Cell phones today are considered to be a necessity to many in order to function normally. We use them as an alarm, day planner, reminder, organizer, a financial budgeter, and of course a way to communicate with everyone in the world via the internet and precious social media. Knowing how reliant you are on your smart phone to think for you, can you imagine “going off the grid” as they call it for four months? Not simply turning it off, or only checking your notifications at the end of your day, I mean not have a functioning mobile device AT ALL? I did it, and man was it liberating!
It all started when my precious Nokia slapped the hard tile floor, then bounced up with a horrible, deadly crack to the screen. The tragic screen crack. Yes I panicked. I thought to myself “how am I going to stay in touch with ANYONE?” “How will I Whatsapp??!!!” I’m officially an anti-social media woman, oh woe as me! After a few minutes of processing my new life reminiscent of the late 80’s without any tech leashes and being “unreachable”, I realized that this was going to be okay.
I remembered that I do have a computer, and can still use the internet, and a landline phone (remember those?) that I use often. Look at me, I’m still able to post my thoughts, juices and recipes without a smart phone. I am here to tell you that there is hope for us yet! Sure, I thought that some people would call me flaky, rude or negligent as they attempted to text, whatsapp or instant message me and didn’t receive a response or ‘seen’ notification (gasp!) immediately! Sure, I looked like a social media rebel who didn’t like all the new posts, pics or tags, but life still went on believe it or not.
This four month process has taught me that a cell phone is a luxury, that luckily, many of us are fortunate enough to have in today’s modern world. It’s nice to have one for safety reasons (I would have taken a pic of my Stalker, or better yet call the Po-Po), it’s great to be able to stay in touch constantly and to always be available in case of an emergency. Sure all of these things are nice, but yet, not necessary.
Maybe this post of going off the grid for four months is so hopeful because all the while I was waiting for my cell phone’s repair, so I still knew that I would one day plug myself back in. That is, until it fell again after the screen was replaced! Here I am today, with my newly refurbished cell phone, with a brand new crack on the screen. This one leaving the touch screen still maneuverable, but with a huge risk of cutting all of my fingers. 
Maybe I’ll just buy more band-aids? Or just go in a corner and cry with my empty phone case.
I sure do miss being able to text people, take pics and videos at the drop of a hat, binging/googling for answers, or using my translate apps. I want my cell phone back, in one piece. It’s hard out here actually talking on the phone, or being tethered to a chair, desk and keyboard. One day….one day.
How long have you ever been a dummy without your smart phone?
No but I’d love to… I really need to get some rehab away from that vicious thing! 😮
Rehab is the perfect word