Phones are Great, We're Just Using Them Wrong
I hear a lot of people ragging on smartphones, but I think their anger is a bit misplaced.
Smartphones are extremely useful and versatile machines: electronic Swiss Army Knives. They're a flashlight, a camera, and a GPS, all rolled into one. They come equipped with calculators, timers, stopwatches, and an alarm clocks, and you can get plenty of other great utilities if you know where to look. They're endless sources of information and entertainment; it's like you've got a radio, a TV, a library, and an mp3 player in your pocket!
And, as much as we forget it, phones are the pinnacle of communications technology. Though my parents live hundreds of miles away, I can talk with them any time, practically for free. I can even talk with people on different continents! This is great. A few decades ago, it would've been science fiction!
But, there's no denying that many people are harmed by their phones. I won't rehash all of the reasons to dislike social media, you've heard them before, probably observed them in your own life.
But, these aren't problems with the phones themselves, they're problems with particular apps you can install on your phone. So, just don't install them! Or, barring that, use one of the extensions that makes them more healthy. For instance, you can disable Instagram's infinite scroll with the mod on distractionfreeapps.com. I did this a little while before I finally uninstalled Instagram, and it was a big improvement.
Many people are also worried that phones destroy their privacy, and this is a very reasonable concern. But, it's also one you can take steps to mitigate. It'll never be perfect--you'll never be truly private on the internet--but you can go a long way by being conscientious about what apps you install and using a privacy - respecting Android ROM, like Graphene or Calyx.
Having taken these measures, I'm happy about how I use my phone. Once you throw away the creepy data collection and habit - forming apps, phones are great!