One of the reasons why I started this site is because people keep noting how I don’t have a smartphone. I didn’t originally find it all that notable. I just didn’t want one, and didn’t think my life would be made better by having one.
It was only over time, when people kept bringing it up, that I realized that I might be onto something important.
What I find most interesting though is that I get actual strangers who feel moved enough about my lack of a smartphone that they approach and talk to me about it.
Here are just two stories about that.
Miami Beach, 2015
I was in Miami Beach for a day, blinking from the sun and the opulence. I had never been there before, but I was in Miami for work, and it’s only a short drive away. As I love beach towns like Wildwood, NJ, I thought it was worth a look.
I had just exited a supermarket and was doing a small circuit of the area when a woman, adult, fit and well-to-do, walked by me in the opposite direction on the sidewalk. I had my flip phone in my hand (I believe I had just finished texting a friend) and she said, in a tone of incredulity:
“Is that a flip phone?”
I allowed that it was.
“That’s amazing. I haven’t seen one of those in years!”
I grinned and said my usual spiel about it being all I needed.
“Well, good for you. That’s great. I didn’t think anyone had those anymore.”
And with that we walked our separate ways.
Dallas, 2017
Just recently, I was in Dallas for FinCon, a financial media/blogger conference. We were at an evening event hosted by one of the sponsors in a very large, very loud, restaurant/venue complex.
I had just separated from some folks I had met there, and was just leaning against a railing, listening to the band on stage and surveying the scene. Next to me, a woman, younger than me, I’d say in her 20s, was talking with a small group of cohorts. It was crowded so we were pretty close together. I hadn’t really noticed her until I heard this in my ear:
“You still flippin?”
It took me a moment to realize that this was pointed in my direction. I looked over at her and saw that she was pointing to my flip phone, in my hand again. She repeated the phrase.
She didn’t seem offended, just a little amazed. But her accusation was friendly, so I smiled and said:
“Flippin’ forever!”
And we both laughed at that.
What does this say?
I have lots of moments like this. Folks who talk to me about their favorite app and then are vexed. Someone who I exchange numbers with who looks agog when they see my device. Lots of surprised looks and furrowed brows.
But you know what else I hear in many of these interactions?
“Good for you!”
Now, why would someone say that? Remember that the smartphone is the default method of communication and interaction in our culture today, one that is purported to improve our lives immeasurably. It is a device that you effectively cannot go a day without seeing one or hearing about one in some way.
Why then would so many people give me an expression of support, even from complete strangers?
What is that telling us?
