Last week, I had the earth-shattering experience of breaking my phone. This thing had been abused over the course of the year and dropped countless times. I wasn’t able to get it fixed for over three days, and during this time, I realized just how much I use my phone. I would catch myself reaching for my pink iPhone to do any number of things, only to realize that my modern way of living was on hold for the time being. I had become so dependent on it and now I am suddenly aware of just how much I use it to function in my daily life. So here are some things I had temper tantrums about when I realized I was without them for an extended amount of time:

1. GPS

Find myself stranded without my phone to guide me where to go. I had to kick it old-school and use MapQuest to get directions. Printed directions are pretty hard to read when you’re traveling at night…

2. Alarm Clock

I had a near mental breakdown when I realized I had no way of actually waking myself up in the morning. This triggered a heart attack that I would be missing my 8 am simply because I involuntarily overslept.

3. To-Do Lists

I would make to-do lists on a daily basis in my little note app. Now I have had to physically write them on actual paper, and I tell you, it is just not the same.

4. Checking the Weather

I was absolutely clueless to what the weather would be like. Sure, I could just as easily use my laptop to check, but I was so used to the app. There could’ve been rain, snow, or an apocalypse and I wouldn’t have known because I couldn’t check the forecast on my favorite weather app.

5. Email

I had almost forgotten that I had an actual desktop version of my Gmail account. I like being able to manage basically my whole life from the palm of my hand. Oh, I have a question for my teacher? I can send an email from my phone! We have a snow day today? Look, I just got an email at 5 am from the university. It is much easier to tap my four-number password than to open up my laptop and navigate through six webpages before I even get to the login page for my email.

6. Banking

Apparently I got paid during the course of my three days of phone-less living. Not that I knew, because I couldn’t log in to my handy-dandy banking app. Of course there is a way to do this on a laptop, but again, I was boycotting other methods out of sheer stubbornness.

7. Messaging

This was probably one of the worst ones. I suddenly found myself dragging my laptop around to places, hoping that there was free wifi so that I could maintain contact through the permanently open Facebook page on my desktop. The plus side to this one: I went from a half-pound phone to a 10 pound laptop, so I’m pretty sure this counted as a workout.

8. Phone Calls

I couldn’t even call the apple store to ask what was wrong with my phone. I have discovered so many websites over the course of these three days and apparently you can make reservations for Apple store visits online. Then I wanted to call my mom to complain but….you can see the trend here.

9. Pictures

Never before had I realized how many things I photograph throughout the course of my average day. I will never again take for granted the ability to take pictures of stray cats, the sunset, or my craftily-made dinner

10. Social Media

I haven’t checked Snapchat in three days! How many moments have I missed?? I was not able to document and share that we ordered $50 of Chinese delivery food or that it was a virtual blizzard outside. How can the world keep turning when I have not shown everyone what I did with my day?!

11. Games

The fact that I have not played Two Dots in over 72 hours is a feat within itself. Normally, I play it when I wake up, before and after my naps, between homework assignments, and before I go to sleep. You can only imagine the turmoil my life has been in since my routine was disrupted.

12. Flashlight

I could not tell you the last time I help a legitimate flashlight. Why would I use something whose batteries are probably dead from lack of use when I have multi-purpose iPhone that I charge on the daily??

13. Work Schedule

Yes, even my work schedule is maintained through an app. It is posted weekly and I can check when my shifts are, who I’m working with, request days off, etc. How am I supposed to be on time for work when I don’t even know what day I am supposed to show up?!

14. Music

Showers are not the same without blasting some tunes to sing along with. I tell you, my voice sounds way better within the acoustics of my own bathroom than it does anywhere else. It’s still not good, but definitely better. Well, maybe it’s because it is being drowned out by water.

15. Paying Bills

I literally press a button in my various utility apps and my bills are paid! I could potentially use an actual computer to do this, but I have long-since forgotten my usernames and passwords to actually access my accounts.

It was this experience that made me take a step back from re-blogging dessert recipes and cat videos. I watched everyone else around me using their phones and it made me realize how much the modern generation relies on a small chunk of metal.