8 Reasons Why “Brick” Phones Are Better Than Smartphones

Something happened to me two years ago. On a dark night in London, I was pickpocketed. Or I lost my iPhone. One of the two.

The day that followed found me shocked, sat in a stunned silence and wondering how my life would continue to function. Everything was on that phone.

I was moving abroad in a few months so there was no point in renewing my contract. Reluctantly, I came to terms with the idea that I was going to have to invest in… in… a brick. It cost me £30, it could make and receive texts, it could make and receive phone calls. And that was it. I decided to go with an I’m-making-a-vintage-fashion-statement-here approach as looks of confusion/pity/horror appeared whenever I took it out in public.

Within a week however, it dawned on me that I was feeling different with my new ‘model’ (ambitious, I know) and the difference was, I was much happier much less stressed. And it was because of my Brick. Here’s why:

1. I was no longer contactable all of the time.
If people didn’t have my number, they could only contact me when I had access to an actual computer. I was no longer responding to a spectrum of ‘ping!’ noises like a trained dog. If I didn’t reply to an email, it was fine, because people had to understand that I had no way of seeing it unless I was around a computer. I was in control.

2. I didn’t obsessively take photographs of unimportant things.
I looked at life through my own eyes, and not through the lens of a smartphone. If I knew I was going somewhere special, I would take my camera with me. After taking a photograph, I couldn’t impulsively upload it to social media. I had hours to work out if it was really something I needed to share with my friends and family. My life was beginning to gain an element of privacy. The whole world no longer knew I had seen a sunset that night, nor did they know what I’d eaten for dinner. That was between me and the real-life people who had been there.

3. I properly looked at people when they were talking to me.
No more hiding the smartphone under the table in case I had a work email. No more monotonously refreshing the Facebook homepage to read and reread all of the same statuses I would inevitably hear when I saw the people who wrote them anyway. I had no choice but to pay attention to real life.

4. I had to learn some common sense.
Someone asks you a question and you don’t know the answer, goog- wait, you can’t google it. But you can discuss it. Can’t find out where a place is? Take a map with you, look around you – most cities have maps on every street corner, did you know that? Reality really can amaze you…

5. I didn’t have heart palpitations if I dropped my Brick.
We’ve all been there, that slo-mo moment when your smartphone slips out of the palm of your hand, the deep-throated ‘nooooo’ moment, the bounce of the device on the hard tiled floor, the looks of sadness and compassion from those around you. With my Brick though, the screen didn’t smash, the information didn’t freeze, I could just stick it back together like Lego.

6. I didn’t worry about being robbed.
Let’s face it, nobody wants to rob a Brick. It barely has any materialistic value. I had a man turn me away from his business when I tried to get my Brick unlocked – he laughed and said it would cost more than the actual phone. On another note, how many smartphones have ‘gone missing’ in my life? Answer: three. How many Bricks have gone missing? Answer: none. Enough said.

7. I only have to charge up my Brick once a week.
Many a time when I couldn’t call a person back, it was because my smartphone had excreted its battery life in three hours. In the world of Brick holders, we have separate iPods, separate cameras, separate reading materials (mostly not digital) and nothing ever seems to run out.

8. It is a conversation starter.
Albeit, it often starts with the non-Brick owner laughing at the Brick owner and asking what the story behind owning the Brick is. One might even argue, it could inspire an article on the matter…