Andrew Luck still uses a flip phone, but this one’s new

1. Andrew Luck, the highest-paid player in the NFL, still uses a flip phone. You might be asking yourself, “Wait, we’ve seen him with a flip phone multiple times before.” And you’re correct, he’s had a flip phone for years and years — but now, according to his Facebook, AT&T gave him a new one. He has millions of dollars, and somehow does not want to upgrade to a smartphone.

2. My initial reaction to seeing that photo was “Andrew Luck, you fucking dork,” which is a harsh, but not entirely unjustified reaction. But then I thought about it: He has practical, respectable reasons for not wanting a smartphone. As Luck says in this USA Today article:

“I know, I know,” Luck said. “One, I like it. It’s a comfort thing. I think anybody can appreciate that, if you’re used to that.

“Two, I don’t think I want to be connected 24/7, and this phone is maybe sort of a reminder that you don’t have to be connected. And it’s nice to get away. It’s nice to turn your phone off.”

Luck’s flip phone can send texts and he has an iPad anyway, which technically fills whatever void existed by not having a smartphone. And there is some value to flip phones anyway — even though I’ve gotten used to touchscreens, the tactile feel of a phone’s buttons is much more comfortable.

3. And the fact that he has reasons for having a flip phone make me look within myself for what I’m doing wrong. I’ve been attached to an iPhone for over a year, and before that, I was attached to several iterations of an iPod Touch. I’m at the point where I can’t live or work without a smartphone. Every waking moment, my face is locked to its glowing screen: if I’m not using texting, I’m using Twitter; if I’m not using Twitter, I’m using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Vine; if I’m not using social media, I’m watching Netflix, YouTube or streaming live TV with a cable subscription when my TV is just a few fucking feet away from me. If I’m not interested in doing any of those things, I play a game on the phone. Or I take a nap, where I’m paralyzed as a prisoner of my own misery until I get to play in my iPhone playground again.

It’s a terrible rinse-and-repeat lifestyle, and I suspect others live that as well. It’s a lifestyle Luck wisely chooses not to be a part of, and I commend him for that.

4. That being said, I’m placing some blame on Breaking Bad for embedding anti-flip phone bias in me, and teaching everyone how flip phones are used elsewhere -- that is, being a meth kingpin.

I’m not saying Luck is a meth dealer, but the moment he shaves his head, wears glasses and dons a pork pie hat, suspicions should be raised.