Hi there,
In a world of endless scrolling and the constant need to be the first to know about interesting phenomena (like the resurrection of TikTok), we might sometimes wonder how people survived in the Bronze Age—also known as the time up to June 28th, 2007—before Steve Jobs’ invention became prevalent. Well, today is your lucky day! While there are plenty of articles on the internet about people attempting to spend a week or a mere year without a phone, I, motivated solely by the desire to share this experience, have spent my entire life without a phone just to write this one article—and here’s what it’s like.
When you don’t have a phone, you quickly realize just how crucial communication is. For example, if you don’t ask a parent to pick you up at 3:10 after, let’s say, Falcon Flyer, you might end up stuck at school until 8:00. (Yes, that’s personal experience, in case you were wondering.)
Another tool you’d have to rely on is email. You can’t afford to ignore a single one because there’s always a chance it might be important. And since your only digital companion is a Chromebook, with email technically being your sole form of social media, there’s a good chance you’ll get addicted to it—just like I did. You might even find yourself sitting up in the middle of the night, staring at your screen, waiting for a new email to pop up. You should try it sometime!
Since you don’t have access to social media (and many of you probably experienced a taste of this when TikTok got banned for a couple of years—Wait, what? Not even a single day?), you’ll have to find other ways to entertain yourself. Reading books written in the nineteenth century is a solid choice, but have you ever tried taxidermy? It’s really fun. For real. I mean it.
Over the past sixteen years of my life, I’ve discovered that there’s more to having fun than what the internet has to offer. Climbing trees, birdwatching, making websites, baking, sewing, crocheting, drawing, and befriending stray cats have all filled my time. Especially climbing trees. The big pine tree by Edman Chapel at Wheaton College and the oak tree by the Glen Ellyn Public Library are my favorites, by the way.
Now, think about the creative excuses I can make for being late. When I’m running behind for band rehearsal at Willow Creek, I can come up with some pretty not-lame excuses. For instance:
“I didn’t get the text you tried to send me about the start time.”
“The rehearsal was on a Sunday morning at 6:45 A.M., and I happen to live 45 minutes away.” (Not a phone-related one, but it is valid, isn’t it?)
There are plenty of other perks to not having a phone, but these were just a few. You don’t have to be boycotting technology or staging a rebellion to go phone-free. In fact, I’d like to proudly announce that I’m decently tech-savvy. I can even hack into an iPhone (not by using the password, of course) and manipulate Canva to access premium fonts. Don’t worry—I assume you, dear reader, don’t have any connections with those companies.
Before you leave, consider this: tell your parents you don’t need your phone anymore and experience a life free of all those annoying notifications. It’s actually pretty nice.