DIGITAL DETOX
What Would Happen If There Were No Smartphones?
Imagine a world in which you wake up in the morning and having a look at your phone screen is NOT the first thing you do.
Do you sometimes wonder what would happen if we went back to times where we didn’t have smartphones? Or for some reason the resources behind the technology that produces these devices were no longer available and that’s it…no more smartphones.
Would your world fall apart or could you survive?
Now probably the people who are my age, which is a generation that has witnessed life without smartphones in their adult lives, are more resilient and would say
“sure I could try”
with a little self-doubt.
Among the generation of our parents and grandparents might be even some people who have never used them or made them a part of their lives (although probably rather rare).
Those who are younger though, aka the Gen Z, most of whom lived with technology in their youth as well as young adulthood, would probably find it a bit more difficult to imagine such a scenario.
I’ll help. So, let’s go back to imagining.
It’s morning. You wake up to the sound of your old fashion alarm clock, if you have nowhere to go or a super reliable biological clock you just wake up in your own rhythm. You look at your partner if you have one, or your pet if they like sleeping on your bed, or simply look out of your window. Maybe you even go and open that window, breathe a little bit of the fresh air while you observe the bustling of the streets or listen to the chirping of the birds depending on where you live.
You move on to start your morning routine, like go to the toilet, brush your teeth, maybe do a little meditation or a morning yoga if you are a fan, go prepare a breakfast and slowly enjoy it. All of this without thinking if someone has sent you a message last night, without checking the online news to see if the world has gone down or not, without having your morning portion of social media feed filled with what people you haven’t seen in years have been doing in moments they choose to show you and whatever kind of advertisement your algorithm thinks you might like.
Wow.
Imagine making it until the end of breakfast without all that brain pollution.
Now you have to dress and get out. You don’t know the weather? Get a thermometer or wait, you did indeed feel the temperature once you opened the window this morning. I think you can do it! So go and put some clothes on and get out.
Maybe you have to get to your workplace. I hope you do know the way since you have to do that every day.
But maybe you have a different appointment and have to get somewhere new.
Let’s say, the unemployment agency has decided that you should stop being a lazy bum and take a re-education course about how to be a more acceptable human being for the labour market. How do you get to that coaching session in the middle of nowhere without your cell phone?
Now this is a tough one.
In the past, there were wise humans on the streets to whom you could ask directions to. Nowadays, everybody pulls out their phone. You can’t do that, nobody has smart phones anymore.
Probably there is chaos in the streets with everyone asking each other where to go. The opportunists are selling bundles of street maps for 20€ each. Luckily, the agency has told you which train to take and where to get off. So far so good. You go and take your train. They are so nice that they even drew a little map of the streets you need to take once you get off. That’s easy, you just follow the little sketch. If it was the wrong way go back and try the other side to see the street name you are looking for.
Done.
You might be a little late but they understand because it’s your first day without the online maps. You’ll get better.
Now you listen to whatever the course is about without your phone beeping, without all the distractions. You have really absorbed all the information they have to give you. You see that it’s all trash and you are helpless.
Now what?
You want to go back home. It will be easier this time. Just take the streets backwards and get on the train.
You are frustrated. Worried about the future. Not sure what it is that you are meant to do. Not sure who you are yet to be. So many feelings, thoughts and questions.
There is no smartphone to pull out to google:
“Is it normal to feel sh*t?”.
You can also not look at your social media feed to numb all these feelings and forget what it was that made you feel awful.
You take a detour.
There is a cute ice cream stall near the train station. You pick your two flavours; strawberry and chocolate.
You chat a little bit with the owner. He complains about his life without the smartphone. You nod along and show compassion.
For a stupid reason or a no-reason, you are filled with hope. You hop a little when walking to the train. You strangely smile at the people and the angry dog on the train. Maybe it’s the sugar. Maybe it’s the hormones. Maybe it’s the fact that you can’t possibly be hopeless for so long.
You get out feeling: I’ve got this.
Now you go try to chase that feeling.
Maybe you ruin the kick you got from that feeling by doing something impulsive, something that you thought you wanted. Like go and buy a very expensive camera deciding you are going to be an amazing street photographer. Then you feel too shy to photograph the people on the street. The technology is too complicated. You don’t get the whole light thing. You never liked Physics. But it’s OK. You’ll sell it back with a decent price. Everybody makes stupid decisions.
You’ll be better next time.
Or maybe you did make a “strategically” good decision and went to the library. You were always a bit of a bookworm. You found a book that gave you a little bit of a clarity, that offered one perspective to make sense of the crazy world you now live in, without the smartphone. You feel better. You don’t have that hyped, hopeful post-ice cream mood. But you do feel good. You feel like you got this, this time you say it to yourself less high-pitched and more grounded.
You start writing your heart out. Words flow one after another. It feels like either you needed to express yourself so badly or you were dying for an opportunity to produce.
You feel like you have done something.
Now go enjoy that feeling.
Maybe invite a friend over for a coffee. How? Go ring their bell or use one of those old phones. Thank God you have written down some phone numbers before the whole thing went down.
Or take your lovely dog for a walk.
I think you will be fine without the smartphone.
If you live abroad just tell your family you’ll only be available through arranged Skype dates.
What?
You thought the PCs are gone too?
I’ve never said that.
