Could you go a year without your smartphone?

Paper notebooks I’ve filled over the past few years. Bottle of vitaminwater for scale. I wonder how many more notebooks I’d complete if I didn’t have a smartphone?

In a few weeks, vitaminwater will challenge one person to ditch their smartphone for 365 consecutive days.

Is that even something that can be accomplished in this day and age, where our smartphone has become so vital to everyday life? How painful would it be? Could it be likened to using a horse for transportation while everyone else has a car? If so, I imagine the breaking point being much shorter than a year.

I'm not entirely sure how different my life would become if I didn't have a smartphone but I've decided to enter the vitaminwater contest in an effort to find out.

What makes me the most nervous is that I can't tell you the last time I went without my smartphone for more than a few hours, let alone a year. And if you're honest with yourself, you probably can't either.

So much of my life revolves around using my smartphone. It handles just about everything, from fast-food mobile orders, to photography, note taking, depositing paychecks, even my doorbell is completely based in an app! How deep does this level of control go?

Spending a year without a smartphone won't be easy but I'm ready for the challenge. Even if I don't win, I still think it's a fantastic thought exercise and I highly recommend you consider joining in too.

If you're interested in hearing more, check out the page I made specifically for this project.

---

Update: I wasn’t selected for the contest but that’s a-ok. It was a wonderful thought exercise and I wish their contestant luck. It won’t be easy but it will be worthwhile.