GEN Z WOMAN DITCHES SOCIAL MEDIA FOR A FLIP PHONE<br />WITH VID AND PIX<br />By Hannah Hodgetts<br />This social media ‘addict’ decided to give up her phone and trade it in for a flip phone.<br />Mycelia Amadou, 19, from Nevada City, California, US, documented her journey of giving up social media and navigating life with a flip phone.<br />The content creator paid $80 for her Nokia 2780 and only had access to phone calls, texts and internet for just under a week. <br />She said: “Using a flip phone has actually taught me a lot. <br />“It showed me how much time I was wasting on my phone that I could have been doing so many other better things that make me feel more fulfilled and more happy, more alive.”<br />Mycelia gave her iPhone to her mom to hide away and documented her detox on her iPad camera.<br />She prided herself on embracing the challenge and enjoying quality time outdoors and with her friends, away from the screen.<br />However she did share her struggles in social situations where her friends were on their phones and she had nothing to do - often opting to leave the flip phone at home. <br />As a Gen Z teenager, she explained how she regularly ‘doom scrolls’ on social media and wanted to break that habit.<br />Mycelia explored hobbies she never found the time for, such as reading, cooking, makeup tutorials, hair appointments and sleepovers. <br />She explained that the only reason she was excited for the challenge to be over was due to the fear of missing out online. <br />She said: “I want to try using a flip phone because my attention span is absolutely cooked. <br />“It's forcing me to do a lot of the things that I want to do, but I just never get around.<br />“There were so many moments when I went to grab my phone and it was not there. <br />“I'm very proud of myself for sticking through with this challenge though. <br />“After getting my phone back, I immediately kind of went back to social media and scrolled on it a lot.<br />“I did also notice that I get more headaches now that I have my phone. <br />“I feel more drowsy, more fatigued. <br />“I have noticed so far that my attention span is so much longer.<br />“Now that I have it back, I have been consciously trying to spend less time on it and it has been working. So I think my flip phone challenge was a success.”<br />ENDS
