The Guardian has published quite a lot of articles recently expressing some concern over the use of smartphones. Emma Beddington’s piece (My phone knows what I want before I do. That should be worrying – but it’s oddly comforting, 10 March) is perhaps the most alarming to date, mitigated to only some degree by her self-awareness. But help is at hand.
There is a simple way in which we can set ourselves free. Remove the battery if possible, then take your biggest hammer and set to work on the rest. The more cost-effective solution is not to buy one in the first place. I never have and it’s still rarely a problem, though surveillance capitalism tries hard to make it one. Oldish people like myself are less likely to own smartphones, increasingly likely to be marginalised as a result, lucky to remember life without their constant intrusion.
Whatever your age, fight back, be phone-free and proud. Wherever you go, demand that services can be accessed without a smartphone. Live in the moment. Talk to the people in sight and earshot. Enjoy the calm inside your head. Hear the waves on the shore.
Sarah Sorensen
Portsmouth, Hampshire
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