The first time I used a phone, I wasn’t that invested in it. My parents got us a Nokia torch phone—one for my sister and me, and the other for my two younger siblings. They bought us the phones so we could stay in touch since they were both away from home a lot because of their jobs during that time.
I can still remember the games that were on the phone: Snake Xenzia and Bounce Ball. Those games were popular among kids back then, but neither my siblings nor I were really into them. My dad, once in a while, let us use his laptop—the first one I ever used—and the games on there were way better than Bounce Ball. The graphics were so good, even better than some games these days. You can just imagine how hooked we were.
There’s one funny thing I can never forget about that first phone. It had no internet, though at around 4 or 6 years old, I didn’t even know what browsing was anyway. It didn’t have a memory slot or Bluetooth for music either. So here’s the funny part: since there was no way to get music on it, my siblings and I would go to the settings and dance to the different ringtones. Looking back, it feels so goofy, but it makes me laugh every time I remember it.
My second phone was the Nokia Asha, which my mom got me. That phone was a big deal back then, especially with 2go on it. I got addicted to it.
These days, it might seem like the addiction has faded, but honestly, there are so many more gadgets and distractions to grab our attention. Now I have a phone, a laptop, and a smartwatch—and actual important things I use them for, like blogging, for example. So, even though I still spend a lot of time on screens, it feels different. My screen time has reduced compared to back then.
