Not everyone owns or wants a smartphone… and there’s nothing wrong with that! Nonetheless, Gawker directs our attention to one insecure flip phone owner who recently asked Quora for advice on how to ask for women’s phone numbers on his flip phone without coming across like a loser. Happily, Quora is a much more civilized place than Twitter or the comments section of a YouTube video, so he got some fairly thoughtful responses.
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“At the end of the day, don’t feel bad about it,” wrote one Quora user in response. “It is just a tool in our life. You cannot let people define who you are with your phone. You need to tell them. Pull out your phone with confidence and tell the story you want people to hear. You are the person who can control your personal brand, don’t let other people tell your story.”
“I think you should feel fortunate to have such an effective filter for unsuitable women,” wrote another. “If you ask a girl for her number, and she agrees to give it to you, and then loses interest in you when you pull out your flip phone, you’ve saved yourself the trouble of dating a shallow moron.”
It’s also worth noting that smartphones are now so insanely cheap that owning one isn’t a symbol of status. You can get older iPhones and Galaxy S models that function perfectly well for practically nothing if you sign a two-year deal with your carrier, so chances are if you don’t own a smartphone these days it’s because you don’t want one, not because you can’t afford one.
Read more responses to the man’s quest for flip-phone-related dating advice by clicking here.