Emily

I don't know what type of phone you have specifically, but if it's on this list, you can install LineageOS, which is an open-source android-based platform that's not tied to Google. https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#samsung

If you haven't already switched most/all of your apps to open-source or non-google play versions, you'll need to start looking out for that. I would suggest using the F-Droid store to find apps. Depending on how hardcore you want to go, you can also look up the github/codeberg address of the various apps you find and use the Obtanium app to download them directly from the repo. I think it's totally fine to use F-Droid to find your options, though.

Some suggestions: There's a series of apps called Fossify that replace most of the stock apps on the phone, everything from the clock to sms to phone. They even have a file manager and launcher if you're interested in that. I use the open-source Lawnchair launcher with the Delta icon pack, Phocid for music, AntennaPod for podcasts, Myne for ebooks, Fennec is my browser, and a mixture of Citra and Lemuroid for games.

Iirc, Mint uses Cinnamon as a desktop environment, but if you ever find yourself using KDE, there's an app called KDE Connect that allows you to transfer files from your computer to your phone and back (along with other things) over a network connection.

Good luck! I hope you find this path as rewarding as I have. It feels really good to get away from Google.

I recently finished Cobalt Core and enjoyed it quite a lot. I'm currently working my way through Shovel Knight after taking a break from Silksong.

Don't worry, I use headphones for public transportation/listening to things at work and I'm not autistic. Plenty of people use them for comfort and to reduce noise.

I started with Debian and the spiciest thing I've done in almost two years of exclusive Linux usage was changing my desktop environment from Cinnamon to KDE while updating to Debian 13. I haven't seen a need to hop around to other distros, it's nice to search for the few problems and almost always find answers.

Exactly this. I've been running forums since I was a teen in the mid-00s and I've still got one. It's much smaller than it used to be, but some of us have known each other for twenty years. It's harder to find us, but occasionally someone still wanders in.

I usually have a one-hour nap after work. It resets my mindset and makes me a lot more motivated to do things in the evening. I also have tea and read a lot. Some games are nice, I've been playing Cobalt Core and Silksong recently.

I grew up on a farm and it's amazing that I always knew we were poor, but we always had our basic needs met. It probably contribited to me having an easy on-ramp to socialism once I moved to a city and saw the horrors of real poverty.

Relevant to the topic, we had a combine and I got to operate it to help my dad with harvesting. Crazy, very cool vehicle. It was always like magic to me.

I had a youtube channel for a few years in the early 2010s and had the same experience. I got extremely uncomfortable once people started giving me free game keys and started requesting ad reads. I ghosted my channel and eventually deleted it, but now I wish I had made a final video or something talking about the experience and why I didn't want to participate anymore.

I fully switched to Debian in early 2024 and haven't looked back. Highly recommend a full swap to everyone. Windows and Mac have nothing to offer.