Greg Morris

Minimalism And Big Phones

Try as I might to be a good minimalist, I get lost along the way every now and again. I am never sure if I am doing this right, not spending too much time on taking instruction or being aware of how others deal with things. Yet there is one thing that I see constantly around those that title themselves minimalists and that is their aversion to technology and particularly phones with big screens.

I don’t use minimalism as a destination. I am not as crazed as some people that visit the sub Reddit and constantly worry about ridding themselves of more stuff, I just like having less things. What I do have, and what I do, gets some thought put into it and I only purchase what I really need in my life.

When it comes to tech, I love new things. I can’t help it, it’s my one weakness, and at this point I have given up fighting it. I spend quite a lot of my life online for my job and enjoy using my phone more than most minimalists would let themselves and I am perfectly happy with that. To me, my life is about making informed choices, being aware when those are being taken away from me and being willing to take a step back when needed. Which brings me to my feelings towards using big phones.

Hey look, you do you, but I used to give myself a tough time whenever I used one (that doesn’t sound like me at all does it). Sure, a smaller phone in general makes me much happier, but when you put thought into a purchase and having something bigger adds value to you, these feelings shouldn’t exist.

I constantly think about the people that worry themselves silly because they feel that minimalism means they must have less and less at the detriment of themselves. These is no end point, or goal to achieve, simply some rough things for you to think about whenever you think about bringing new things into your life. Being mindful of the things that you do, and the things that you buy to ensure you get the most amount of value possible. If a bigger screen on a phone does that for you, or I, then that’s great.

I have flaws in the way I approach tech in lots of ways. I am mindful of the way it can manipulate me, but also open to new way of looking at things. I like having a bigger phone because it is one of the devices, I use the most. I communicate on it for my job, my personal life and I write much of my blog on it. Couple this with the fact my eyesight isn’t what it was, and a bigger phone just gives me more value and I am sure it would do for others too.

I wrote many of these thoughts as a process for myself to understand why I am thinking about getting a max when then new iPhones come around but feel free to use these as your own excuse to not feel bad.

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