My smartphone means I can no longer make reliable phonecalls to anybody, ever, even if I'm standing below the cell tower.
My smartphone has comparable voice quality of two tin cans and some thin wire. I tested. (to be fair, the smartphone has better range and it's network is more scaleable).
My smartphone, whether verizon, sprint or at&t (I've gone through all three in five years) always manages to cost about $130 per month because they force me to pay $30/month for data and $20/month for texting. I never managed to go over on my minutes though, see my first point.
My smartphone meant any hope at privacy or anonymity I might still harbor would be destroyed.
My smartphone can be turned on remotely and tapped if the DHS decides to investigate my pakistani roommate from 11 years ago because he wrote "this policy is unfair" and then posted a cat stevens video on facebook. True story.
My smartphone means I feel the urge to obsessively check facebook, twitter, linkedin, and my 8 email accounts every 3 seconds or else the world will end.
My smartphone breaks the moment I drop it from 6 inches above a surface and costs $600 to replace.
My smartphone(s) are smashed into pieces and disconnected.
My smartphone has driven me to attempt to live without a mobile phone.
My smartphone liberated me through frustration.
Lots of words, not sure what's the point. If you got bad reception, maybe it's a broken handset - have you tried repairing? Smartphones seem to work pretty well for other people so you're really the random bad case here.
The plan has nothing to do with he smartphone itself. I can have mine on around $6 per month prepaid in total (not in the us though). Regarding the true story... Well choose a phone which cannot be. If you don't want to be constantly connected to facebook et al. Just don't configure that account - use it via website, or not at all.
Your phone doesn't force you to do anything - you can use it however you want.
I now have a landline I rarely pick-up.