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In the journey to getting to know myself...I decided that I would feel good if I got rid of my smart phone.

 

As an HSP and an indigo, I find it really hard to adapt to anything I do when I have all these electronics with me all the time.

 

Of course, I can easily control myself and just not look at my phone, that's not the issue at hand.

 

I think I'm perfectly well off when I access my computer at home and read all the news and FB updates from my laptop instead of 10 times a day from my phone.

 

It just feels right, like connecting to my inner self again..(I know it sounds weird)

 

What do you guys think? Anyone any experience with this?

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In the journey to getting to know myself...I decided that I would feel good if I got rid of my smart phone.

 

As an HSP and an indigo, I find it really hard to adapt to anything I do when I have all these electronics with me all the time.

 

Of course, I can easily control myself and just not look at my phone, that's not the issue at hand.

 

I think I'm perfectly well off when I access my computer at home and read all the news and FB updates from my laptop instead of 10 times a day from my phone.

 

It just feels right, like connecting to my inner self again..(I know it sounds weird)

 

What do you guys think? Anyone any experience with this?

 

I wish so badly I could go back to 1989 - where one could truly disappear. Now a days, there's constant bombardment of interruptions...texts, calls, emails. It sucks. And everyone wants everything yesterday.

 

We are all married to our phones like junkies.

 

I'm with ya. Let us know how it goes.

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I love my smartphone. Could be because I'm young (born in 1990). I use it every day to communicate with people. I can talk, text, email, take pictures, browse the web, use it as a gps, and listen to music with it. There's a ton of apps that can be used for all sorts of practical purposes. I do however see how constantly being "plugged in" could be a negative if abused. I do not feel too sucked in because of it though. I just use it every day and cannot imagine not having a smart phone now.

 

I do know people who have gone through the backpacking, finding themselves phase. Like the "kill your tv" types and ride their bikes to work new age hippies. That wasn't my route. I am not scared of my cell phone. In all seriousness, the most intrusive media I have seen recently was the xbox one with kinect that watches you all the time like the all seeing eye in Lord of the Rings. That made me step back.

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Bravo for you in prioritizing ! Absolutely agree that "disconnecting" from the overwhelming influx of information that is being cast upon us on a daily basis can be daunting.

 

On vacations i have my smartphone for emergency only. otherwise it stays in my purse. Email is turned off and there is little attraction to check the news.

 

You may find that going thru the no smartphone decision can keep your mental stress down. Yet with most things... it has its purpose to aide in certain circumstances. I wouldnt throw the baby out with the bathwater. I'd just wrap it in its case and use it when necessary... road service,911, contacting a family member to check on their well being...

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What do you guys think? Anyone any experience with this?

 

Perhaps being older and not using smartphone technology until a few months ago, my habits with technology became developed during the telephone era where the only device stimulation was made and received phone calls. Pretty much that's how it remains, except I dictate a few texts and emails (love the voice to text on my Android device) as appropriate for business.

 

I understand the HSP stuff and stimulation overload. I learned some tools in MC to better process sensory overloading and how to block it out. Also, saturation training, like traveling in unfamiliar places, as well as firearms training, assisted in more effectively processing large volumes of sensory inputs in a more calm way.

 

If going back to a basic brick mobile phone works for you, do that. I still have my old Motorola in the drawer in case I make that decision at some point. So far, I don't see the smartphone as a negative or a positive; it's pretty much a neutral, trending slightly to positive because of business competition, most all of whom are deep into mobile information technology. Avoiding it can be a competitive disadvantage.

 

Good luck!

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I am very curious about your meaning when you say that you're an indigo? I am aware of the indigo child thing but was wondering about your interpretation.

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I am a GenXer and I've survived life without a smart phone. To save money I got rid of my 2 year contract cellphone plan, sold my smartphone and bought a cheaper phone and got on a monthly payment plan instead.

 

Smartphones are the technological version of heroin. Everyone's addicted 24/7 and as a result, is missing out on life. Take that schmuck who missed a breaching whale a few feet away from his boat, because he was staring down at his smartphone. He missed out on seeing something really cool.

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I think twitter and instagram is way way too much media and even less practical or useful than say facebook. I don't use either of those two. Those sites are just posting weirdos pictures of food and thirsty girls putting up duck faces with filters fishing for attention.

 

Americans work way too much also. We have a live to work and not a work to live mentality. Many people seem consumed by their jobs and material possessions that it distracts them from connecting with other human beings. A smart phone can do just that even if it isn't face to face and almost whenever you want.

