I enjoyed 18 years of my life until I got my first phone

I lost all my creativity and happiness just because of one decision

I had spent the last 18 years of my life without a smartphone. Life wasn’t boring or dumb. I used to read books, sit on the terrace calmly, self-reflecting about my daily life without any distractions. And often wonder about space and stars.

If I had to make a call, I used my mom’s phone. That was it. I had a computer at home. But it wasn’t used much. I didn’t have a social media account to go to or some game to play. So, it was just me and my thoughts. Life was relaxing and great. Then I entered college.

Then at 18, I got admitted to college. It was a new experience for me. I had been to the same school and high school since kindergarten. This was a completely new place.

If you’re wondering about how that felt. Imagine this. You’re going to a new college for the first time, and this is your first time in a hostel. And you don’t know anyone in this place. Your roommates are from different places. So, you’ve never interacted with someone outside our old school. Yet they are here.

All I had was a new phone my parents had got for me two months ago and a new laptop. That’s it. I didn’t know what to do in this new place. I started using my phone to ease my stress.

I still hadn’t made a new social media account. But I had started a new YouTube account. It seemed a pretty good place to entertain oneself. I watched videos for hours everywhere I went. Except in class.

The videos were good. There were cat videos, videos of people doing dumb things, which entertained me a lot. But always after watching them, I didn’t feel happy. I didn’t stop watching. It continued through my first year.

At this time, I had friends. But my phone addiction had grown too much. I checked the digital wellbeing on my phone. 9 hours a day. This wasn’t good. So, I studied the health implications of using a phone and tried to reduce it as much as I could. I constrained myself to use less YouTube and WhatsApp. This worked too.

Now, I spend my time on books or typing on my laptop. I’m using my phone only if it’s necessary. I Switched off all the notifications only to check the phone at a certain time for a few minutes. I still get lured sometimes by the juicy titles and attracting thumbnails on YouTube. As soon as I realize that I switch off the phone and keep it somewhere I can’t see.

You can read more about reducing the use of the phone on Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.