Phones are Tools 🪚

Phones are tools. And they were always meant to be tools.

Originally, mobile phones were build to make phone calls while on the go–something that we tend to forget in this day and age. The BlackBerry added emails to the mix. The iPhone combined the essentials of the iPod with the capabilities of a mobile phone. Suddenly, you didn't just make phone calls, but listened to music, took photos, wrote down notes, used a calculator and even navigated with maps.

When social media emerged, our relationship to mobile phones started to change. Phone users unknowingly became victims of the attention society we live in today. We started to succumb to the screen, every single day.

But fret not. If you want your phone to be more of a tool again, consider the different levels, from the Phone Phone (taking phones back to their original purpose) to the Modern Smartphone (which unfortunately seems to be how most people use their phones today):

• The Phone Phone: Uninstall all apps except the Phone app and the Messages app. Install an app called "Snake 2" (or similar) from the App Store. Cancel your data plan. Live a happy life. Alternative: Ditch smartphone altogether and get dumbphone.
• The Light Phone: A phone that's still a phone but is also your companion for the essential tasks of everyday life: Phone app, Clock app (Alarm and Timer), Maps app, Music app, Notes app, Calendar app, Podcast app (hey, no email)–inspired by the actual Light Phone.
• The Productivity Phone: Includes the Light Phone apps but also a Browser app, Voice Memos app, Messaging apps, Mail app and Banking apps. It's a productivity tool.
• The Modern Smartphone: A phone filled to the brim with addictive social media apps and mostly used to explore said media (optional: addictive games). Altogether used with the purposes that today's attention society has in mind.

Today, I try to use my phone as a Productivity Phone. I write down notes, I record voice memos, I listen to podcasts and music, I do my banking, I research, I watch a little YouTube, I read in my feed reader, I write to friends and family, I take pictures. Despite my good intentions, I still spend more time on my phone than I would like to. Actually, that's no surprise considering that it's such a powerful tool.

That's right–phones are tools. Use them wisely! 🤓