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I love my smartphone. Could be because I'm young (born in 1990). I do know people who have gone through the backpacking, finding themselves phase. Like the "kill your tv" types and ride their bikes to work new age hippies. That wasn't my route. I am not scared of my cell phone. In all seriousness, the most intrusive media I have seen recently was the xbox one with kinect that watches you all the time like the all seeing eye in Lord of the Rings. That made me step back.

 

See...I was born in the 80's, and I had a wonderfull childhood full of nature and playing outside with my friends, my basketball, the neighbour's dog,..etc.. Coming into an ever growing age of ''smart technologies'' gives me too many impulses...it's not that I'm addicted, absolutely not..it just throws me off. Shifting focus is not so easy for me as I get very intense in WHATEVER I do..

 

I guess I am one of those hippies you describe :o I've been plugged out from the news and mainstream media for quite some time now..it feels AMAZING, you should try it for 1 day, with an open mind and see what it does to your inner thought processes...

 

You may find that going thru the no smartphone decision can keep your mental stress down. Yet with most things... it has its purpose to aide in certain circumstances. I wouldnt throw the baby out with the bathwater. I'd just wrap it in its case and use it when necessary... road service,911, contacting a family member to check on their well being...

 

Yes...I definitely need to disconnect, because more and more I understand that all the impulses are too heavy for me...This is some real good advice you give me here..I think I'm gonna go with that.

 

Today I deleted all the "unnecessary apps" from my phone such as FB, LinkedIn, newspapers etc...only IM, call and text function is still on it. I checked my phone a 100 times less than I used to, and it felt GREAT. I might keep this up.

 

I am very curious about your meaning when you say that you're an indigo? I am aware of the indigo child thing but was wondering about your interpretation.

 

I was told I was an indigo by a shrink I saw couple years ago. I went to her with ADD problems (which I truly believed I was having for most of my life), then she told me that. I thought she was a crazy hippie (ironic huh :p ) and went to another shrink.

 

Years later when I was still struggling (not only with ADD but also with the fact that I have felt so different from all others all my life) I decided to look into the Indigo phenomenon. Turns out the woman was right..I'm your text book Indigo. It felt like coming home. My fears went away and I finally was able to accept myself for who I am. It really is hell to feel different than all people around you, and being told that you're 'odd' as a child. What my biggest struggle in life has been until I found out about Indigo? School and authority....

 

I am a GenXer and I've survived life without a smart phone. To save money I got rid of my 2 year contract cellphone plan, sold my smartphone and bought a cheaper phone and got on a monthly payment plan instead.

 

Smartphones are the technological version of heroin. Everyone's addicted 24/7 and as a result, is missing out on life.

Yep..same here, grew up without smartphone.

 

Yep..also the addiction is real for most people. I really hate it when I'm at a restaurant with a friend and she can't stop looking at her phone. It drives me nuts :( But really..nothing I can do. All change has to start with yourself.

 

Less and less people are able to live in the moment nowadays, that scares me. I love the moment.

 

I think twitter and instagram is way way too much media and even less practical or useful than say facebook. I don't use either of those two. Those sites are just posting weirdos pictures of food and thirsty girls putting up duck faces with filters fishing for attention.

 

Americans work way too much also. We have a live to work and not a work to live mentality. Many people seem consumed by their jobs and material possessions that it distracts them from connecting with other human beings. A smart phone can do just that even if it isn't face to face and almost whenever you want.

 

Hear hear rrl! Wanna start an anarchistic group together? :p Seriously, I'm that far in my head. I have FB because of school..they post important stuff that I don't want to miss out on. Materialism is real unfortunately,...so is the belief in most people that they need all that stuff. In the end it all comes down to marketing, and marketing is mind control, done for earning purposes of companies...for money. I wish more people would start to realize.

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For a good part of my 20s, I didn't have a phone or a tv. But seemed like I always had someone dropping by to listen to music or coming by where I worked in retail to hang out a little. Wasn't at all lonely.

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I was in my early 30s by the time I got a smart phone. Imagine living THAT LONG without technology. Ok, I bought a laptop when I was 28. But I grew up in a family where we didn't have cable tv, cellphones, or even a computer. When all those humongous computers in the 1980s were sold in retail stores, my family didn't get one. Instead we had an AT&T electric typewriter, and the Atari game system as our only electronic gadgets.

 

When I was in college, I had an answering machine with cassette tape in it like in that movies Singles. My family didn't get voicemail until I was in college. We just wrote down phone messages. We didn't even have a double phone line so when people would call, if we were on the phone they'd get a busy signal and have to call back.

 

Still, I'm happy that I didn't have technology growing up. I played outside with friends, played board games, and spent more time with my friends in person than people do today, where they just send an email or text or instant message their friends.

