Source: Washington Post
by August Lamm
“A common complaint from recent dumbphone converts is that the switch has made them more reliant on others. Without a smartphone, it becomes necessary to ask for directions, weather, transit times and other information that was once easily accessed online. But why is interdependence a bad thing? In the depths of what has been dubbed a ‘loneliness epidemic,’ with friendship rates at an all-time low and screen time at an all-time high, the solution is not to become more self-reliant but to reinforce our social fabric through shared responsibility. I have lived without a smartphone for the past four years, and in that time I have grown comfortable depending on friends and even strangers to help me navigate an increasingly digital world.” (11/08/26)