I sent my Mudita Kompakt for repairs about two weeks ago. It was fixed and shipped, but Mudita made a mistake with the forms, so it is still delayed in Europe. Thank God I went ahead and bought the Light Phone II while I wait, because having to use the Cat S22 Flip was pure hell and brought back many of my old smartphone habits. [1]
I also started a new job this week that requires me to be in the office three days a week. This is the first time in six years that I haven’t been working fully remote, and it was a real eye-opener on the train commute. Everyone on the train was staring at a screen. It was depressing to see how far we have fallen as a society—there was no human interaction, just zombies staring at their digital masters.
I brought my Cat S22 because I needed it for two-factor authentication to log into my work laptop, leaving my Light Phone II at home. Lo and behold, my smartphone habits came roaring back. I found myself checking the device for no reason and even setting up my email on it the moment I got bored. As soon as I got home, I put my SIM card back into my Light Phone II.
I honestly love my Light Phone II. It is an amazing device that makes me feel human, even more so than the Kompakt. In fact, I am seriously considering selling my Kompakt as soon as it arrives. It is astounding how big tech has wired our brains to seek out apps the second boredom strikes. Even for someone like me, who has been smartphone-free since 2021, the moment a smarter device is put into my hands, the addiction returns.
I am going to fight these companies as much as I can. I am truly worried about my kids, who are currently 12 and 8. The time will come when I have to directly confront big tech and their desire to hook my children into mindlessly scrolling through apps. While technology has helped us in many ways, I can honestly say it has caused more harm than good. Innovation always comes at a cost, and in this case, the price is our mental health and happiness.
What part of the Kompakt do you feel invites distraction? I’ve had mine for around a month and it’s reduced my phone based distractions to zero. I’d be interested to hear where you feel the kompakt has fallen short compared to the light phone!
I have ADHD so it justs a nice thing to look at that distracts me lol, not Mudita’s fault obviously. I find when I am bored I tend to pick it up a lot , having adhd you really struggle with boredom of any kind, I had the same issue with the Light phone 3 but what is good about both the 2 and 3 is you can turn off text messaging so there is nothing to lure you in, with the Kompakt I don’t like how I can visually see texts every time I pick up the phone. Do not have that issue with the light phone 2 cause its a tiny black square
I’m in a rural area right now and my Kompakt does not get service here, so I switched the SIM back to my iPhone as I have many calls to make and messages to return. Why is it that the iPhone gets service but not the Kompakt?? I commiserate as old habits do come back. I didn’t put any social media apps, so mostly it’s checking WhatsApp, sending photos, and some browsing. Prior to this I was offline for four days! I was just thinking that having the Kompakt made that way easier without any temptation to go online. I use my Mom
I also share your worry about the children. My oldest is 15 and uses an iPhone. She does not have social media so does not scroll, but she does check it a lot. 100% of her friends have iPhones so it would be difficult to take this away. They group text a lot and share photos and being part of a group is a big deal for a teen. Time will tell if healthy boundaries can be maintained.
When are addicted its a smartphone lol, thankfully my kompakt just came in the mail and I can honestly say I feel mentally better already, like my body literally got calmer the moment I held it lol. The switch has been fixed, Bless the light phone though I needed it during the time the Kompakt was gone. I think this combo is the best for me in my life. Kompakt and light phone 2
Yeah I like the idea of switching between the two, there are days where I just want the light phone 2 with the ability to switch off text messaging completely, hoping this feature makes its way to the Kompakt, and I can keep the light phone 2 for my daughter who turns 9 this year good first phone for her
yup I never miss any messages which is awesome, I am not sure this is the case for the sunbeam dandelion the phone call only phone , I wish it was the case, cause honestly that was phone was when I felt truly the most present in my life to just walk around with a phone that can only call
Yeah I also have realized since getting my Kompakt back that being able to sideload all the apps you need (in my case only functional tools) such as my sons soccer scheduling app, waze for directions, herewego maps to look up phone numbers etc actually saves me time going to my laptop and then falling victim to getting caught up in going onto forums like this or reddit. With the Kompakt I get what I need and I am done. In the end I think deep down I am a dumb phone minimalists who wants to having a phone that does as little as possible I wear it like a badge of honor lol, but the reality in day to day life a minimal phone like the Kompakt which is the right in the in the middle between smart and dumb is the best way to go but I am keeping the light phone cause honestly there are days where I just love carrying that phone around to truly feel disconnected.
