Phone reliance
My cell phone packed up yesterday, or at least I thought it did. The battery went flat during use and then I was unable to restart it, despite having it on the charger for a number of hours. I searched U Tube for a clip on how to start my particular model, thinking I may have been doing something wrong – to no avail. I took off the cover, pulled the Sim card out then reinserted it. Still no luck. Finally, it dawned on me, that perhaps the charger was at fault, a good reason for it to have gone flat in the first place. I found a small crack in one end of the cord, taped it up, re-plugged the phone into the socket and hey presto, my phone was charging again, with zero charge showing on the screen. That is the first time my phone has gone completely flat. I will know next time that a charging phone still shows on the screen, even when it is dead flat and if there is nothing there, then the phone is not charging. Quite simple really, though it didn’t seem that way yesterday.
But what was really highlighted for me was my reliance on my phone. I noticed this during Cyclone Gabrielle when we were without power, phone and internet for a few hours, although at that time, I knew the rest of the country was in the same boat.
Yesterday, I was expecting a call from my daughter, and my son, who had been looking at houses to buy, had been messaging frequently. At that point, I thought I would have no phone until I took it to the repair shop the following day. I actually felt a sense of discomfort at not being available for these kids, or to anyone, for that matter. I rely on my phone to read the news, search the internet, for Messenger and Facebook, to take and store photos, to find out information, and play games, something I should probably do less of. While Stephen watches TV in the evenings, I am generally playing something. I do have my computer, but have not downloaded any apps onto it – that is strictly for writing and manning my website.
Fortunately, I was able to use Stephen’s messenger to make contact with my kids, letting them know I was without my phone. As it turned out, once I figured out the problem, I had it restored quite quickly. But the incident definitely highlighted my dependence on it. I know I have an addictive personality and I see now that the phone has been creeping insidiously into that category. I don’t believe I am the only one, especially amongst the younger generations. I used to say to people when I was trying to explain my spiritual beliefs that I can’t unto an experience once I have had one and believe what I used to believe before that experience. I guess it is the same with the phones. We can’t now produce a society without them, our dependence is too great.
But in saying that, reducing the usage is probably a good start for me.