There are 1.5 billion smartphone users across the globe. Of this, 54% say they’ll only upgrade their phone if and when it stops working. Roughly 44% of smartphone users in the US say they will upgrade when their cell phone plan providers actually allow them to. Usually a cell phone’s lease is up or paid off in about two years.

These statistics give us all insight into the world of mobile technology consumerism - and how lame it actually is. As a culture, the desire to have the latest smartphone has waned and no generation has expressed this - if only aesthetically - more than the millennial.

In 2014, celebrities like Anna Wintour and Rihanna began flashing the basic but functional flip phone. Being snapped by paparazzi turned this into an actual trend that millennials jumped on, dubbing this technologically savvy subculture “dumbphone" users.

But this is not 2014. Today, it has become more evident that when it comes to upgrading cell phones, there are those individuals who follow trends and then there are those who shirk them. With the 50% sales growth of smartphones between 2009 and 2013 down to 1.7% in 2017, far more individuals are proving they are not interested in the trend of "new smartphone".

Technological advancements in smartphones haven’t advanced since 2007. What were you doing in 2007? What were your values? Heck, what were you wearing? Would you continue to throw cash at the same pair of jeans you bought in 2007, over and over again?

Let me answer that for you: No. You wouldn’t.

It begs the question of why anyone would want to do that to the latest iteration of a phone just because the manufacturer says, “new” and “latest”. This goes for the entirety of smartphone makers. The overwhelming voice out there in the streets is that there is nothing “new” from these phones and that the next big wave of technology upgrade is believed to be around 2020 when 5G technology comes out.

Until then, phones don’t change. People do. Priorities do. In our case, cell phone plans do.

Why Keeping Your Phone Is the New Cool

Money.

Let’s just get the money thing out of the way now: you’re going to save a lot of money when you keep your old phone. Transcendental beliefs aside, having a bit of extra cash and not having to worry about how to pay bills is pretty cool.

Let’s pause for reflection here and think about all of the stuff we could do with $750 to $1000 in our pocket, next to our old phone that works perfectly fine, on a plan you love.

• Pay rent
• Take your kid to Disneyland
• Buy a nice lobster supper for you and your S.O.
• Go on a quick weekend getaway (Not too far. I mean, it is only $1000).
• Nothing at all. Stash the cash away under your mattress until the feds come knocking.

Rebel Rebel.

The ouroboros of defining what is cool makes this a tricky one but we’ll give it a go. To rebel against social norms is cool. The very notion of deviating from what the good majority of what we all perceive as society’s collective behavior, in this case, the droves of people who all want the latest smartphone for no other reason than getting their hands on what they believe to be the latest technology, is cool.

Careful, now! There is also something uncool about being an elitist cool guy who thinks he is better than others. Just be, like, cool, man. You aren’t shelling out that money - they are.

Societal standing aside, you have safely avoided the wave of - let’s say it - worthless smartphone upgrades. You have chosen to not go the way of the buffalo and you are an individual who thinks for yourself. If the history of the world tells us anything at all, it is that individual thinkers are all pretty darn cool.

Conversation Starter.

Look, when you break out your latest smartphone wrapped in a $80 black rubber diaper so that you don’t get so much as a non-visible scratch on it, you look like everyone else. In this instance, you’re nothing special. You’ve lived a sheltered existence with regularly scheduled upgrades. How riveting.

When you casually pull from your pocket an old phone with cracked screen and duct tape - you’ve got stories. This, my friends, is cool.

Ending the Upgrade Cycle Saves Money

Carriers would love you to stay with them one way or another. Since the 2-year-contract is a thing of the past, they need to figure out how to encourage your loyalty. Hello, cell phone upgrade cycle.

But the subsidy model has changed and now you can buy your phone up front or pay it off to own. Once you do, you can bring your phone anywhere it’s compatible. This is smarter than restarting a lease term with a brand new phone every time.

Paying off your phone and owning outright allows you to chase better cell phone plans from other carriers. Most carriers offer BYO deals that can save you heaps of money in the long run.

Drawbacks to Keeping Your Old Phone

Fine. There are some drawbacks to keeping your old phone. First, if you are determined to get a new phone, any old reason will do it for you. So all of the prosaic reasons like a cracked screen, short battery life, Mr. and Mrs. Jones and the desire to keep up with them… if you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it.

Having said all of that, there are legitimate reasons why one would upgrade and here they are:

• Battery life is better with newer models. If you’re someone who lives on your phone, this matters. If you are someone who is too cool to be glued to a screen all day, this does not matter and 2% battery life does not give you anxiety.
• Ever since Touch ID, users swear by the security. If the argument is that you worry having all of your data floating around the ethers, worry not. That data’s probably been out there for a while. Of course, if you’re not some hip conspiracy theorist, the accessibility of a new smartphone is all the reason you need to upgrade.
• Have you noticed that no one really asks you if you know of someone with a “good camera”? That’s because cameras on smartphones have improved so much, you don’t actually need a “digital camera” anymore. Now, if you’re cool, you’re using film and developing in your darkroom in Brooklyn. So there’s that.
• Software updates. Keep updating until your phone won’t actually support the updates anymore.
• Totally wrecked. Once your phone refuses to turn on and the idea of having someone fix it isn’t worth the effort, then go ahead and upgrade to a new phone.

It's cooler to keep your phone unless you absolutely have to upgrade. Showing up in line and shelling out tons of money for something that devalue's like a car off a lot once you break the cellophane? Those days are over. And anyone who tells you differently isn't cool, man.

Want bragging rights? Keep your old phone and get a cheap, new plan. Then tell everyone how little you pay each month.