by Nancy Jundi

You have no idea how many times I’ve heard “you must have the spiderweb app” or “you’re going to cut yourself on that thing,” but I stay true to my little busted up iPhone 5. I went through the 5 stages of loss and grief with it, all the way from isolation and hiding it from everyone to finally accepting it as it was – and that my brand new iPhone 5 was shattered a mere weeks after I’d gotten it. But then something strange began to happen. I started to love the thing. I actually liked it better. There were some hidden perks to this little finger cutter. One of which was that it’s never actually cut me. Not once.

If you’re struggling with cracked screen acceptance, here are a few of the highlights that helped me:

1) It’s Free
Don’t get me wrong, I paid for this thing, but that doesn’t mean I have to pay for another one just because it’s no longer my ideal. This broken, slippery germ brick is mine, free and clear. I’m not putting out more money just so it’ll be shiny again.

2) The Kids Don’t Touch It
If you have kids, friends with kids, siblings with kids, or are around anybodies kids for longer than their attention span can handle, the inevitable “can I play with your phone” will come falling out of their mouths. If your phone wasn’t broken before, there’s a good chance it will be afterward. You’ll have new apps appear, random photos, sticky bits on the phone and, wait, where did they leave the thing? With a cracked screen, I don’t have that problem. “Sorry, kid. You could hurt yourself.”

3) It Let’s Me Know More About You
It’s the weirdest thing in the world to have someone get on your case about something that holds absolutely no weight over the course of their life or daily decisions whatsoever. Not only that, it’s ridiculously trivial. So when someone tells me to “get a new phone already” or reminds me that it’s only $149 to get a new screen, I now know what they think $149 is worth. I have a working phone. It’s more than a phone, actually. I have a fully functioning mini computer in my hands. I can buy a lot of groceries, clothes, gas and iTunes for $149. I can feed an orphan in Africa for a year on $149. I can go to a basketball game or a Broadway show for $149. Crack-free-glass just isn’t worth $149 to me.

4) Apparently I’m Hip
Ironically trendy, the cracked screen is something of a cultural icon for the hipsters of America. While I’m less than thrilled to be a part of anything even remotely as disillusioned as a cracked screen giving you “street” cred, I’m proud of these confused youngsters for saving money. There’s even an app for you to download that will make it look cracked, just in case you don’t have the good fortune of breaking it yourself.

5) Nobody is Going to Steal My Phone
Seriously, I can leave this thing anywhere. I left it on the subway once. Nobody wanted it. The poor phone just sat

there and nobody even picked it up. I’m not sure if they thought they’d cut their finger open or if it’s just such a sad looking thing that it wasn’t worth the calorie burn to lift, but it didn’t get a second glance from anyone. Quite the security system I have in the cracked screen.

6) I’m Not Glued to It
It’s not the most fun thing to look at now that the dozens of cracks fall all over the screen. If I want to look at Facebook, I can wait until I’m in front of a computer. If you send me a 50 page text message, I’m going to laugh at you and then call you later. I’m not spending that much time and effort writing you back amidst the cracks.

7) I Treat It Better Now
Because this thing could go at any moment, I’m a lot kinder to it than I used to be. Lets be honest, I’m still a klutz and I drop it more than I’d like to admit, but I used to toss it around like it was indestructible. Otterbox or not, if it hits at the right angle, your glass is gone. Now, I don’t dare toss it, set it down near anything even remotely damp or let one of those aforementioned kids near it.

8) It’s Actually Kinda Awesome
I can’t believe this thing is still kicking. I feel like one of those Volvo owners who hangs onto the car as long as they can, waiting for it to finally give out, but it never does. It has a half inch of glass missing in one section. It flickers every now and again. If it takes too long to close an app or it doesn’t immediately light up after I hit the home button, I wonder if it’s the end. iPhone 5 just keeps on ticking.

Are you one of the many cracked screen users? Do you wear it with pride or long for the days when you can trade it in?