeated negative experiences sometimes led to longer-term frustra tions, especially when Kudrati-Plummer was younger.

“I remember being upset in the past when I had close friends go on their phones constantly,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “It became a problem for me be cause there’s nothing I can do to change the fact that people are addicted.”

Kudrati-Plummer mentions that despite the uncomfortable situations, the smart phone-free perspective has turned her into a better person.

“It’s definitely made me more mature,” Kudrati-Plummer said. “I don’t have a duty to my com puer in public settings.”

Kudrati-Plummer urges others to spend a day or two without a smartphone and be more cognizant of the uncomfortable situations smartphone use can create.

“If I had an iPhone and I took it away from myself, I’d notice I’m doing the things that are annoying [to those with- me that she volunteered me for something I didn’t know about because I couldn’t get to the group chat”

At the same time, Fisher mentions that the fliphone is not as archaic as one may think.

“I was expecting flip phones to be pulled from 2002, but I’ve been surprised by how modern some of them are,” Fisher said. “It has YouTube. You can search the web. You can listen to music if you drive. It’s difficult enough to use that I don’t want to use it, but it’s there if I need [it].”

Senior Liam Carey, who like Kudrati-Plummer has never had a smartphone, recognizes the barriers of the lifestyle but mentions that his experience has been very positive.

“[My parents] got me my first phone, a school in junior year,” Carey said. “I live under a rock. A massive rock. But I’m totally fine with that because it means I’m not chronically online and I spend more time on things I actually enjoy doing, like being outside or playing piano

Yasmin Kudrati-Plummer places a call on her Nokia. “If an awkward silence happens, [and] everyone pulls out their phone, my go to response is to try to initiate a further conversation. Occasionally, I’ll pull up my Nokia, just so I don’t feel left out,” Kudrati-Plummer said.

Outside of screen time differences, Carey mentions that ditching his smartphone provides a more keen sense of the

“I’m usually more concentrated. I like people watching and watching the scenery go by. I notice things about where I am—it makes me more observant,” Carey

Carey’s experience hints to another potential effect of ditching your smartphone: decreased social anxiety.

“It makes me more likely to reach out to people in person, even though I have social anxiety, but I have to overcome that because I don’t have [constant] access to the internet and I think that’s a good thing,” Carey said. While there are a few inconveniences from not having a smartphone, Carey, like Fisher, believes the tradeoff is worthwhile. walk past Galileo, see cards spread across the tables, and hear the buzz of elderly volunteers among Jefferson students playing bridge. Jefferson’s Bridge Club hosts these volunteers weekly to teach students how to play bridge and grow as players.

“There are times when people are trying to make a group chat and I can’t be added to it because my phone doesn’t work that way, so it does make [some situations] a little bit harder. But overall, it hasn’t been a great barrier. It connects me more than isolates me,” Carey said.

Carey believes everyone should experiment with the fliphone lifestyle.

“Absolutely switch. At least try switching because you never know what your life’s gonna be like,” Carey said.

“It’s a game that’s difficult, and you can spend years and years learning if you want to play well,” volunteer Catherine Bardsley said. Despite its difficulty, bridge serves as a break from school and a fun challenge for Jefferson students during eighth period.

“I have come to Bridge Club since freshman year and it’s a good way to relax. It’s also the way to try and help you get your brain going after a long week of tests or useless classes. It’s nice to just play with friends and practice bridge,” club co-president Christopher Paonessa said.