My senses are reborn when I leave the house without it.
I see the wind in the trees, the freckled faces passing by and you pretending not to notice your dog urinating on that ‘For Rent’ sign. I am free. I am alive.
I’m not talking about leaving the house without my bra on, though the feelings are comparable, I’m talking about operating five minutes of my life without my smartphone surgically stitched to my person.
And I get it, we would be mere mortals without these miniature computers invisibly leashed to our beings, but we’re all a little screen hungover from the constant stream of filters, hashtags and videos of this girl having a terrible day.
For better or for worse, our communication cubes are here to stay, so shan’t we make the best of them? Please silence your devices as we dish out some applications that might yield some meaningful salvation in world bombarded by the digital age.
Sportody
Sportody is a Gainesville based company that has created the largest outdoor sports review network in the world! The application works by syncing your current location to a network of outdoor activities in your area. From hiking and biking to climbing and cycling (and literally 25 more outdoor activities), the app displays a map and pinpointed locations for you to indulge in your desired outdoor recreation. The coolest part is, users of the app can leave reviews of the outdoor adventures they’ve experienced, passing on information to the next lucky outdoors(wo)man.
Via: Unsplash
iCitizen
If you’re anything like me, navigating the treacherous political landscape makes you sweat through your clothes in public places. Have no fear, iCitizen is here. In a few short taps, you choose the topics and issues that matter to you and then the application spits out information on candidate platforms regarding your selected topics. The app displays proposed legislation and news coverage surrounding each candidate from credible and also really independent news sources.
Pillow
Pillow is a free application that allows you to simply track and monitor your sleep each night. You input what time you want to wake up, push start, then place your phone underneath your pillow. Sensors in your phone record the movements and sounds you make throughout your slumber. When you wake up, the app gives you a full report of your night’s sleep, displaying the different stages of your snooze cycle. There is a place to add notes in the application where you can indicate anything that might affect your quality of sleep that night (i.e.: ate a late dinner, or drank coffee late in the day).
SkyView
Impress your tinder date on your next stargazing trip to Paynes Prairie. With Skyview, you can simply point your smartphone toward the sky in the direction of your choosing and the app will display constellations in real time. #Pantydropper
Stop, Breathe, & Think
Stop, Breathe, & Think is a 5-star application geared toward mindfulness, meditation and compassion building. The application allows you to report your feelings and current emotions and then displays recommended meditations based on your input. In addition, the platform lets you choose from a list of themed meditations and even keeps a progress folder displaying ‘total time meditating’ among other insights. The application is thoughtfully designed and easy to navigate.
Podcasts
This is an application that already exists on most smartphones, but we just couldn’t leave it off of this list. If you’re already plugged in, congratulations, I am high-fiving you over the ‘net because I know you’ve had your brain melted by some kick ass content. If you’ve not yet taken a dip into the world of podcasts, there’s an endless well of thoughtfully curated material within a pretty purple app waiting for you. From NPR’s “TED Radio Hour” to ‘This American Life’ there is a soundbite out there for everyone to enjoy.
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We’ve established that the braless feeling of enjoying our days without a smartphone are few and far between, but that’s alright. It is our wish that this list adds a little zest in your app repertoire, and if nothing else, you can prove to your granny at Thanksgiving that our generation is, in fact, capable of doing more with our smartphones than making rainbows fall from our mouths.
