Hang It Up

I recently went to the doctor for a check-up and as we were moving from one room to another he watched me pick up my wallet and keys and asked, “Where is your cell phone?” I told him I don’t carry a cell phone and he asked, “What kind of American citizen are you, anyway?”

I know most people think I’m crazy but I’m a relatively unplugged citizen.  I do have a cell phone but I usually leave it at home and use it more like a home phone than anything else.  Even more crazy, it is not a smart phone.  Unlike most people, when I’m out of the house, I like to be left alone.  After all, when I’m driving, at the doctor, at the store, or out with a friend or my husband, I don’t want to talk to anyone or be bothered or distracted.  I don’t mind moments of peace and quiet when I have to wait for something and don’t have anything to do.  Even yesterday in the car I was driving for awhile by myself and my first thought was that I should have brought something to listen to but then the peace of the moment settled in and I was able to ponder, relax, think about important things that I don’t usually sit down and take the time to think about.  

A big part of what I don’t like about cell phones is general cell phone culture.  Of the five love languages, my strongest is time and I’ll tell you that when I’m with a friend or family member and they keep checking their phone or answering texts or spend more time looking at it than at me, it is pretty upsetting.  Am I not interesting enough that any little thought someone else might happen to send you is too attractive to ignore even if it is just a “k” or “lol”? I've been in the middle of talking when a friend has said, "Hold on. Let me get this."  Let’s focus on the people we’re with and worry about the people we’re not with later.  

While I appreciate the convenience of finding people at the airport and the ease of texting in appropriate situations, I find there is too much to be concerned about to make cell phones worth it. Texting or talking while driving, teens cheating in school, people never actually talking to each other and all of the problems that such a breakdown in communication causes, all of the bullying that can occur online and through texting, and just the constant distraction it is to adults and teens alike is scary to me.  

I’m sure most of you are thinking of all the good things about having a cell phone and finding it impossible to imagine life without one. I realize I'm pretty alone in my feelings and even at Target the other day I felt a little lost because in order to get a coupon I had to scan something with my phone and then take it to the register. When I got to the register I was asked if I had the coupon and I said that I don't have a smart phone and the cashier had to dig out a paper coupon but kindly did so for me, which I appreciated since that was my first encounter with technological discrimination and I wasn't sure how to handle it.

So while you may think life is not able to go on if your cell phone is home, I promise you that it is not only possible, but it is good.  No, I don’t have any pictures to immediately post to facebook and yes people have to wait until I’m home to talk with me on the phone (although honestly no one actually calls me except my husband at lunch time and my mother!) but for me, it works.  I can exercise some patience and wait until I’m home to look up whatever information I need.  I can go for a walk with my daughter and talk to her and enjoy watching her play at the park instead of chatting on the phone or checking my email.  I can look at a map and figure out where I’m going and decide for myself the best way to get somewhere instead of being dependent on my phone to get me there. There is a wonderful independence and freedom in being unphoned (yes, I just made up that word) and I hope you’ll all try it out for a day or more while looking past all that you think you can't do because you don't have it with you and paying attention to all that you can do because you left your phone at home.