iPhone-Cigarette

CellPhoneaddictionThere is a joke that my iPhone never leaves my hand. A joke my friends always proclaim as they give me some anecdotal excerpt of their lives that falls on deaf ears as I vigorously check my email, post a picture on Instagram, send a funny text in a group message, and check my email again. It becomes apparent that their joke has become a serious fact about my dependency to my damn cellphone. Gliding through life with the ease and access of everything being available on my iPhone has spoiled me to some degree but through it all my cellphone rarely did leave my hand. That is of course until one faithful day after a series of unfortunate events, I carelessly allowed my iPhone (which had just died) to be placed down in the seat of a DC Metro car. My phone left my hand that day and it was all too late when I realized my closest ally in the world was sitting comfortably on a train departing my life. My phone was gone and aside from realizing why I never took public transportation, my damn phone was really gone!

Cue: Massive heart palpitations.

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I had become instantly lost, immediately disconnected and increasingly frustrated. It was only after thinking maybe I could survive without a cellphone, I’ve done it before and being assured I could get an upgrade to my phone days later did I realize this wouldn’t be so bad.

Truth is, cellphone liberation (yes, lets coin that term) is sometimes a very healthy experience. The dependency we have on our smart devices is increasingly becoming a cause for concern and well, when we lose our phone or, for some of us, are behind on our bills–going a few days or weeks without the instant connection to the rest of the world can teach us a few things.

1. Planning/Reliability

Without the immediacy of texting, calling, Twitter replying and all other instant communication, we’re forced to be a little more concise in our planning and more reliable in what we say we are doing and where we say we will be. Sure, with that new found ability to be your own personal Siri comes the risk of missing certain things with your friends. That “Just got off, found an awesome happy hour with very cheap deals close to your side of town” text can’t reach you and well, then you miss that really awesome happy hour with cheap deals. Overall, it forces you to truly consider who is important in your life and plan ahead to spend valuable time with them.

2. Reconnection

Yes, you’re disconnected from almost all forms of social media, but not having a cellphone can pretty much force you to reconnect with the actual world. It gives you a break from foolishly staring down into your phone as you cross an 8-lane highway and allows you to take in what’s actually going on around you. It forces you to engage with the people around you and give up that tired something important is on my phone because this situation is awkward thing we all seem to do.

3. Peace

You can’t be reached. This might alarm you from time to time. What if there is an emergency, what if I miss a certain opportunity, but realistically you’re more likely just missing a bunch of random texts, inappropriate pictures, and notifications that your Instagram stalker liked another one of your pictures. Enjoy the peace! It’s like an unexpected vacation where you call the shots of when you connect with another person.

Now although not having your cellphone can be liberating, it’s all good until well, you need to make a call or send out a text. The most frustrating thing is the momentary lapse in memory and you panic again thinking you re-lost an already nonexistent device.  Plus, it’s really hard to remember numbers nowadays. What if you get arrested and can only call your mom, dad, and you’re ex from high school. Welp, despite the downfalls of being shoved out of the digital atmosphere, enjoying a little cellphone liberation can truly put a little perspective in your life.

Could you go a few days without your cellphone?

-Cj

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3 thoughts on “The Emancipation From My Cellphone.

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  1. tohaggle 11 years ago

    Hello mate, very nice and informative article you have shared with all of us. I appreciate your efforts. Thanks

  2. Pingback: The Emancipation From My Cellphone