I read Brain Baking's post on smartphone pervasiveness yesterday, and a lot of it resonated with me, but I think the future of this "digital world" might actually be looking positive.

I met a guy a few months ago who was intrigued about my story of why I gave up my smartphone and just have flip phone. Turns out he'd been seeing the same things I'd been seeing and was on the edge of doing it himself.

After seeing me do it, he had the confidence to try it himself. A few weeks later he bought a Nokia and has been smartphone-free for a few months.

I was teaching university students at a weekend away a month or so ago, and one of my points touched on the scientific studies done that show how silent smartphones in the same room as you leave you feeling less connected to those around you. Afterwards this sparked several conversations with others about how they're already doing things like having a smartphone-free day every week or putting their phone to bed early.

For the last two Saturdays The Times has run features about managing or giving up your smartphone (Apologies for paywall links, my wife's grandmother delivers her Saturday newspaper to my wife on a Monday morning).

And then today - Even Heineken is doing a marketing stunt involving giving away 5000 "custom made" flip phones (that look suspiciously like a reskinned Nokia 2660).

There is hope, change is in the air!