The luxury of going Light

Or "why I really need to stop reading YouTube comments."

Let’s face it, we all know the rule: do not read the comments. Whether it’s a blog or YouTube video, it’s almost always the same. People are either so angry it’s disheartening, or people are so blindly in love with the content creator, it’s disturbing.

This is why I immediately regretted diving into the comments of tech “guru” Linus Sebastian’s scathing review of the new Light Phone 3. Titled “I’ve never wanted to love such a useless product”, Linus spends nearly 20 minutes tearing this phone apart with minimal, and mostly damning, praise. While it seems as if Linus wasn’t really sure what he was getting himself into (the appearance of surprise and mystery is always what attracts the clicks), it’s clear the comment section came prepared with their opinions before they hit submit.

One comment stands out among the rest to me, and I think it’s worth sharing in full. But it’s not because I necessarily think he is wrong. In fact, I think he’s correct about some parts. However, he probably captures how everyone else in the comments section was feeling…albeit more smudgly¹ than the rest.

This phone is 100% a gimmick marketed towards Silicon Valley tech bro hipster types who like to talk about how they’re “disconnecting from the grid” and “finding themselves” and such, but choose the most virtue-signal-y way of doing it.

If you needed a “just a phone,” you could buy a cheap flip phone. And if the problem is “I keep getting messages,” you could just NOT install those apps?

It’s for people who want to feel like they’re making a change that they don’t actually want to make. There’s absolutely zero reason to buy something of this price when you can spend under $100 to get a cheap flip phone or Nokia brick type phone. It’s just hipster bait.

I want to reflect and engage with this comment, because it really does capture the major critiques of the “dumbphone movement,” so to speak. But I think by steelmanning the argument, we can see why, in fact, the Light Phone 3 isn’t quite what people are making it out to be. And this is coming from someone who, quite frankly, found the Light Phone 2 to be near-unusable.

(In full disclosure, I did pre-order the Light Phone 3, and it should be arriving at my house any day now. So hopefully this at least helps balance things out, where I love the company’s ethos, but I haven’t been wowed by their products up until now. Although, man, I would love a 5G-compatible version of their first device.)

This phone is 100% a gimmick marketed towards Silicon Valley tech bro hipster types…

So the irony here is the majority of the people I know who love dumbphones, or the Light Phone 3 in particular, are not even close to this demographic. Spend five minutes in the Light Discord channel, and you’ll see this is 100% the case. Now, maybe we could say the marketing is directed towards the supposed demographic - that’s a possibility. However, I think the more charitable view, especially if you watch the marketing, is it’s directed at people who are fed up with Big Tech but also don’t want to buy a cheap flip phone…that’s also made by Not-So-Big-But-Still-Big Tech with Big Tech applications.² As a result, this doesn’t leave one with a lot of options.

…who like to talk about how they’re “disconnecting from the grid” and “finding themselves” and such, but choose the most virtue-signal-y way of doing it.

Okay, so this is one portion I have to agree with. There is a very vocal majority of dumbphone users who, like vegans, crossfitters, and Mormon missionaries, will make sure you know this about them. While I think this is a result of the society we live in, where we’ve been conditioned to broadcast anything and everything about ourselves, it can be aggravatingly condescending when someone makes it clear they’re making a decision “because they care about themselves.” Which then comes off as to other parties as, “Oh, so I don’t?”

(For more on this, see point number three at the end of the article.)

If you needed a “just a phone,” you could buy a cheap flip phone. And if the problem is “I keep getting messages,” you could just NOT install those apps?

This is where things get a little murkier, because unfortunately, both Big Tech and Not-So-… okay, the other one, they both make it very hard to opt-out of their services. I’ve been running a dumbed down Pixel 8a for about a year now, and I cannot tell you how many times I get notified about “backing up my photos” whenever I open the photos app.

Oh wait, I can.

It’s every. Single. Time.

Not to mention most phones, smart or non, won’t let you delete their core applications. For example, the Pixel? You can “disable” Chrome, but it won’t let you delete it. I guarantee the majority of flip phones won’t let you do that either.

To the commenter’s point, yes, you can choose not to install these applications. He’s not wrong. The problem, however, is without companies like Light, we’re running out of options for devices where these applications are not already pre-installed. We are losing the ability to opt-out.

It’s for people who want to feel like they’re making a change that they don’t actually want to make.

This comment is strange to me, but probably it brings to mind the words of St. Paul: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Life is full of decisions that we make, not because we want to do them, but because we recognize they are a step towards a greater good. And for a good number of us, we’re tired of carrying around a device designed by companies who, to be frank, do not give a damn about us. Who, on numerous occasions, have gone on the record to say their devices are not used by their own children because of their addictive and deformative natures.

There’s absolutely zero reason to buy something of this price when you can spend under $100 to get a cheap flip phone or Nokia brick type phone.

To be frank, I don’t disagree with him in that the price is high for the Light Phone 3, but this is also coming from someone who, pre-ordering on day one, got the phone for $399, compared to the current going rate of $599.

However, adding onto what I’ve already mentioned, form factor is a big thing. So many of us “dumbphone enthusiasts” aren’t clammoring for flip phones. Yes, the tactile-nature of the phones from the 2000s is a nice touch; it’s why the Punkt MP02 is my favorite phone.³ But it’s less about nostalgia, and more about devices that designed with aesthetics and purpose in mind. This is something that gets lost in the conversations when it comes to churches, for example. People just assume it doesn’t matter where church is, whether it’s a bar or a school, ignoring the fact older cathedrals were built for both function and beauty. They are not mutually exclusive attributes.

