WITHOUT A PHONE: A PERSONAL REFLECTION

The question about how long I can go without a phone is one that hit me harder than I expected, because it led to me literally pausing to think, in all honesty, if I'm not sleeping or working, it's rare for me to not be on my phone or touching it, making it so much a part of me to the point where I even sometimes unconsciously reach for it, even when I don't have anything urgent to check. But then that doesn't mean I can't do without my phone, because there are some activities I indulge in that do often lead to me completely forgetting about my phone, so in light of that, I'd love to tell you about how long I can do without my phone.

You see, the truth is that phones have, through the years, evolved from being just a simple means of communication to becoming everything, from being our clock to our calendar, entertainment hub, cameras, libraries, bank, and so much more, to name but a few. However, despite how cool and impressive it is that all of those are embedded in one device, we can't help but recognize that it's also a little frightening.

I mean, come to think of it, I can remember there was a time when life was simpler, not because phone innovation is bad but because we tended to have more face-to-face conversation, memorize phone numbers, and the screen time that raised concern then was the television in our living room. Fast forward to the present day, the reverse is the case because our phones are literally what most people see first when they wake up in the morning and the last thing we go through before we sleep at night. It's that alarming.

Many of us have become so reliant on and dependent on our phones to the point where it's quite difficult to stay still without them, and a moment of silence feels awkward without our phones being interacted with. Sometimes we just pick them up randomly and start scrolling even when we have absolutely nothing we're searching for on them. Nowadays, we also, due to the phone, talk less and not text more. You'll be surprised to see some people who live alone and didn't step out not speak a word the whole day because they're busy texting, and when they realize they've not spoken that day, you hear them try to confirm if they've not lost their voice. To put that into perspective, I'm literally talking about myself in the above illustration. Notification is what now controls our attention, which we submit to control us.

It's not like I'm a saint; as you can see above, I also suffer from the same plague, but then, like I said earlier, there are some activities that often help me stay off my phone for hours, such as when I'm reading an interesting movie, playing video games, or having a deep conversation or hangouts with family or loved ones.During such times I've sometimes gone at most three hours without touching or taking a glance at my phone. That wasn't the case in the past, as I did check it at every single opportunity. Things changed for good recently due to my health challenges and doctors' advice, and that has helped me become more intentional, like leaving my phone in the room while I step out to have a conversation with neighbors.

The truth is that it's actually not easy to do without phones in today's world, but then we just need to work towards some quality device-free time. Overall, what I think we all need is a reminder that we are the ones who own our phones, not the other way around, that they don't own us.

All photos are mine.