Mobile phone: shackles or freedom?
My twenty years with a digital umbilical cord
This year marks my twentieth year of living mobily. In 1993 mobile phones were not nearly as ubiquitous as they have become. In fact the US was a bit behind the curve early on, and my visits to the UK came with a strange notion that people, not just business folk, were walking the streets seemingly talking to themselves. Those were the days of expensive service plans, outrageous roaming charges, limited internet access.
I bought my phone because I found myself commuting for the first time—a 30-minute minimum trip each way from home in Seattle to my office in Bellevue. I used it primarily to order pizza from the now defunct Andre’s (man, I loved that French pizza!), but also to have on my numerous business trips in the US and abroad.
I avoided a mobile phone for some time. I really felt like it would cause me to be tracked down for work at any time (true) and that I would be giving up a significant amount of freedom in my off hours (also true). What I didn’t realize then was the freedom that it would bring me in the future. So I’m pondering a bit if it’s been worth it.
My mobile life began with the Nokia pictured above, moved into the Moto StarTac phase, then to my first internet connected phone (rather faux) a Moto V60 (with replaceable antenna!), and a short lived International phone by Siemens. Then the smart phone era started, my first being a Moto Q, then Q9M, which lead to my first iPhone (Gen 2), where I’ve stayed since 2008, updating with each new model up to my current iPhone 5.
So what’s the verdict? While I have given up some weekend privacy, the mobile era has completely changed my work life. I can’t imagine what I would be doing now if I hadn’t been afforded the flexibility that my mobile phone brings. I have not worked in a traditional office since 2000, staying in my beloved Seattle while working full time as a consultant, then in Westchester County, NY and, since 2005, based out of San Francisco.(I wrote a blog post picked up by Five Thot earlier this year about working remotely that can be found here.)
I’ve heard of people that are good at getting off the grid. Sorry, that’s not me. I’m a sponge for information and I have to admit I’m one of those sometimes irritating guys that spends most waiting minutes on my iPhone. I really hate to wait, so my mobile connectivity makes those times when waiting is necessary bearable. But I don’t feel like it’s an obligation since most of my co-workers aren’t as OCD as me. But, like I mentioned in my blog post about working remote, being instantly available pretty much anytime is a key to successfully pulling off the live-where-you-want dream.
The downside is the addiction (and I mean addiction) to always needing to be connected. It can be a real sickness and I don’t know what influence that will have on those growing up knowing nothing but the mobile age. I know I have it and I hope I have reasonable control of it.
So the shackles or freedom question is one each of us has to measure and answer. But I think we all realize life will never be remotely the same as it was pre mobile and internet.
