I've decided to reclaim my life – by using an old Nokia phone

Can a low-tech phone replace a smartphone for less-essential tasks and times – and peace of mind?

‘$85 later I was up and running … and then my excitement was stopped cold, with a stern smack back to 2003.’ Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian My wife and I have two young children. On a good night, we’re lucky to get a couple of hours together. More often than not, you’ll find us on the couch, in silence, each staring into a phone. And yet, one night not so long ago, a handful of my enslaved brain cells sparked unexpectedly to life. I looked up from Twitter. “Is this how it all ends?” I wondered out loud. “Is this what we’ll do for the rest of our lives?”

I'm far from a luddite. I currently have a pretty hot desktop. I was given a apple tablet by my employer years ago, and they never gave a reason to use it, since I also had a laptop. I charge it up occasionally and take a few nice pics with it. I found it irritating to use.

I built my first computer from a kit in 1976, but I currently have a Samsung Gusto 3 flip phone. It replaced my ancient Moto Razr since I broke it almost in half while rehabbing my garage. I hard on stuff. Gusto has text and talk, crappy camera.

I bought a Moto G5s Plus in November. It's unlocked. I just ordered a SIM card for it Thursday. I will spend zero time on Facebook, twitter, and will avoid all google stuff. See my tag line for info. I've never trusted the first three. I guess I was right.

I want the Moto for road trips to watch real time weather and find restaurants and stores better than my Garmin GPS. Smart phones seem too clunky to carry around. I will lose it or break it in half.

I don't play games. Don't need selfies, but maybe a few pics of interesting things. I don't need hundreds of fake "friends." I don't want to read posts by irritating people. FR is enough for me along with a few online sites on my desktop.

I'm not quite as unconnected as you, TYR, but it fits me OK.

...More often than not, you’ll find us on the couch, in silence, each staring into a phone...

Point being people are cell phone absorbed. Even little kids now are glued to their phone instead of going out and playing. And don’t even talk to me about cell phones and driving.

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