#30 Go Without a Cell Phone For a Week

Ok, so I didn’t exactly do this one willingly, but some subconcious part of me must have wanted this experience. Last week, while coming home from a golf tournament in Las Vegas, I left my phone in the rental car. Of course the precise moment I realized this was the same moment I reached the end of security. Ugh.

So, for the past week (since last Wednesday afternoon) I have been phone-free. It’s quite an experience. Much like dealing with grief, the loss of a phone can be described in stages…

1. Disbelief and denial…involves searching madly in all pockets, pouches, and zippers of every piece of your belongings…you tell yourself “There’s no way I just lost my phone, it must be in here somewhere!”

2. Distress…what am I going to do now!? Will I ever see my phone again!? Why am I so stupid!?

3. Action…borrowing phones to track your phone down (calling rental car agency in my case)

4. Uncertainty…will I get my phone back? Will they find it? Will someone be calling their friend in France on my phone for a week? When will I get it back? Will I need a new phone? Who is trying to call me right now? Who is sending me unanswered texts? Will I ever get to know?….

5. Release…your phone is found…on the way…you will have it in days. There’s nothing more to do, but wait. People went centuries–millenniums–without cell phones, I can survive it too.

So, in my week of waiting (of which is not over yet) I have learned a lot.

Firstly, I have no noticeable impact on my health and my mind seems to be coping as well. In fact, I’ve noticed some benefits even.

I never have to worry about charging my phone. Plus, no wasted electricity used to charge it.

I never get woken in the middle of the night by drunkies wanting a ride home from 6th Street.

I never have to turn my phone off or on vibrate during class or quiet areas–and I never get embarrassed or distressed over my phone accidentally going off in class. When I hear a vibration or jingle I know…it’s not me!

I haven’t endangered any fellow drivers by calling or texting behind the wheel. Anyone done that before?!?

I don’t have to deal with incessant calls from mom (ok, for me not really a problem since my mother is afraid to rack up the cell phone bill with long distance…even though I have no long distance and we have unlimited “in” calling, but still seems to stop her from calling, but anyway, I’m sure it could be a relief for some of you).

And finally…I’ve really gained an increased appreciation for modern technology. You know the cliche…You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone! Holds true here too.

So, just try it out. Don’t drop you phone in a toilet, or leave it in a rental car, or let it fall out of your pocket while you’re skiing down a powdery run (this happened to me as well the month after I got my first cell phone…and yes, someone found it). You don’t even need to go a week. Just take the battery out of your phone for 48 hours and see how you feel.

It’s good to prove to yourself that you don’t need your phone…that you can survive without your phone. I’m sure the attachment our generation has with their cell phones cannot be entirely healthy. Go talk to people in person. Go easy on the idle gossip. Find out what life has to offer right in front of your eyes, that you haven’t bothered to notice while nose-deep in a texting convo. Live a little!