Look, not everyone has the money to buy up those absurdly-priced top-tier phones. Some of us, not naming names, are perfectly happy with the hand-me-down iPhone 6 they bought off their brother-in-law five years ago, okay? OKAY?!
There are plenty of consequences to the decision to hang onto outdated technology, but I’ve never seen repercussions quite like those suffered by a woman highlighted by the @momentsgang TikTok account. The content creator was just out filming a video on the lovely London streets when she discovered a new, surprisingly positive, side-effect of clinging to outdated tech.
A minute-long video captures the entire ordeal, as the young woman is accosted on the sidewalk by a pair of gents on a motorcycle. They ride right alongside her and snatch her still-recording phone out of her hand, before taking off down the street. The phone continues to record as the men put distance between themselves and their victim, and it even captures their entire ensuing conversation.
You can hear as the man holding the phone informs his companion that he’s secured the device, before adding insult to injury with a note that “its old though.” Adding that its “not even worth it” the man suggests they ditch the phone, before doing just that on the side of the road. A moment later, the phone’s owner catches up, and secures her (apparently excessively old) device.
Its weirdly insulting while also being entirely positive, since conceivably a newer phone would have been permanently lost. But there’s also no denying the sting of being rejected by a thief, who’s so unimpressed by your penny pinching ways they won’t even keep your stolen property.
That much was made clear by commenters, many of whom couldn’t decide whether they were offended or impressed by the display. Quite a few are taking it as a vital reminder “not to fix my phone screen,” while others are caught up by the “blessing in disguise.”
The video also sparked a conversation about a rise in crime across London, which has been a major talking point in the British press. Its true that London has seen a sharp rise in crime over the last few years, and an unfortunate number of those crimes are violent in nature. The city has seen crime figures reach more than 938,000 between 2023 and 2024, compared to 743,728 in 2015-2016. That’s a major rise, trackable thanks to police recordings of crimes in the area, and it’s leading to a rise in anxiety among tourists and locals alike.
Thankfully, the crime we witnessed via that flawlessly timed TikTok wasn’t violent in nature, and things actually worked out pretty well for the victim. Her already ancient phone may have taken a few extra knocks during its journey, and her pride may be a bit scalded after suffering a spurning from her would-be robbers, but at least the content creator secured her device at the end of her ordeal. She may be eyeing an upgrade, following that accidental shade, but there’s no denying the subtle perks that come with an outdated device.
