I Forgot My Phone at Home Last Tuesday

Originally written last January 27, 2021, 9:50AM

I forgot my phone at home last Tuesday. It was not exactly a big deal since I no longer have anyone to send messages to throughout the day — well maybe except some friends whom I constantly talk to these past days.

It’s such a weird feeling because ever since I owned a smartphone, I typically have it with me every moment and everywhere I go. I feel like I depended on it a lot. When I get bored, I seek entertainment by browsing the internet, listening to music, watching videos, scrolling in social media, and reading ebooks. When I need to remember something, I can access the notes through my phone and begin jotting them down immediately as well. If I want it to be more accurate, I can record it through voice recording. I can also set up an alarm for the time and dates of appointments or important events that I do not want to miss. I don’t have to check my watch or the calendar so often because of it!

Photo was taken by FMA

Having a phone is very handy. It truly makes my life easier. However, I think because of it, I am becoming a less effective person. My memory seemed to be declining because I depended on the calendar and notes on my phone. I no longer enjoy reading, watching videos, or socializing much because in few taps on the phone, I can readily access these things again. I mean, it is good that we can easily access news and other things that we can only access through computers like in the old times, but having it all in our pockets takes away that designated moment to browse the internet. It’s like the value of those pleasures and simple joys that we get from them then is less because they are constantly available. Somehow, I feel like we have abused this privilege of gaining easy access to information. That includes sharing as well! We fail to check if what we see and what we hear are facts.

Now, about being social in the modern-day. Social media is one of those things that bring us closer and yet put distance on people we love. Before, we meet up with friends and loved ones. We put the effort into seeing each other. Now, I feel like we have the illusion of being close to people just because we talk to them constantly through messaging apps. But what do we really talk about? Are we still getting the same level of intimacy with the people we love? Do we get to know them better? Are we able to understand their fears, beliefs, and deepest dreams? Or do we only share casual talks where we are afraid of being vulnerable and naked and raw? Before, when we see our friends, we put our attention to them, we listen closely to what they say and we respond if we need to. But now, we spread our attention to numerous people simultaneously. We talk to 2, 5, 10 people at the same time throughout the day. The energy is there but is it scattered. Because of that, I think, the quality of the relationships we have with people nowadays is superficial compared to what we have cultivated before. We no longer know how to describe what we feel or share our reactions because through memes, we seemed to easily understand what the other person is saying…or at least we assume we know what they are saying.

And so, that day that I spent 8 hours without my phone, I think I felt freer. Of course, I sometimes wonder if someone has sent me a message and is waiting for my response, but I assumed it’s not too urgent and they would be able to wait. I was able to allocate my time to other things. I was able to slow down. I was able to turn within and examine how am I doing, how really well I feel I am. I was able to observe my surroundings, be in the present and appreciate all the things that are happening around me.