 

I think those 2 year cellphone contracts are a total money scam. $150 a month x 12 = $1800. Total. Waste.Of.Money. For that same amount you could take a trip, buy a laptop, pay rent, or whatever. I just can't justify wasting money on a phone anymore, especially when I have a laptop computer. I don't even have a tablet. Why would I need one when I have a laptop? Makes no sense.

 

So yeah, smartphones are a luxury not a necessity. Life is easier without them.

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I was told I was an indigo by a shrink I saw couple years ago. I went to her with ADD problems (which I truly believed I was having for most of my life), then she told me that. I thought she was a crazy hippie (ironic huh :p ) and went to another shrink.

 

Years later when I was still struggling (not only with ADD but also with the fact that I have felt so different from all others all my life) I decided to look into the Indigo phenomenon. Turns out the woman was right..I'm your text book Indigo. It felt like coming home. My fears went away and I finally was able to accept myself for who I am. It really is hell to feel different than all people around you, and being told that you're 'odd' as a child. What my biggest struggle in life has been until I found out about Indigo? School and authority....

 

 

But what does Indigo mean? What characteristics do you assign to this?

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But what does Indigo mean? What characteristics do you assign to this?

 

The name Indigo stands for the color of the 3rd eye chakra, which is believed to be between your eyes. Indigo children are people whose 3rd eye chakra is very open, giving them traits that are different than most people.

 

 

Are you an Indigo? | 11 Traits of Indigo Children - Mind Openerz

 

Here are some of the most important traits

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CrystalShine2011

I recently really dumbed down my technology, as well as deleted my FB, extra old accounts, and other social media outlets that were keeping me from being a more outgoing person. I needed to reach out more!

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Standard-Fare

I held out for a long time with smartphones, but the need for GPS broke me. And I could never go back to NOT having GPS. It's just so necessary for when you're lost, or you're in a new environment/new city. And no one can tell me paper maps are a good substitute -- we all know that's not true.

 

To help with some of the addictive traps of smartphones, I deleted all apps that would encourage me to be online (i.e. Facebook, YouTube). Also, I have a very basic/cheap phone that doesn't for fun/easy Internet browsing, so that helps.

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Do you read newspapers?

 

I think I would enjoy unplugging for a while just to see what is is like.

Interesting irony.... I haven't read a newspaper in years and ended my subscription probably a decade or more ago and, nearly exactly coinciding with my choice to purchase a smartphone a couple months ago, the newspaper mysteriously started showing up out on the street. I certainly hope someone is paying the rural route carrier because it certainly isn't me.

 

However, I read the thick Sunday newspaper yesterday and noted one area that struck me as significant: With a smartphone or computer and accessing the internet, I choose what news or information I wish to access. With a newspaper, others choose. I see this as a double-edged sword. With the newspaper, I can get bombarded by a whole bunch of stuff I have no interest in but can also be presented with news or information that I didn't think significant until viewing it. If only getting information I want to get, like on the phone or computer, that's all I get, even if other news/information could be important.

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I recently really dumbed down my technology, as well as deleted my FB, extra old accounts, and other social media outlets that were keeping me from being a more outgoing person. I needed to reach out more!

 

It's funny isn't it? The people who have 1000 friends on facebook have 0 in real life.

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littlesister1234

I am not a very spiritual person or anything like that, but I honestly think it's a great idea. I lived two years without a cell phone period (I eventually had to get one again due to work. I have to be on-call). There are too many people getting more and more out of touch with reality. Does it mean we shouldn't enjoy the things technology gave us? Of course not. Like you said, you still have a laptop to keep in touch with your friends online, and a normal cellphone is just as good for calling as a smart phone. I get so sick and tired of people being glued to their smartphone. It's like the outside world doesn't exist anymore to them. We need more people, like you, willing to give up their smartphone and have actual face to face interaction with the world and less interaction with a phone.

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Do you read newspapers?

 

I think I would enjoy unplugging for a while just to see what is is like.

 

Only when I feel like it....I have to be honest, I AM always up to date, even though I don't watch the news, or read newspapers..my family, friends and social circle and of course my FB wall keep me updated.

 

It feels amazing to be unplugged, because you learn to think for yourself.

I found that all mainstream media, eg. huge international tv channels that I used to love, are full of sheit. It's all propaganda. I only realized this after I was unplugged for some time, and then watched it once in a coupl weeks. I started following underground news and started doing my own research. I found that there is so much more going on than what we see on your average 8 o'clock news...all media that makes money has an owner, and all owners of media are related to some political agenda, otherwise they wouldn't be that big.

 

It's funny isn't it? The people who have 1000 friends on facebook have 0 in real life.

