Mother's column – beating my smartphone addiction with a dumbphone

This is the moment to say goodbye to my smartphone after years of a love-hate relationship! I read a few articles here and there on the internet and decide - as seems to be the trend today - to buy a dumbphone. It looks like an old-fashioned Nokia, but you can still install a few apps on it, including WhatsApp. The controls are a bit clumsy, though, online reviews warn. But that is a good thing, I think. Because I'm sure, it will help me eliminate bad habits, such as looking at my phone every few minutes.

But I won't get rid of my bad habit that easily. The dumbphone lives up to its name: the dumb thing has an entirely opaque menu structure and seems impossible to operate. And then it runs out of battery power after a day and a half, which is not bad for a smartphone. But in case you thought to have bought an old-school Nokia, it's pretty disappointing.

Neline is married and the mother of five: Martha (9), Abel (7), Jolijn (5), Reinout (3) and Sifra (1).

After a few days of slogging with the numeric keypad, I reinstall Whatsapp on my old phone after all, on which the Wi-Fi is still operational. I finally have access to my archived conversations again - quite handy if you want to take a quick look at what you have agreed with one person or the other in the past.

So now I have two phones on the charger every day: a dumb one to make calls with and a smart one to continue on the same old footing at home with unlimited surfing, texting and taking pictures of a quality that the Nokia's camera can never match.

Well, at least I didn't spend a fortune on a new smartphone; that's one thing. And now that my SIM card is in the dumbphone, I am no longer tempted to grab my smartphone when visiting someone. That, too, is a win.

Still, I secretly hope my smartphone's Wi-Fi antenna gives out soon. Indeed, there is nothing harder than chopping off your hand in your own strength when it causes you to sin.