Could I Live Without a Cell Phone in 2018?
A few weeks ago, I dropped my cell phone and the screen morphed into something resembling the static television of my childhood.
Much like those old box TVs of the 90s, where you might irrationally give it a good slap to try and fix the screen, I threw my phone onto the cement a few more times to see if that might cause a clear picture to return.
Nothing.
That shit was broken.
A full 48-hours passed — basically an eternity without a cell phone — before I decided to get off my ass and buy a new one.
Those 48-hours without a cell phone were interesting though.
Initially I felt bad that I couldn’t answer or return semi-important calls and texts. More than bad — it seemed rude to ignore people, to not even inform them of my broken phone situation.
As the hours continued to pass, I began caring less and less. Frankly there was nothing I could do about this situation — at least not right away — as I waited to find out what my cell phone insurance covered and so forth.
Eventually the feeling of missing out on important calls or texts dissipated. My old phone only contained about 20 contacts, about half of which were family, and so I don’t get tons of interesting messages regardless.
Most of what I was actually forgoing without my cell phone was mindlessly checking Instagram and Snapchat and oddly enough the time. (Though I’d be hard-pressed to call looking at Doug The Pug’s Instagram account mindless or useless — it’s really cute.)
So for the most part my life was fine, things happened per usual, and it was actually quite relieving once the necessity and anxiety of checking my phone passed.
After an entire cell phone-less day had come and gone, I started contemplating — seriously considering — what it would be like to live without a cell phone for a more prolonged period.
Could I actually do it?
Would I be able to function normally?
Would I be a modern day Thoreau?
I couldn’t come up with many good reasons for how or why living cell phone-less would hinder my day-to-day activities.
First off, I don’t need all of the bells and whistles — the 30 social media apps on our average cell phone. Those are distractions (albeit fun and entertaining distractions).
I thought about the pictures and videos I enjoyed taking with my now-broken phone. A month prior I’d traveled to the Grand Canyon for the first time and snapped a ton of photos; but, I wasn’t gutted over the loss of most of those images. That was a lived experience, which I’ll never forget, and photos won’t ever do justice to an awe-inspiring place like the Grand Canyon.
Nothing could take that experience away from me.
So ultimately I was fine without photos capturing things I’d done or would do in the future.
The main, significant drawback I felt with potentially not having a cell phone was losing quick and easy contact with family.
My siblings and I are getting older, and as it goes our lives are continuing to naturally head in different directions, taking us to different parts of the country. And our parents are getting older these days too, and of course, for so many reasons, it’s imperative to give your parents a way to always and immediately contact you.
For that reason alone, I’d feel awful and extremely guilty to not own a cell phone.
At any rate, while in theory I believe I could live without a cell phone in 2018, and while I believe doing so would bring a lot of positive change to my life, I don’t think it’d be a fair decision to the people that really matter to me — my family.
Sure, living without a cell phone would eliminate so many unnecessary distractions, and allow anyone brave and bold enough to do so to focus on the things right in front of them — maybe even read a good book once in a while — but for most of us it’s not a totally feasible way to live.
My dream is to live off the grid in some capacity. But is it achievable?
There’s no doubt in my mind that any one of us could function as minimalists, relying on the basics and eschewing the extras. But then, would it be selfish to cut-off from the rest of the world? Would it be selfish and irresponsible to not give your family an easy way to contact you?
In 2018 there are other obvious reasons to need a cell phone — work purposes, for instance — but family is the main one that applies to me.
Nonetheless, the allure of not having a cell phone remains and is strong.
Not having one is like pushing all-in with your poker chips — committing fully to a whole new life style. It’s an exhilarating idea that really gets my heart beating fast.
Otherwise, even if I buy a new cell phone and promise myself to just avoid the Insta-distractions, it still feels like a half-measure. I’d be putting this huge responsibility on myself to own a smart phone and yet not enjoy all of the appealing benefits.
Once I did replace my broken phone, I quickly downloaded the social media apps I previously had on there.
After 48-hours of disconnection, it took about 5-minutes for me to reconnect.
It’s just so easy to loop back in to the online world.
And that’s my issue with taking half-measures with cell phones. I could tell myself that I’ll just use my phone to communicate with family…but if the shiny bells and cute whistles are there, I’m going to have a very tough time avoiding them.
In which case, if it’s even possible, maybe I should just downgrade to a flip phone.
