Week 10 :: Sans Cell

Nomophobia: The fear of not having your cell/mobile phone.
I experienced this uncomfortable phobia-type feeling for 6 days this past week due to switching service providers for my cell phone and there being an error with my activation for almost an entire week. So, instead of following the exact assignment, I'm going to explain what a week without my cell phone was like.

Not being able to just call or text any moment I desired was a bit off putting. The biggest challenge for me was making plans with my friends. Instead of texting one of my friends randomly during the day, "Hey want to grab lunch between classes?" I had to make plans the day before. Seems normal for some people, but for me and my schedule it was almost harder to plan things in advance because I didn't know what to expect each day. So I'd email or instant message my friends on Facebook, set a date, time, and location to meet, and then hope they'd remember and that I'd remember. It honestly reminded me of the days I didn't have a cell phone and I'd make plans with people via calling them on my home phone (with their numbers MEMORIZED unlike today with everything programmed on our phones, eliminating the need to remember). When my phone finally activated (yesterday) I was instantly relieved. It sounds incredibly technologically dependent, but I never realized exactly how much I use my phone for so many things.

With not having my phone I noticed I would compensate by being on my laptop a lot more. Mainly it was to make plans, but I also found myself slightly bored during my freetime without my phone. Having access to other technology when I didn't have my cell made me want to use it more, not only as entertainment, but just a way to reach out and communicate with my friends and photography clients.

It was a disconnected feeling, but in a weird way it was a bit nostalgic of days without sporadic contact and with scheduled plans. I improvised with more technology, but even while using my laptop I still had the feeling of disconnectedness from people I wanted to have instant contact with. Not having my cell phone for a week allowed me to really appreciate the amount of access technology has given us to the people we care about.