Yes there are serious problems with smartphones. And smartphones are here to stay. So how do we fix these issues?
And they become more serious over time, as we've moved more and more of society and interaction onto them...
> And smartphones are here to stay.
I don't think this is at all a given, though. If more people start rejecting them in favor of something simpler, with less permissions, that's closer to a legacy communication device, it allows others to consider that, yes, you might be able to get away without one. Or with a less capable one.
> So how do we fix these issues?
Stop using a smartphone in your personal life, and be at least a slightly vocal "that person," because a lot of other people I've talked to don't like smartphones either for a wide range of options - but don't consider there to be any alternatives. So when I can show off a device that still lets me do voice/text, can check email if I care, has basic mapping, and... not an awful lot else, it's an option that most people quite literally didn't know existed.
For more details about the alternatives and what they can/can't do, I've written up some of my thoughts over the last few months of using a KaiOS device here: https://www.sevarg.net/2022/01/22/kaios-bananaphone-flip-iv-...
But the reality is that I'm fine with a lot of my communication being computer-based now (with a keyboard). I still manage some group texts, but tend to only actually contribute if it's something critical ("Can you make this date work?") and skip a lot of the random BSing in the threads.
If your requirements are "I want everything I can do on a smartphone, but without a smartphone," you end up in an impossibility, so just find the least offensive black mirror you can and go on with it. But if you're willing to sit back and figure out what actually matters from a phone, and what's a nice-to-have, there are plenty of other options out there.
In many countries you're forced to use closed apps to log in to government services, banks, and whatnot. If those could run in VMs it would also be rather nice. (Some of them actually try to detect if it's being run on a real phone or not).
You can get a modern flip phone or such, that supports things like VoLTE (AT&T is dropping support for all non-VoLTE phones here... soon, if they haven't already), and there are some candybars, but going with "older devices" will soon enough prevent you from connecting to the cell networks at all. 2G is gone in most areas, 3G is going away, etc.
I've often wondered if it would be possible to build some kind of proxy?? hardware/software to solve this problem. Maybe some combination of tx/rx modules for old and new networks. Maybe use a SDR for the old tx/rx module as it would only need to tx a short distance to the old phone
And then you're carrying an ancient device plus another proxy. At some point, it's easier to just buy a halfway recent flip phone and use it until it dies.
Technically possible, sure. Practical, I don't think nearly as much.
Plus, if you're actually rebroadcasting an old signal over the air, then the FCC gets involved. And that's an entire new can of worms.