When I last had a cellphone, the Billikens were still dancing, North Korea was less volatile and Kevin Ware’s leg was still intact. Three weeks ago, I found out (for the third time) that water has a proclivity to leave iPhones utterly defunct. Unlike my previous encounters with a water damaged iPhone, I was unable to get a replacement phone through my insurance policy. My cellphone provider cited the fact that I am due for an upgrade at the end of April as reason for not giving me a replacement phone. Water damage forced me to abdicate from the iPhone life and live a phoneless life.
One month ago, I would have considered the notion of living life without a cellphone utterly unfathomable. I was dependent on my phone. My iPhone was not merely a tool I used to connect with friends and family. It was my personal assistant, iPod, cookbook, calculator, notebook, Snapchatter and so much more.
My state of dependency was by no means an anomaly. According to a recent study at Ball State University, 99.8 percent of college students have a cellphone, and the majority of students have a smartphone. Over the last three weeks, I have been the .2 percent. Being a member of the“.2 percent club” has been challenging, yet surprisingly rewarding.
My first week without a cellphone afforded me the age-old lesson of not taking things for granted. For all the smartphone owners that think class is boring, you cannot fathom the paramount boredom affiliated with attending a lecture on the Byzantine Empire without a phone. I could no longer rely on Snapchats, tweets, Facebook updates and texts to keep me awake in class. The initial woes of a cellphoneless life were present outside of the classroom as well. I felt an apparent disconnect from my friends. I could not meet up with them or talk to them whenever I wanted. Without a mode of instant communication, I had to familiarize myself with the outdated practice of making appointments and scheduling meet-up times with close friends. Without my iPhone, I was confined to my proximal surroundings. The state of confinement would soon lead to a moment of epiphany.
It took me 10 days of not having a cellphone to figure out how to properly utilize my time in class. While doodling away in my 9 a.m. class two weeks ago, I found myself pondering over a novel idea. I thought to myself, “Since you don’t have a phone, perhaps paying attention to the lecture would make class less boring”. For most straight-A students kids, my “new idea” seems intuitive. I would not have been able to appreciate the benefits of staying completely engaged in class if I had a phone. Just as a smartphone provides innumerable ways to connect with the outside world, it provides a plethora of avenues to get distracted from the task at hand.
During the early stages of not having a phone, I found myself in an inexorable state of self-pity. However, in the last three weeks, my mindset has completely changed. The most beneficial consequence of not having a cellphone is my newfound self-reliance. (For those of you not completely familiar with this concept, I strongly suggest reading Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance.”)
In the past, I was able to fill up silences, boring moments and even walks in between classes by utilizing some app on my iPhone. Without the iPhone and all its amenities, I had no other choice but to fill up the aforementioned moments with reflection.
The time spent reflecting has made me aware of my strengths and weaknesses, allowed me to evaluate my moral compass and to recalibrate my life goals. None of it would have been possible if it was not for me being separated from my iPhone. That being said, I still intend on getting a cellphone.
In today’s day and age, a mobile device is a necessity. Cellphones are omnipresent and serve as the primary source of communication. They are utilized for job interviews, conferences, scheduling meetings and making transactions. The importance of cellphones is heightened during emergencies. In extreme circumstances, having a cellphone can be a matter of life or death. Luckily, I have not dealt with a noteworthy emergency in the last three weeks. The only price I’ve had to pay for heightened self-reliance is not being able to receive Snapchats, dominate kids in Ruzzle or tweet about some frivolous matter.
Every smartphone-owning college student should attempt to abstain from using his or her device for at least one day. Doing so will not only prove that they can function without it, but also showcase self-reliance. For those of you who choose not to try life without a cellphone, I hope that, at the very least, reading this article has raised your awareness of society’s ever-increasing dependency on cellphones.