In modern-day society having a smartphone is considered the norm, even essential. Most teens can’t imagine living without a mobile, yet I still don’t own one. Why? Because my mother does not consider it necessary. This may seem unreasonable to many, but sometimes I agree with her. Of course, I experience the downside often enough. I feel a bit left out, when everybody in class talks about a post they’ve seen the other day. I feel a bit stupid when I don’t know what ghosting is or why you tag someone. Most of all I feel embarrassed when I must explain that I can’t be part of WhatsApp groups set up by all the people I know. 

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During lessons our teachers like working with mobile phones and I always need to team up. I do have a little Nokia phone though, and I phone my father who lives abroad nearly every day. I’ve grown up without constantly messaging someone or posting something and sometimes even going weeks without access to a mobile! I do feel angry that people are always telling me they pity me because I don’t own one.  

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Being an outsider in this world of technology, I sometimes feel I’m the only one that notices the change in people when they get a smartphone. I’ve been to many birthday parties where everyone spends more time on their phone than talking to one another and I’ve seen my friends completely dedicating themselves to their online world. It makes me sad that so many people lose themselves in this thing that doesn’t even exist and forget about the people around them. 

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I enjoy the freedom I get from not being available all day long and I feel able to spend most of my free time reading or doing something creative. Maybe one day I will get a smartphone, but I am not going to be unhappy because I don’t own one. So trust me, when people say that it’s better to have a smartphone, they’re wrong!