After a rather random turn of events over the past few days, I suddenly found myself phoneless. As I hate Facebook chat (and social media in general) and have no idea how to work any “chat apps” (do those even exist?), I was stranded without a reliable way to talk to other people. In desperation, I actually resorted to email – it was horrible. Nevertheless, I learned some important things both about myself and the world at large. Now that I have a cell phone once again, I’m taking a minute to reflect on my experience without it. Here are a few observations:
For some reason, I still carried the useless hunk of metal that had previously been my phone with me everywhere. Even though it had been reduced to nothing more than a small hand weight, this phone had been a very large part of my life for a long time. Walking around without it would have been like missing a limb – or, more accurately, a part of my brain. If I wanted to know something, for example, I would look down at my sad broken phone and frown and it would continue to be broken and I would frown some more and then still not have answered my question. I’m a fully formed human being and I was carrying my phone around like a freaking safety blanket.
I didn’t answer every text I received (I couldn’t) and it wasn’t the end of the world. In fact, people were rather understanding of my plight. Some of my friends were even envious. It was quite nice to get a break from all the irrelevant information and the onslaught of group texts. And if someone really needed to reach me, they just tried Facebook message (I don’t actually live in the wilderness, okay? I have a computer too).
I was much more productive than I usually am! That’s a total lie. I was just as unproductive as always.
When I lay down to sleep at night and didn’t have the ability to browse Facebook or Instagram or Snapchat, I didn’t feel lonely or bored. I actually fell asleep rather quickly. It was peaceful, almost, to be cut off from civilization (in a room with two other people, in a dorm, in the middle of Providence, RI). I slept like a baby. Because I didn’t have an alarm to wake me. Oops.
Overall, I’m glad to have my phone back. But it’s good to know that I can live without it. If you need me, I’ll be reuniting with society.
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