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Top 10 #DumbPhoneProblems

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CNU chapter.

In this fast-paced technological society we live in today, everyone wants the newest thing. Does anyone else remember the iPhone 6 craze in 2014? It seemed like everyone and their mother upgraded at the same exact time. For those of us that don’t have iPhones, however, it is hard not to feel left out. While everyone else checks their Twitter and Instagram, here is a list of #DumbPhoneProblems that you will read from your laptop or desktop instead.

1) Group messages are a no-go

People tend to forget that you don’t have a smartphone… and then add you into a group message. Suddenly your phone is blowing up with texts from every person in the group and you can’t open each individual text fast enough to even understand what is going on.

2) Emojis? All I see are blank boxes…

Again, your friends tend to forget that you do not have an iPhone or Android, so they text you using all of the cute little emoji symbols they can. Dumb phones just can’t handle emojis – they don’t understand what to do with them! Instead they give you that infuriating empty box where a simple emoticon should be.

3) You have no idea if- or when- someone has read your text

Did you finally work up the courage to text that cute guy from your chem class? Well, be prepared to sit and stew in anxiety until he replies, because us dumb phone users have no clue whether he opened that text or not yet. We don’t even get to see the tell-tale “…” when he starts to respond!

4) Everyone else is constantly checking their social media

Ah, yes. Nothing says friendship like getting together and ignoring one another in favor of goofing off on your phones. If you’ve got a dumb phone… you can stare at the wall, I guess.

5) No GPS

Better hope the next time you go out driving you don’t get lost. While most phones have a GPS locator to help others find you if you go missing, dumb phones don’t have a GPS system that can help you get yourself unlost. Good luck reading a roadmap.

6) No Internet

Yeah, it’s a struggle.

7) “Wait, you don’t have a smartphone?”

You know who I’m talking about. Those friends that give you a look when they see you pull out your old school, dinosaur Nokia. Well, excuuuuuuuuse me.

8) Always being the last in the know

Hold on, who left the show? Wait, what color is what dress?? What do you mean Zayn left One Direction???

9) Taking selfies is waaaaay more difficult than it needs to be

Most dumb phones do have cameras, but that does not mean that it’s easy to take a selfie. With no front-facing camera, you practically have to contort your wrist to get the perfect angle, and even then there isn’t a gaurantee you actually took a good picture. Sigh.

10) No Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, Facetime, or other social media

No social media updates at all… unless you want to wait to check everything on your laptop when you get home for the day.

Sarah Scott is a sophomore at Christopher Newport University, majoring in English with a concentration in writing. She aspires to become a book and film critic, combining her two favorite pastimes. She also enjoys a good laugh, dancing (even when everyone is watching!), and ice skating. You can usually find her sipping hot chocolate with her nose in a book.