Today it will be a year since I had a cellphone for daily use.
How have I survived without a mobile device with me at all times? Quite simply.
I write more letters now than ever before. Real letters in unreliable script poured from whatever pen I happen to have on hand. I’ve taken a liking to buying boxes of gaudy cards from discount bins and using them instead of nice stationary. It adds a bit of whimsy and relies on existing production.
I use Skype, Google Chat, and some of 37Signals project management tools to carry the weight of business communication. Then there’s Twitter, of course. Email keeps everything together. That all takes place on a computer. There are no fire alarms or vibrating warnings that go off when an email lands in my inbox. No chirps warn me of tweets.
I know the sound of silence.
There has also been a downside. A disconnect that meant missed moments of fun conversation and perhaps a few extra dollars. But that’s it. No government has been overthrown, business gone bankrupt, or child lost a life because I didn’t have a cellphone at the ready. I was able to blunder and triumph, rise and fall, New Yorker and lolcatz–all without a cellphone.
I took a year away from frenetic tech because I wanted to see if life was really all that boring without a digital device in hand. I wanted to see if I really, truly needed to be available to everyone at all hours of the day or if my digital connectedness was just a half-hearted attempt at relevance. It turns out that yes, parts of life can be made more fulfilling with sparing use of tech. That shouldn’t come as a surprise.
What did surprise me was just how well all my existing contacts took to the shift in my communication preference. Friends shifted from offhand texts every day to more substantial email conversations. Family soon learned the joys of Skype and started using it with each other as well. Work contacts took it in stride.
It only took a few weeks and I was in a new groove. A groove with far fewer beeps and buzzes in it.
Now, as the year comes to a close, I look around and I’m not attracted to the smart phones anymore. I don’t like the idea of answering phone calls in the middle of a conversation (I once did so gravely). Why would I want to respond to tweets, texts, emails, and notices from multiple applications in addition to requests for verbal conversation? I wouldn’t.
I worry that we’ve become so caught up in the idea of always being “on” that we’ve lost sight of what it means to really be present in just one conversation. Does your phone go to the dinner table with you? Mine did. Does your phone come out at the slightest whiff of boredom? Mine did. I’m hoping to avoid most of that this time around.
My thought is to have something small, perhaps a netbook, that I can use for email and simple browsing. It will be big enough that I won’t carry it with me everywhere but small enough to fit in a day bag.
And for a phone? I’m looking for something that works just along the same lines of what Alexander Graham Bell imagined. I’d like to have something I can speak into and say things like, “you mean a lot to me” or, “it’s been great working with you” or perhaps, “I’m sorry” and be entirely present in my words.
I suppose I’ll have to sign up for Facebook again so I can create a group: “OMG, I lost mah phone ag4in. I can haz ur #?” It’ll be epic.
I’m kidding.
Or am I?
I’m glad for your thoughts (and phone recommendations).
Wow, what an experiment.
I’ve never been that attached to phones in general, so the idea of carrying a cell phone around with me through every hour of every day has never really appealed to me. I do have one, but for the majority of my time, I leave it at home (reminiscent of that old house phone hardly anyone seems to use anymore).
I always chuckle at all the cell phones everywhere and think, what did we all do before we had them? When I was around eleven, I remember the “walkie-talkie cell phone” my mom had. Nowadays kids have their own cell phones. It would be interesting to see how (or if) people could cope without them.
Anyway, I really like this post – gives me something to think about.
I didn’t sleep with one. Well, not really. =)
Before we had cellphones? We read more books. We noticed awkward silences at the dinner table. We did an awful lot of things.
The change I made was needed, at least for awhile. One of those, “it’s only weird for a week or two” sorts of things.
I’m always glad to bring up a thought. Thinking is good. I need to do more of it. =)
Interesting post and I applaud you for your discipline. I confess, however, that I see smart phones differently from the way you do. To me, they are not a tether but rather freedom from one. People always talk about how phones never let them escape, etc, but for me, they achieve the opposite. With my pone, I don’t have to wait by the computer for emails, I can put my mind to rest by checking email every now and then, making sure nothing too important is happening, and if I’m wondering about the answer to something, I can google it. Equally important, when I have an idea for a song I can email it to myself, no need to fumble for pen and paper. Oh, and I can snap a photo! All that said, I confess, the phone is also a constant temptation: I check stocks, news, Twitter, FB and more at the drop of a hat. But I am getting better at resisting the need to constantly look at the thing. As for phone calls, well, you know, the poorly timed blast of a ring is a bummer, but if I’m at dinner or in a conversation, I don’t answer. In fact, I’m notorious among my friends for not answering the phone! But my phone always answers to me (I have Verizon!) and I like it that way.
Jeff
“My phone always answers to me.” Genius, sir!
I suppose I could make use of a fully-digital note taking system… I’d need one heck of a database to keep track of it all though.
I’m with you on snapping photos with a camera. It’s just so easy. Is there a phone out there with five days of talk time and a 6mp camera? I’d go for that. =)
Seth, congrats on going the full year. I’m 100% for people being more involved in their everyday interactions. I myself have had a very basic mobile phone up until now, but will admit that the smartphone is tugging at me for many of the reasons Jeff mentioned. Nonetheless, I think I’ll continue to resist until they stop making non-smart phones.
I also love that you write pen and paper letters. I wish more people would do this. I got an old-school typewriter for Christmas (I’m talking pre-electric), and I’ve been looking for time to put it to good use. I think writing letters might be the ideal way to start.
Let me know if you find a good basic phone, by the way. My own is on its last legs…
I am taking baby steps to putting some slack in the tether line.
Thank you again for your words and thought provoking actions.