My friend recently read an article in one of her magazines that she said related to me because it was about people being obsessed with, and almost addicted to their mobile phone. Apparently, the articles main claim was that many of us are, in a sense, ‘missing out on life’ simply because we sacrifice certain moments of “living” and “experiencing” for the typing of a text message or the making of a phone call. I obviously took offense to my friends claim and decided to prove to her that my phone is not taking over my life and that I could in fact go thirty days without it. So I did. I turned my phone off and put it in a drawer. Then I bought an exercise book that I would use as a journal to write in at the end of each day to document the lack of change in my life without my phone. Here are my journal entries;
Day 1: Didn’t even think of making a call or texting once today. This is going to be easy. At the end of the day before bed I decided to turn my phone on just for a minute, purely out of curiosity – to see what messages I missed out on. Surprisingly, I only had one – from my ex-girlfriend that read “Hi, been a while, just caught my bfrend cheating 2day. Need company, wat u up 2”... Delete – Whatever sweetheart. Break my heart once, there AINT no second chances with Kinne.
Day 2: Decided this morning that no communication at all is ridiculous and unhealthy and I am now allowed to reply to one text at the end of each day. For my lunch break I went to catch up with an old mate. I wasn’t in a good mood because I realized my flat mate had used all my after shave. Not that I use it anyway, but it’s the lack of respect that fires me up. I arrived back at work to find Jennifer Hawkins was there doing an interview. (I work at a radio station.) All the guys were taking photos of her with their mobiles. I of course could not. No big deal. She’s just a person. Get over it perverts.
Day 3: In case of emergency, I’ve decided I can now take my phone with me each day but leave it turned off. I got to work to be told by my workmates that Jennifer Hawkins wasn’t coming back, so there was no need to put gel in my hair. They were mucking around of course. I didn’t actually have gel in my hair. These guys are too tight to buy gel, so they wouldn’t know it if they saw it anyway. They wouldn’t even sacrifice the 30 cents to send me one of their Jennifer Hawkins photos. Which I only asked for to prove their tightness. Mission accomplished. Apparently Bec Cartwright is in next Monday – Whoopee!! Another drool fest for the pervert patrol. Poor girl.
After swapping a shift so I can work next Monday (because I have a dentist appointment when I’m supposed to work on Tuesday), I drove straight to the Jam Factory as I was catching up with an old mate again for a movie. However, I was a bit late because an aftershave bottle in the centre console of my car had spilt everywhere and mixed in with the tub of hair gel my flat mate left in there months ago. Now my car smells like my wanker flat mate… mixed in with David Beckam’s ‘Instinct’.
At the movies, I had my first ‘phone withdrawl’ scare. The guy taking our tickets at the movies told us upon entering to make sure our phones were on silent. So I turned my phone on and put it on silent, then sat it in the cup holder. After the film, my mate informed me politely that I had spent more time looking at my phone screen for a message than I did looking at the cinema screen. I said “Probably a blessing in disguise considering we were watching ‘Clerks 2’ AHAHAHAHA…Kinne – 1, Miramax 2 (Good Will Hunting and She’s All That). Although discouraged for a moment by this set-back, I reminded myself that I was told to turn my phone on, therefore this was not my fault nor a problem. Still cruising.
Day 4. Was driving and the radio in my car made that noise like your phone is about to ring (dada dada dada). Instinctively I grabbed my phone but realized it was off. So why did the radio make that noise. Could it have been my work mobile that was in the glovebox for work related calls…surely not. The only conclusion I could reach was that the radio DJ in the studio was texting on his phone, therefore stuffing up everyone’s radios. That’s what these radio DJs do, they text their friends and tell them when to call to win a prize. I turned my phone on, and after reading my messages purely to clear the screen, I called the station to let this guy know that I know what he’s up to and I was going to make a formal complaint. But it turned out I was the fourth caller and I won a fridge. He convinced me to sell it and split the money with him. If dad finds out we’re both going to be in trouble. We both only got our jobs at the station because he knows the general manager. I decided to leave my phone on for the rest of the day. Turning in it off and on all the time can’t good for the battery. But as far as this ‘no phone challenge’ is going, as far as I’m concerned, I am still in the driver’s seat. And no I’m not using the ‘Hands Free’ before you ask – ha ha ha.
Day 5 Have decided to just go five days without my phone because thirty is just ridiculous, and the main thing is that I now know that I could go thirty if I wanted to. Had lunch at South Yarra and I got the biggest pizza I’ve ever seen. I turned my phone on to take a photo to send to my wanker workmates who were working while I had the day off. They sent me back a photo of Bec Cartwright…SHIT! I was supposed to have been at work today. I texted them back to keep her there because I was on my way but it wouldn’t send because I had ran out of credit. SHIT! I was so pissed off that I threw my phone hard at the ground smashing it into a thousand pieces. A piece landed on the table next to me as Jennifer Hawkins and three of her friends sat down to lunch. Not a good day.
So basically after this somewhat embarrassing outburst which resulted in the end of my ‘no phone’ challenge, I felt I had a choice to make. I could either choose my prepaid mobile phone, or I could choose life. I chose life. If anyone else out there decides to choose life, I recommend the $150 plan with a thousand dollars worth of calls. I feel as free as a bird.
For more info on this comic go to Troy Kinne