Back then in my secondary school, having a Facebook account was a huge deal among my friends. It felt like you’d won some sort of award. The moment someone got an account, we'd all tease them, by calling them a "big boy" or "big girl." We used to call it "pinging," and the excitement around it made me want to also join the fun. That’s where the story of how I got my first phone began.
During one long third-term break—that lasted for about three months—my brother invited me and my sister to spend some time at his place. Now, I had already made up my mind that I was going to get a phone, so as soon as I arrived, I told him straight up that I needed one. He agreed, but instead of buying me a brand-new phone, he handed me a Techno Smartphone that my elder sister had been using and got her a new Samsung. I was over the moon. I couldn't even thank him enough and i was very grateful.
The moment I got the phone, I wasted no time. I created my Facebook account and started “pinging” immediately and sending friend requests here and there. I also loved using Snapchat then not for chatting though— but for those flower crown filter it had then— they always made me look cute - so I normally take a ton of cute pictures and post them on Facebook for all my friends to see.
screenshot from Google
But when the holiday ended and I went back home, things took a turn. I got completely hooked on my phone. I’d stay up all night playing my favorite game, Wrestling Revolution 3D. I was obsessed. Then i was sleeping on the floor in my mom’s room, and during the midnight she’d wake up to find me still glued to the screen. This didn’t sit well with her.
I was also into other games, like Raging Thunder 2 , Major Mayhem and *Killer bean unleashed a.ka "Baddo omo mushin" and so many others. Mobiles games were really my thing then and those games were mostly car racing and shooting games.
Later on, i became so consumed by my phone that I started running errands late because I couldn’t pull myself away from the games. My mom eventually got fed up and reported me to my brother. He tried calling me multiple times to tell me to cut down on the phone usage, but I was stubborn. I just couldn’t stop.
So one day, my brother decided to visit us. Upon his arrival, he told me to give him back the phone because he thinks i am not old enough to use one but then i was so adamant and i had so much love for the phone that i just couldn't let it go just like that . Anyways, this didn’t go well.
He is actually a very calm person but as you know when someone who is always calm gets angry it's usually very intense. So In a fit of anger, he took the phone from me with force and smashed it on the ground that it was beyond repair. I was devastated and sad. In that moment of frustration, I blamed my mom for the whole situation.
When my brother heard this, he just took off his belt, and immediately i knew I needed to escape and run for my life. I just ran barefooted outside of our gate to a Catholic church that wasnt far from our house and stayed there until evening. It was one of the toughest days of my life, all because of those unesccary things i had going on my phone.
These days, my relationship with my phone has changed. I no longer play mobile games and i don't use facebook anymore - not snapchat though- i do chat and send streaks there.
Also, I still find myself staying up late some nights—but now, it’s just scrolling through TikTok, Twitter and sometimes Instagram. Since I have my own room, I can use my phone without anyone watching over me 😏
Asides that, I’ve also shifted towards focusing more on productive things, like spending time on Hive, where I engage with others and share my thoughts.
Looking back, it’s funny to see how my relationship with phones has evolved—from something that put me in trouble to a tool I now use for more meaningful and productive activities.
the other images are screenshots from playstore and some were edited with fotogrid app.
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