How to Second Phone

I noticed when someone took one out. I was also noticed when I took mine out.

This was back in 2007, when Apple had first introduced the iPhone. More than a phone, it was a status symbol. 

Apple was one of the first device manufacturers that did not allow telecom operators to subsidize phones, meaning that for the first time, consumers had to pay the full price to get the device.

It was at the same time I launched my tech business, focused on mobile apps. I was lucky to have a front row seat for the start of the smartphone revolution and saw up close just how smartphones have taken over our time, our attention and our presence.

When I look around me, be it while at a restaurant and seeing a family of four with four bright screens glowing in their faces, or at the gym, in a coffee shop, even at the beach, our reliance on our phones feels unreal, yet very real.

I believe that while back in the day it was a status symbol to own a smartphone, in the future, it may be a status symbol to not. Or at least to not be constantly glued to one.

For the past few years, I’ve had the thought in the back of my mind about how I might explore the implications of not having a phone.

At the start of this year, an experiment finally came to me. 

I got a second phone and was curious to see what might happen if I started to regularly detach from my primary device, which I am far more attached to than I care to admit.

On my second phone, I only have a few apps. Uber, Spotify and Google Maps. No Whatsapp. No Gmail. No social media. No content. Only the essential utilities required to get me from point A to point B.

It costs me $40/month for a data plan, so about $500/year. Although it may sound like a lot, it’s the equivalent of a few therapy sessions and might just have more benefit. I thought it was worth the cost.

The experiment started earlier this year with me taking only my second phone when I would go to the gym or yoga. I left my primary device at home. It evolved to me taking only my second phone when going out to dinner. Then I challenged myself to use it instead of my primary device on a Saturday. And then over an entire weekend.

Like any experiment, I was curious to see what I might learn. I observed immediate changes while using only my second phone.

First, I did not realize how strong my impulse had been to check my phone regularly. I was using it to fill time and kill time, all the time. My second phone had nothing interesting on it, so I would take it out, forgetting that it wasn’t my primary device, and then seconds later put it back in my pocket.

Next, I noticed after going about three to four hours with only my second phone, my mental state was calmer. This was expected I guess. I’ve been meditating consistently for years now and noticed a similar post-meditation calmness after a few hours of not having my primary device.

There started to appear ‘empty spaces’, in the moments when I was in between things or places or people. In those empty spaces, which previously I would fill with doing something productive or useless on my phone, I now started to see my mind churn through thoughts. There was space for passive thoughts, an important process for my brain to process and integrate the information it receives throughout the day.

I started to become more curious about other people. While in line at a coffee shop, I struck up a conversation with the woman next to me. Sitting in an Uber, I became curious about the driver and his life story. Waiting for my lunch to arrive at the restaurant, I enjoyed a few minutes of chit chat with the waiter. I couldn’t remember the last time I had paid so much attention to the people I was sharing a physical space with. It was energizing.

Similarly, I have started to notice the finer details in my environment. I noticed a trash can overflowing on the sidewalk and wondered why. I noticed a new building under construction, that I must have walked by a dozen times that week alone but never saw. I noticed the direction of the wind hitting my hair and the heat of the sun on my face. It started to feel like I was living with the lights on, whereas before they were off.

These first few experiences using only a second phone inspired me to challenge myself to go fifty days this year using only my second phone. I’m already at twenty five days.

Different cultures have their own rituals to inspire a regular routine of connection to something greater than ourselves, and in the process, temporarily letting go of day-to-day distractions. In sharing my experiment with friends as of late, I’ve realized that my second phone experiment is a modern day interpretation of these ancient practices.

I would have never thought, back in 2007 when I was so energized by the allure of a smartphone, that years later I would be as energized by the allure of detaching from one. A reminder that everything changes.

And that is how I learned to second phone.