I just got off the phone with Virgin Mobile who I have been with for years. I cancelled my cell phone and my son’s cell phone. My husband is keeping his. Throughout the entire ordeal I was transferred about 5 times, disconnected once, and talked to multiple people. All of them were quite concerned I was doing this. I was prompted to answer the same question over and over again, “WHY”? To which I politely replied through serious annoyance and gritted teeth, “because I don’t want this many cell phones in my home”. The whole ordeal should have taken a matter of minutes; instead it was a matter of hours. Okay, one hour to be factual but it felt like time was never ending and I was in hell’s elevator on my way up out of there but some demon just doing his job (and a good one at that) pushed all 12 million buttons and the devil was beside me asking me over and over and over and over again why I was choosing to not stay on the dark side and that he could give me all the promotions I wanted. I stayed strong and I eventually got to leave the elevator.
(image from pixabay.com)
I want more time. Time to be productive. Time to be me. Time to not fall victim to the rabbit holes when I am bored. Time to get lost and have to ask for directions. To have to make plans and be hard-core about my time management like it’s 1997, not getting to text the person “I’ll be there in 15!” Time to meet my goals and succeed. Time to be bored and let my mind wander. Time to play with my dog. Time to not feel sorry for myself when I see my family on their devices, but to have it remind me to go get my goals.
Now all of the things above and more can be done WITH a cell phone, but for me, I do better without one. I have tried the Freedom App (it limits any apps and websites and for how long and when) and it’s great, but it’s just not enough for me. I want to have total freedom from such reliance on a device. I have watched documentaries on how exactly YouTube and websites work in your brain to make you stay and to have you click on that bait. Because I understand it, I seem to do better than average but it doesn’t mean I don’t still fall victim to endless videos (my weakness is animals being rescued). Now I plan to eventually get a flip phone for emergencies, to take with me when I am driving to call AMA if need be and for when I walk the dog (we live in the country and I am surrounded by farms and long dirt roads).
Not a single one of my friend’s was unsupportive. They know me. They knew me before I had a cell phone, knew it really wasn’t my thing. Just like social media. Not my thing. They know my home phone number (yes, I have a landline), they know my email and they know they can message me on Skype. I prefer Skype to Discord because it is less busy and I like the lay out better. Plus Discord is one to offer rabbit holes in my opinion. Skype also has an app for phones.
My family on the other hand is a different story. They prefer me to have a cell phone, even though they know me well enough to know that I am a simple human and prefer to not have all of the advances of technology glued to my hip, they want me to comply with today’s world. Well…. too bad is all I can say.
Any future people who I meet who don’t find me interesting enough to put in the effort of not being able to text me…..sayonara.
Any future employers who want to text and don’t hire me because they can’t… sayonara.
I am nervous. It would be incredulous to say I wasn’t. But I WILL SURVIVE!
And I will THRIVE. I am sure of it. I am willing and ready for the bumps and bruises on the way and I am also willing and ready to tell anyone who wants my husbands cell phone number to get a hold of me to fuck right off and that I don’t have a cell phone for a reason. My husband’s phone will not be my gateway drug!
Here's to being me and the beginning of my sharing's on POB - nice to meet you all in advance.
Good on ya, that's quite a leap to go from having a phone to not. You make a great point about people who aren't worth the time if they can't find another way to connect other than just texting, too many people rely on it (myself included) and the quality of relationships is poor due to it.
I'm not sure if I could drop the phone entirely since I live alone (alongside flatmates) and I rely on it for keeping in touch with family and friends, but I do find myself scrolling Reddit longer than I should at times which isn't ideal.
Welcome to POB by the way, nice to see someone else speaking their mind.
Yes, quite the leap and Thank you :) Not sure how often I will write but it's definitely a great space to do so!
We'll keep our eyes peeled for your next post!
Here in Brazil is almost impossible to cancel a phone. They will transfer you many times until you give up, or they will hang up on you. And you never get the same person if you call again. It's so serious that people who work in call centers have fake names to give so you can't track them.
And I totally get you: I was really sad the first time I got a cellphone. It was family pressure because they wanted to be able to to talk to me all the time, and that was exactly what i didn't want to do. So I would "loose" my phone and only get a new one 3 or 4 months later. But now I'm in peace with it, people don't call me anymore, just text, and texts I can always ignore (my phone lives on silence)
Glad to have you here! I wish you luck in this journey of nophone! Share with us your experiences!
Keep posting and keep shining!
Wow. That is some serious stuff going on with phone companies in Brazil, crazy!
Thank you and same to you, Shine On :)
Excellent !
It is a brand new start for you!!!
!LUV
LUV command accepted!
Phones are supposed to be for emergencies and security when you are out and about! U never know when you're gonna need it until it's too late! Good luck, I think that was a rash decision and needs a second thought!
Yes exactly and the flip will keep it so I can't scroll mwhahahaha. I actually forgot to put in my article that it took over a year of thinking about it and research on my decision to go without it! Thank you for the luck :)
Whats a smartphone?
lol 😂
Hi @unicorn-tamer, you were just shared some LUV :) Having at least 5 LUV in your wallet enables you to give up to 3 LUV per day, for free. See the LUV tokens in your wallet at https://hive-engine.com or learn about LUV at https://peakd.com/@luvshares https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmUptF5k64xBvsQ9B6MjZo1dc2JwvXTWjWJAnyMCtWZxqM
Congratulations @unicorn-tamer! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Your next target is to reach 50 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPSupport the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
Congratulations @unicorn-tamer! You received a personal badge!
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
One might say a bushman relies too heavily on his machete but it doesn't change the fact that it's an invaluable tool.
I have mixed feelings about this specifically because you laid out a lot of genuinely good, thoughtful reasons for not wanting a cell phone, but on the other hand, hold outs tend to get in the way of the rest of us trying to move forward.
Case in point. My S/O still gets child support in the form of a mailed check just as my step daughter gets birthday/holiday money. Her ex refuses to use online banking options like Zelle, Paypal, Cash, etc. They have to look for it to arrive. They have to endorse it. They have to go by the bank or scan it for mobile deposit, which is it's own process. A few days ago she had to remind him Morgan doesn't have a bank account so the check he sent her needs to be resent in her name so she can cash it for her and on and on and on. It's like having to wait in line to pay for gas while the person in front of you counts out a gallon size freezer bag of pennies, only to need to run out to the car for the last three. It's a convenience store, man. In and out. Not a bank or exchange. Get your shit together.
I empathize with everything you said and I'm not throwing shade, but understand that these days, eschewing technology essentially means someone has to carry you to some extent, just because you refuse to keep up, but are still loved too much to be left behind. But dead weight eventually has to be dropped or ends up being a detriment to those carrying it.
Very good counterpoint! It's so new (just a month) and I feel like I have taken measures to not be "dead weight", but time will tell haha!
It is all too common people complain about how the cell phone plans are too expensive and contain too many conditions in calling. You at least do something about it.