I Ditched Social Media for a Flip Phone

GEN Z WOMAN DITCHES SOCIAL MEDIA FOR A FLIP PHONE
WITH VID AND PIX
By Hannah Hodgetts
This social media ‘addict’ decided to give up her phone and trade it in for a flip phone.
Mycelia Amadou, 19, from Nevada City, California, US, documented her journey of giving up social media and navigating life with a flip phone.
The content creator paid $80 for her Nokia 2780 and only had access to phone calls, texts and internet for just under a week.
She said: “Using a flip phone has actually taught me a lot.
“It showed me how much time I was wasting on my phone that I could have been doing so many other better things that make me feel more fulfilled and more happy, more alive.”
Mycelia gave her iPhone to her mom to hide away and documented her detox on her iPad camera.
She prided herself on embracing the challenge and enjoying quality time outdoors and with her friends, away from the screen.
However she did share her struggles in social situations where her friends were on their phones and she had nothing to do - often opting to leave the flip phone at home.
As a Gen Z teenager, she explained how she regularly ‘doom scrolls’ on social media and wanted to break that habit.
Mycelia explored hobbies she never found the time for, such as reading, cooking, makeup tutorials, hair appointments and sleepovers.
She explained that the only reason she was excited for the challenge to be over was due to the fear of missing out online.
She said: “I want to try using a flip phone because my attention span is absolutely cooked.
“It's forcing me to do a lot of the things that I want to do, but I just never get around.
“There were so many moments when I went to grab my phone and it was not there.
“I'm very proud of myself for sticking through with this challenge though.
“After getting my phone back, I immediately kind of went back to social media and scrolled on it a lot.
“I did also notice that I get more headaches now that I have my phone.
“I feel more drowsy, more fatigued.
“I have noticed so far that my attention span is so much longer.
“Now that I have it back, I have been consciously trying to spend less time on it and it has been working. So I think my flip phone challenge was a success.”
ENDS