By I used the 3.2” front screen of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 as a minimal phone for a week. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge
I hated how much time I was spending scrolling on my phone. And the idea that I’m wasting my time wasn’t even what was bugging me — I do loads of things that aren’t good uses of my time. What bugged me was that I was unconsciously and habitually scrolling. And most of the time I couldn’t even tell you what I had been scrolling through.
I thought about switching to a minimal phone, like the Light Phone, with its slow screen and limited functions. But I knew that completely giving up things like Gmail or Slack on mobile wasn’t possible for me. And I didn’t want to wipe out social media completely, I just wanted my use of it to be more intentional. What I needed was a fully functional smartphone, just a somewhat less usable one.
So I…