Reason

For most of history except the last 20 or so years people did not have access to a smartphone or the internet. Before the internet I imagine a typical room wouldve included a few books that a person borrowed from the library, a musical instrument if they liked, a desk, a bed, and a closet. I imagine there was more face to face interaction, and less time staring at a screen. People also really had to spend a lot of time extracting the knowledge in a book. Instead of perusing a short article online people were forced to become experts in a topic. Now many people succumb to the Dunning-Kruger effect. Overestimating there knowledge in a field, and just being intellectual tourists, never fully committing to the material they want to learn more about. Of course I'm not totally bashing the internet. Sometimes it is useful to know how many ounces are in a cup, or  what new events are coming up. Funny videos and reading blogs are also good. Everything in moderation though. I ascribe to Minimalism. The belief that if you buy quality you will never have to buy it again, buy only the bare essentials, and throw things away when they are absolutely wasted. Example I only throw away shoes when the soles are gone. This does not mean I dont dress fashionably. I also ascribe to digital minimalism. Personally I feel we have too much technology. Here are my personal reasons for getting a flip phone in brief. (Note I still have a laptop, but technology is now something I dive into rather than have available at all times.)

• Americans spend and average of 5.4 hours on there phone (this is frankly ridiculous)
• Learning on the internet is just not effective because of the constant temptations surrounding the internet(games, gambling, porn, etc.) It's like trying to study while on vacation
• Apps are made to be addictive(endless feeds, swipe to refresh, like button) all hit on our dopamine systems, making it highly addictive
• Stopping these addictions is near impossible using sheer will power and app blocking apps alone (trust me ive tried every app blocker under the sun)
• I found myself using porn about once every 2 weeks for a long time. Look up the science on the negative aspects of porn use, it speaks for itself
• No triggers/ queues means more willpower conserved freeing up my mind to focus on other things and being less distracted in the world

Benefits

Some of you may be saying your just weak. I will not disagree, and one day I do hope to be strong enough to get a smartphone again. For now though, I feel more productive, more at peace and more in control. Jesus said if your right hand causes you to sin cut it off(not literally), but if something is stopping you from reaching your goal cut it out. Looking at history I see I am in the majority for not owning a smartphone, for most of history they didnt exist! So much distractions and temptations nowadays. Here are some benefits I've noticed from having a flip phone for the past 4 months.

• Completely quit porn use
• Have managed to read 15 books in the last 4 months(most ever in this short span of time)
• I dont have to check my phone as often while working. (longer attention span)
• I am livng life less like a zombie, no more staring at a screen alone for hours at night

Conclusion

One app I do miss is snapchat because it made it easy to talk to freinds, but it is not a deal breaker, and the pros outweigh the cons by a heavy margin. I have been teased for having a flip phone but as christians we are to walk shamelessly for what we believe is the truth. This is definitely a stepping stone on my journey to be a complete sacrifice to the Lord. If anyone is interested in using the flip phone I have go to Sunbeam Wireless. The phone is made by Christians with many of the same principles I outlined above. Some positives is that it has fully functional gps navigation, great voice to text function (no typing ever), and all the essential bells and whistles a phone should have minus the apps and browser.