Tuesday, 11:39pm, no electrical activity.
My phone died this week. And I don't mean 0% battery dead, I mean dead- unresponsive, black screen, dead. I feel pathetic for admitting it, but I was heartbroken and was in a slight state of panic, as anyone who keeps their phone on them 24/7 would be.
So many unlikely situations started running through my head.
How will I know where my friends are?
What if I get locked out of my apartment?
What if a clown starts chasing me on my run?
What will I do if the apocalypse starts, right now?
The worst thing of all, my phone dying gave me a terrible case of FOMO (fear of missing out). I won't know where everyone is because I don't have a phone. My friends might go out and have a great time without me because I don't have a phone. My world is at an absolute standstill because I don't have a phone.
Because I don't have a phone.
Update: I survived.
And here's what I learned: life is fun without a phone. Honestly, after I got my phone fixed, I was a little disappointed. My life stopped becoming about me and became about everyone else around me again. Don't get me wrong, I use Snapchat and Instagram like it's my job and it keeps so many people connected, but they also keep people disconnected- from themselves.
The few days I went without my phone allowed me to focus on myself. I stopped waking up in the morning and automatically reaching for my phone to check all my social media. I stopped texting in the group message to see if anyone wanted to join me in something I wanted to do; if I wanted to do something, I did it, because I wanted to. I stopped checking to see who was where and allowed myself to connect with the people who were already around me.
I realized this most of all: constantly being on your phone only pauses time, for you. The world around you keeps going, the people around you keep living, and you're missing out on it because you're so focused on what happened ten minutes ago in someone else's life, or you're too busy posting about something that just happened in yours. Share those moments with the physical people around you. Remember what it's like to share stories without Snapchat. Go out and remember how beautiful the world is, without a "cute insta post" being your main motivation. Go out there and power off.
