In 2020, I'm going to live like it's 2000

OPINION: Over the weekend, I made a small step towards technological rejectionism.

I gave away my iPhone and replaced it with a $19 dumb phone.

My new phone can receive texts and calls, it has FM radio and even a flashlight. Sadly, it does not have the classic 2000's game Snake.

If you need to reach me, from now on, you'll be best off sending a letter or a text. Goodbye to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and iMessage. From today, I'm living life like it's the year 2000.

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For the next month, I plan to live with as little technology as possible.

Over the years, I've been something of an "early adopter". I can talk to my speaker and I had a smart watch years before Apple had released one.

But over the past few years, the downside to technology has become more apparent. In no way do I think we should forgo everything new technology can offer us, but I think we should be careful about what we lose to use it.

This experiment isn't intended as a gimmick. I want this to be a critical evaluation of the technology that has quickly inserted itself into our lives.

Are we better off with Netflix? Is Instagram making us more depressed, or helping us connect with friends? The platform has been linked to negative mental health, eating disorders and self-harm among youth.

Despite these services being more popular than ever, social media and monopolising corporates face well-founded criticism.

I've written about the risks to our culture; with fewer New Zealand programmes being made thanks to our attention being focused on foreign-owned sites such as Netflix and Facebook. I've also worried about the social and anxiety-inducing effects of being constantly online, or the fact I – like so many of us – find myself responding to pointless work emails at home.

Obviously, I've become increasingly tech-sceptic.

Recent studies into the effects of our constant connectivity, which some neuroscientists suggest is making us dumber, sealed the deal for me. Research from Macquarie University appears to show that despite smartphones giving us access to more information and quicker connections to friends, we're becoming less social and know fewer facts.

Neuroscientist professor Mark Williams says smartphones are conditioning us to struggle with concentration, as we scroll for the latest dopamine hit or jump from one notification to the other. In short, we're addicted to our phones.

As someone who was born on the brink of this digital revolution, I want to know if we look back at the pre-social media era with rose-tinted glasses. We can't blame everything on Facebook.

Is life really better without a smartphone, smart speaker and smart watch?

Our connectivity has formed communities online, allowing people to express themselves and form strong bonds over the internet. We can now see and learn about the world in real time, from our own homes. And travel apps, such as maps, Uber and even self-driving cars, are revolutionising transport.

Back in 2000, you'd need to memorise a bus timetable or own your own car. (Both of these concepts seem ridiculous and wasteful to me.)

It was also harder to access information, and harder to get your message heard.

Digital speakers, streaming services and online shopping have brought endless options to anyone with an internet connection. For a month, that will all be gone. Goodbye to podcasts and television on demand, hello Simon Dallow and The Bachelorette.

I'll report back over the next month about my experiences, what I miss and what I've enjoyed living with 2000's technology.

Of course, in 2000 I was three years old. So I've enlisted the help of millennium coaches to help me survive.

The first change will be in the classroom. When university resumes in a few weeks, I'll need to leave my laptop at home in favour of ringbinders. Apparently, everyone used to use ringbinders in 2000 and only a few nerds had laptops. Now, everyone has a laptop and I'll clearly be the weirdo pretending I only have a desktop.

In 2000, news sites existed but were not the primary source of news. Luckily, I have a pile of old magazines from subscriptions I can't keep up with. I don't think I'll miss knowing about what's "trending", but at the same time I feel kind of silly reading up about news that no-one's talked about in weeks.

In advance, sorry to anyone who tries to tag me in a meme over the next month. At least I should be able to finally read these books which have been sitting next to my bed.

Like everyone these days, I find myself mindlessly skipping through apps. I scroll Facebook, switch to Instagram, scroll, check a message, scroll, scroll. Or maybe, I'll just find another distraction.

Glenn McConnell is a journalist and student, who writes a fortnightly column for Stuff.