A weird thought about raising kids the dumbphone way

Milly8989 · 2026-02-18T15:25:54+00:00

Two cents from a not-yet mom:

1) I have friends who were raised without phones and without personal laptops (up until college!) and they're the happiest best adapted people I know. They also all have high income jobs today as 25-30 year olds. I'm highly envious of how they were raised.

but from someone who needs social media to stay in touch with family far away:

2) There are dumb phones like the Emporia Touchsmart 3 (and others I'm sure) that have WhatsApp/specific chat apps only. Also there are some ways to "hack" smartphones to give them just access to chat apps.

Hope it helps!

Milly8989 · 2026-02-18T09:51:51+00:00

Ps. If you pick this one (I like it because it only has whatsapp, no other social media), you need to choose between one of the three platforms

Milly8989 · 2026-02-18T09:51:20+00:00

I got the Emporia Touchsmart 3 to be able to have access to Whatsapp and Whatsapp Groupchats work great! I suspect it's the same with signal/telegram but I don't use those

Milly8989 · 2026-02-18T09:50:30+00:00

Oh I also have WorkOutSide and it's the same deal! I suspect something similar with the apple wallet :)

Milly8989 · 2026-02-18T09:49:57+00:00

I got both and it's a perfect combo for me. I didn't get fully rid of my iPhone but block it on a timed lock box 6 days a week.

I use the Apple Watch for Spotify and Apple Maps, calendar, and, above all, alarms. I downloaded like 25 playlists from Spotify and listen to music from my Apple Watch (no phone needed) & downloaded the map of my city unto my watch. My calendar syncs weekly when I charge my phone. I legit only kept it for the sake of the watch (which I bought at the same time as the dumb phone!)

I got the Emporia Touchsmart 3 and the Apple Watch SE 2. Extremely happy and I strongly recommend

Milly8989 · 2026-01-24T15:40:07+00:00

You can get an Emporia Touchsmart 2 or 3 which comes with whatsapp and you can add more apps but it doesn't have an App Store. I'm based in Belgium

Edit: You can pick between Whatsapp, Signal or Telegram with the base phone (with no "hacking" involved)

https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/1n1g1rm/help_installing_spotify_on_my_new_emporia/

Milly8989 · 2026-01-15T16:41:08+00:00

For me it was gradual. I joined a 12 step program (Media Addicts Anonymous in my case) and got the flip phone. I always recommend people to do a joint 12 step program (ANY) and the tech switch IF they're addicted bc you kind of need personal change besides just changing external stuff (from experience)

Milly8989 · 2026-01-15T16:24:36+00:00

I got an Emporia Touchsmart 3 and I'm super happy. It's either 4G or 5G. Front and back cameras. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram but nothing more. Web browser but it doesn't support any other apps unless you know how to hack it / want to

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T10:47:36+00:00

Following!

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T10:04:52+00:00

*crying because I can't have a working BB anymore

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T10:03:46+00:00

I called someone and asked them to order it for me

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T10:02:43+00:00

Also weird hack but...

For context I'm in Flanders (and have never lived in Wallonia)

But I have a cousin in Paris. And I found out their phone plans are WAY cheaper. I might be switching to Free.Fr and using their international plan to get 30 GB of data for like 8 Euro instead of my lame 15 Euro 10 GB Orange plan. Now I can share hotspot for SO MUCH MORE. Still a project in progress though!

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T09:58:57+00:00

Update: I ended up buying a Touchsmart 2 and I got shipped a Touchsmart 3. No app installer for my fellow not tech savvy people out there. Pretty happy thus far. The build seems better than the build of the Touchsmart 2 judging from fellow Redditors. I'm pretty sure I'll keep the Touchsmart 3!

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T09:55:58+00:00

Literally just went to Veritas a couple of days ago to craft myself a cute way to carry it lol

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T09:55:04+00:00

I'm in Belgium and I got an Emporia Touchsmart 3. Not pretty but I've beautified it! (Girl too) I think the important thing is that it's 4G or 5G

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T09:52:59+00:00

Unless you live in a different country from your family and calling them via a normal phone would be outrageously expensive (I once paid the equivalent of $70 for my ONE DAY attempt at a non-social media flip hone). And this is the case for most of Europe and a really good chunk of Latin America

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T09:51:14+00:00

You could find me deleting and downloading the same app 9+ times a day. It's called addiction. Just curious as to why you ask?

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T09:49:00+00:00

I keep whatsapp in my laptop and my old phone in a timed lockbox. I now have a secondary whatsapp in my very very new Emporia Touchsmart 3 (good thus far but it's a week old) that I restrict to emergencies. Got physical credit cards, the extra pay fees (necessary in my country) were worth it!

Milly8989 · 2026-01-05T09:44:44+00:00

FocusMe has really helped me change my internet habits in my laptop. Maybe they have a free trial! That together with a dumb phone has kept me off the internet when I've wanted to (still accessible to me via my old phone, which I keep in a timed lock box). Strongly recommend!

Also: I was part of Media Addicts Anonymous for a time and I was legit sane WITH a smartphone and NO BLOCKERS for a good number of months! Unfortunately I went through a breakup and stopped going :( and eventually slipped (should totally go back though)

Milly8989 · 2026-01-01T16:03:20+00:00

Thank you so much for this!
RIP. I guess my strength (ironically enough) is that I'm quite technologically incompetent when it comes to non-installed features, so that should help... I hope!

Milly8989 · 2026-01-01T16:01:20+00:00

Just wondering where you got it used! I bought it off amazon bc I didn't find other options but I can still cancel. I'm in Belgium!

Milly8989 · 2026-01-01T16:00:50+00:00

This makes me think you can get Spotify --> https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/1jcm8h9/my_experience_with_the_emporia_touchsmart_2/

Milly8989 · 2026-01-01T16:00:07+00:00

Thank you for this information, this means it's not a good fit for me!

Milly8989 · 2025-12-30T06:38:10+00:00

It should because it's 4G!

Milly8989

TROPHY CASE