Tuesday 19 June 2012

'I just want to throw my phone away'

We’ve all thought about it, right? Surely everyone has had a point in their life where they have questioned what their existence would be like without a mobile phone.
But why is it so hard to take the jump? Little over 10 years ago mobile phones were limited to business men and the techno-savvy. And the rest of us got by with carrier pigeons, cup and straw, and god forbid...the house phone!
Well I did take the jump, around 2 months ago, I was fed up. Fed up with sitting in a group of people all glued to their phone. Fed up of not being able to concentrate unless I had checked my texts within the last 60 seconds. Fed up of feeling the need to document every movement I made by checking in, updating my status and providing photographic evidence.
So vamoosh, I threw it off a bridge, landing a reservoir, into the sunset. Goodbye technology, goodbye communication, hello bohemian lifestyle.
Ok so that is a slight over exaggeration...I in fact cancelled my contract (it was an iphone 4 ok?!) But still it was un-usable.
So how did it feel? At first, horrible. I hate to sound cliché, but I felt like someone had taken away one of my limbs. I had no idea whether my housemates were in, I had no idea if my friends were already at the pub, I had no idea what was trending on twitter?!
The grief and panic lasted a good 7-14 days. Just like a diet, the first hurdle is the hardest. However I pursued, and in all honesty, I have to say, after the initial depression it caused, it was so worth it.
I lived without a phone for a total of 6 weeks, and it was really liberating. Maybe even the burning your bra for the 21st century? I no longer felt tied down, no longer continuously scrolling through my tiny screen, when I could be actually living in the moment.
I am aware that it was a slight risk, for example, what if my car broke down, and I am stranded on the side of the road, or I am on a night out and have lost all of my friends - which is generally a weekly occurrence - but what did people do in 1995 if this happened? Well, I have no idea to be honest, but they didn’t have mobile phones!
All I know is, I felt in a lot more control of my life, as I wasn’t worrying about who had liked my latest status (not that I leave statuses anymore, facebook is so 2010..) As for now, I do own a pathetic pay as you go phone with all of about 5 phone numbers on it. This is my happy medium, for emergencies and to keep my mother from having a heart attack.
So I hope I have persuaded you to at least give it a go, you never know you may realise you actually prefer it?

4 comments:

  1. I do admire you for this. I tried it for three days and found myself with withdrawal symptoms.

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  2. Wow, so glad I initially found this blog because of Flu Camp but your other posts are great! Do you still not have an iPhone/smart phone?

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  3. Communication devises are necessities nowadays. For companies, having a 1800 Number is important. For private individuals, we have mobile phones. :)

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  4. Would I be me without my "smart" phone? I mean I am one of those "techno-savvy" you talk about... that don't mean technology is my identity but it is what I am "in to".... As well as double quotes it would appear ;).

    Fair play to you though, there is nothing worse than watching people out as a family with the kid buried in a tablet and both the parents engrossed in Facebook on their phones.... Where is the conversation gone.

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