Now, maybe you don’t think the Light Phone 3 is beautiful. That’s fine. I don’t know anyone in their right mind who would be offended by that. What it IS, however, is a phone designed by a company who actually cares for their customers and isn’t trying to create something that is, inherently, vying for our time and attention.

It’s just hipster bait.

This one made me laugh. It definitely feels like it’s becoming more “in fashion” to, as the kids say, “go Light”, but as I mentioned above, it’s definitely not a “hipster” thing. Talk to the people who actually use these devices. They may be a little overzealous at times, but you’re seeing people from all walks of life who truly, deeply want to better their lives. And why should we fault them for that?⁴

The luxury of going Light

At the end of the day, phones like the Light Phone 3 are not going to be for everyone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Light try to market their phone like this, unlike some of the other companies out there. (Looking at you, BT and NSBSBT). And, don’t be surprised, but I think when people say it’s a luxury to use a phone like this full-time? I’m sympathetic to that.

Whether intentionally or not, we live in a society⁵ where it’s almost impossible to live in a “disconnected” manner. What I mean by this is we’re expected to be reachable at all times, by our family members, coworkers, or even bill collectors. However, if we are honest with ourselves, this is an incredibly recent development in human history, let alone in the history of phones. I still remember my childhood, when no one had a cellphone; everyone utilized the landline, and if you couldn’t be reached, it was assumed you were out or, God forbid, just didn’t want to talk.

Furthermore, so much of our lives is tethered to our magic devices we carry with us. Want to ride the bus? You’re going to be pushed to use the app. Want to see your favorite musician next weekend? Some venues will literally refuse to let you in without an app that refreshes your QR code every thirty minutes.⁶ Not to mention the restaurants that are still pulling the “we don’t have physical menus” card.

However, it’s not impossible to live counter to these trends. In fact, it’s actually easier than you might think. The solution? Not relying on your phone to do everything. Most places that push for app-based entry/services? They have physical card options. Need to hail an Uber/Lyft? It’ll require planning ahead, but you can still use a web browser. Need to verify your identity by way of 2FA? Most authenticator services will still let you use a physical key like Yubikey, or you can always resort to SMS as a worst-case scenario.

The common thread in all of this, though, is that this is going to cause friction. This is not luxury in a traditional sense; far from it. It requires, most likely, substantial changes in one’s life to go against the grain, to find ways to live in a world that is, I believe, growing to be less and less human. This is also why you see a lot of people, myself included, who jumped on the dumbphone train, only to leave after a while. Trying to be a software developer while using a dumbphone? It’s not impossible, but it’s definitely not ✨ luxurious✨ either.

This is why so many of us are excited for the Light Phone 3. We have a phone that isn’t barebones, but also doesn’t force us to use application we don’t want. Unlike most phones, with the Light Phone, we actually have the freedom to not install applications if we don’t want them. (Outside of the actual phone functionality, of course.) The phone will also continue to be updated with new features—fingers crossed on 2FA—thanks to a company that cares about what people want, but also has the strength to stay consistent to their ethos.

When I get my phone next week, I won’t be unpacking it with the expectation this will be a status symbol. I’m also not assuming it to be some silver bullet when it comes to my attention and mental health. Distractions, stressors, and temptation can be found anywhere and everywhere, not just on iPhones and Pixels.

However, I am still excited that in a world that seems to be pushing us to more dehumanizing extremes, there are companies who are willing to push back. Sometimes, even the smallest spark can birth an all consuming fire.

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Other thoughts that didn’t quite fit into this piece:

First: I’ve noticed a growing trend of people who spend their days commenting on YouTube videos but claim they don’t use social media. I wonder who will break it to them?

Second: I understand the argument of “Why not just delete social media off your phone / use screen time limiting applications”, but at that point, we’re treating symptoms, not causes. You’re still using a device created with the intent of capitalizing your attention and time (in addition to capturing your data and selling it). To think that our will power is inherently stronger than the brightest minds in Silicon Valley… I struggle with that, personally.

Third: To the point earlier about virtue signaling, I tried to find the video below, and because I couldn’t remember his name, I gained a migraine from rolling my eyes at all of the cringe-inducing video titles:

"I Went Phoneless For a Week. It Changed My Life..."

"I Tried Living Without a Smartphone – The Results Were Terrifying"

"I Stopped Using My Phone. The results were shocking"

The list goes on and on. I don’t know anything about these people, so I’m not trying to comment on them directly… But that’s my point. I know how YouTube influencers work, and I have zero desire to watch them between the title and thumbnail. This is why I can say I get where the commentor is coming from, because not only are these videos a dime a dozen, but they almost always end up the same way: pleas to subscribe to their channel, and going right back to Daddy Apple’s arms. I know…because I’ve done it myself.

Why I watched this video and not the others? I’m not sure. Something stood out about it, and honestly, by the end, I found myself deeply moved. I can’t say that very often…except whenever I’m watching Terminal Montage videos. Those cause me pain from immense laughter.

(I probably could have included this last thought somewhere in the actual piece, but what the hey.)

1. If you know, you know.

2. I think we can safely say Nokia and Company, no matter how “small” they may appear, are not even close to the same level as Light. That is, Light is a very small and independent team, whereas Nokia and other flip phone manufacturers tend to be much larger companies with vast portfolios.

3. Well, in theory; in practice, it’s one of the worst phones I’ve ever used.

4. I have to reiterate, though. No matter what the topic is, any amount of obnoxious virtue signaling is just that: obnoxious. So I understand that critique.

5. Todd Phillips, I hate you.

6. T-Mobile Center, I also hate you.