Last Tuesday, I lost my phone at Hunter and it was never brought to the Lost & Found. After the wave of panic and anxiety subsided, I came to accept that it wasn’t going to be returned to me. I couldn’t help but wonder how much I was going to lose. I couldn’t remember the last time I had done a back up. Who knows how much I didn’t get to save?
After being phoneless for a day, a week didn’t feel as difficult to handle. But I’ve become so attached to my phone these last few years, that being without my phone, felt like losing a part of me. Like an extra organ you forgot how much you relied on. My phone was an extension of myself, my image and how I present myself to the outside world. It was habitual for me to constantly check social media, but in this phoneless week I came to realize how much I used social media to validate my existence. We forget how we experienced the world before we had phones. I had my first phone when I was in 6th grade which feels like ages ago. Life used to be so much easier before I had a phone. With social media, and the advancement of technology, society became more judgmental and we got sucked into this madness that is not simple to escape from. If you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t rely on social media- congratulations. But for the rest of us- it has become so engrained in our minds that we need social media to show people how we are doing and what we are doing.
Being without my phone also forced me to communicate differently let alone change my habits. I had to call instead of text, as well as use my email more to communicate with my family. I had to actually look at my watch for the time instead of checking my phone. And I couldn’t reach out to my friends unless I had access to Facebook, because who actually has more than one of their friends’ phone numbers memorized? These changes might seem trivial but for someone who relies a lot on their phone, being without it is a drastic change.
Although I am getting a new phone soon, I don’t feel such an urge anymore to have my phone back or to check social media. This feels like a step in the right direction. I recommend everyone try going phoneless for a week and see the difference.