 

This amazes me...people seem sooo so happy on FB, always with the duck face pictures and what not, 1000 likes for their (to me irrelevant and annoying) pictures and updates..I just don't understand..where they find the time in their life to be online that much, and if they DO have this time..what does this tell us about their actual social life? It basically means that they're living through the filter of their smart phone, always experiencing stuff through the camera of it. That's not real.

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What do you guys think? Anyone any experience with this?

Yep, I had a smart phone for 6 months and I dumped it. Hated it after 2 months but wanted to see what the fuss was about.

 

Dumping it had made no negative impact on my life, the positive is that I'm not one of the scrolling monkeys that stop in the middle of the pavement or can't make a conversation with strangers anymore because they have to keep staring at their phone.

 

I'm not on any of the apps, only on facebook and that's plenty. If I want to talk to anyone we can call or text. My phone costs me about $10 a month, I have a desktop and a laptop at work and that's more than enough for knowing what everyone else is up to. I don't need to know about someone's cat or selfie at 10pm.

 

I can't think of a single thing that I'm missing out on. Don't use Skype much so don't miss facetime. I really enjoy not depending on technology, there isn't anything EVER posted by anyone anywhere that cannot wait to be read until the following day. The people you care about and vica versa will talk to you in person or over the phone.

 

Incidentally, it's easier to make calls on those old school phones and the battery lasts for a week.

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Only when I feel like it....I have to be honest, I AM always up to date, even though I don't watch the news, or read newspapers..my family, friends and social circle and of course my FB wall keep me updated.

 

It feels amazing to be unplugged, because you learn to think for yourself.

I found that all mainstream media, eg. huge international tv channels that I used to love, are full of sheit. It's all propaganda. I only realized this after I was unplugged for some time, and then watched it once in a coupl weeks. I started following underground news and started doing my own research. I found that there is so much more going on than what we see on your average 8 o'clock news...all media that makes money has an owner, and all owners of media are related to some political agenda, otherwise they wouldn't be that big.

 

 

I think the most informative news on tv is nightly business report. It's so concise and just factual. Other than than I think most news is trash. Like you're saying everyone has an agenda. I don't know what nbr's is.

 

Have you seen bowling for columbine? I don't know how unplugged you are but, the interview with Marilyn Manson is pretty spot on. News does pump people full of fear.

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I got sick of social media being everywhere and every restaurant, shop, library, movie, etc. requesting a "like". Then I went out with some friends that were constantly on their phones the entire night, on our way home, I threw my cell phone out the window and went without phone calls, texts, alerts of all kinda for 3 months.....it was liberating, people would leave me letters, or just simply not deal with me and give me space (which was perfectly fine with me). Take a break from it all for a while, don't throw your phone out the window.

 

Technology is a lot better when it is limited, I don't play games on my phone because it is a brain dead activity that makes you a zombie in my opinion, you become boring, anti social, and the addiction will take hold.

 

People laugh about the idea of being addicted to their phones because they don't understand what is meant by it, no addiction is good,nothing should have control over you in that way where you are powerless to it..........except love, I suspect.

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Somehow it seems to me, that together with the growing 'social media madness' people have become shallow... in all aspects of life..love, friendships, career...

 

Just an example: A lot of girls I know, are into fashion and have or want jobs relating to fashion, they dress up differently every day, put on their make up, take pictures of themselves, write a piece about what they're wearing, and post it online..and they try to make a living out of it.

 

No disrespect to fashion bloggers, I just used this as an example, but why is it that the majority of girls are into things like this nowadays?

 

When it comes to love,...couples break up over the fact that their partner is not willing to give up on his or her FB flirts...where is this going? (I've actually been there)

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Somehow it seems to me, that together with the growing 'social media madness' people have become shallow... in all aspects of life..love, friendships, career...

 

Just an example: A lot of girls I know, are into fashion and have or want jobs relating to fashion, they dress up differently every day, put on their make up, take pictures of themselves, write a piece about what they're wearing, and post it online..and they try to make a living out of it.

 

No disrespect to fashion bloggers, I just used this as an example, but why is it that the majority of girls are into things like this nowadays?

It's not the majority of girls, just those that are more visible. There is greater visibility to what people are up to than there has ever been before. While I don't post selfies ever, I enjoy dressing up differently every day, putting on make up and I'm into fashion. That doesn't make me shallow. Don't see why we should wear dungarees to look 'deep'. Fashion is actually quite creative.

When it comes to love,...couples break up over the fact that their partner is not willing to give up on his or her FB flirts...where is this going? (I've actually been there)

Again, greater visibility. It's more obvious that some people have problems with boundaries. In the past you wouldn't have known that your girlfriend flirted with every guy in the office because you weren't there. Now you can see on facebook that she constantly needs validation.

 

To me more transparency is a good thing. Just don't become obsessed by it.

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