2019 — My Year Without A Smartphone
I remember how it used to feel, back when smartphones were fresh and exciting. Their touchscreens felt like portals to a world of transcendent possibilities.
I remember believing that a smartphone could change my life for the better. With a tool to track my activities, I thought I could keep myself on track for a healthier personal lifestyle and more efficient professional life. With a handheld camera, audio recorder and communications device, I hoped to enhance my creativity and to share it with the world.
Over the last year, these feelings have shifted into something new: A reluctance, a resistance, a rejection of the dominance of digital tools in my life.
So, as my professional year approaches its end, I have decided to spend all of 2019 without an iPhone — and without any other mobile cellular device.
The Rules
What does this all mean? Those of you who have become used to communicating with me through my mobile technology will see changes in my digital routines, but I won’t be disappearing completely from the online world.
The rules that will define 2019 for me are simple: Beginning on January 1, I will not use any cellular communications technology until 2019 is complete.
That doesn’t mean I’ll be inaccessible through digital means. I will use desktop and laptop computers, but only ones that are connected to the online world through cables or WiFi hotspots.
The limitation I am imposing on myself is that I will use no iPhones, no tablets, and no smart watches. I won’t even use a flip phone. Come what may, I won’t pick up and use any mobile cellular communications device at all in the coming year.
Why?
Getting an iPhone certainly changed my life, but I’m not sure it was for the better. Certainly, some enhanced creativity and communications were enabled by my iPhone and iPad. More often than not, however, I found myself sidetracked by the devices, harangued by robocalls and email from spambots. Even the apps that I chose to download became more effective in distracting me than in empowering me.
As long as these devices were present, I could never disconnect myself from my sense of obligation to deadlines for work and the expectation to constantly share. Alarms and notifications from my iPhone set the pace of my life, directing my every move. GPS-enabled maps determined my path through the world.
All the while, these digital devices tracked me, watching me every minute, sharing this information about me to complete strangers. It was all too large, too complex, too intertwined with the fabric of my life to control.
Quickly, these machines became my primary frame for reality. I lost touch with the physical world around me, and became detached from the people near me. My own wandering mind became a stranger to me, as the urge to fill empty moments with habitual checking became impossible to resist.
Throughout 2018, revelations about the technological ventures behind my mobile devices made this dependent relationship feel increasingly abusive. Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and practically every other Silicon Valley corporation contributing to my life on the iPhone and iPad were caught in terrible abuses of trust.
These technologies, and the software systems that they enable, are remarkable creations. I can see that, in many ways, they contribute to our lives. It’s become equally clear to me, however, that our relationships with mobile digital technology have led to profound imbalances in our individual lives, our social experiences, and our professional careers.
Beyond these concerns, it’s become obvious to me that the nearly-constant use of mobile digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches has become the new norm. These technologies are now so ubiquitous that the transcendence we once felt as as a result of their disruptive influence has become mundane. The delight we once felt in our embrace of their touchscreens has become drudgery.
Using digital technology is no longer the innovative choice. It’s just what everybody does — the new default.
It’s gotten to the point that we now feel compelled to have a mobile digital device with us at all times. My goal in giving up these technologies for an entire year is to prove that this perception is not accurate. We don’t need an iPhone, a tablet, or a smartwatch with us to lead a vital, connected life.
Keeping In Touch
Want to get in contact with me? You won’t be able to call me at any hour of the day or night, and I anticipate stepping away from all digital devices for a considerable time every day. If you can be a little patient, though, getting in touch really won’t be that difficult. My email will still work. I will keep checking in here at Medium, and on Twitter, and on LinkedIn, though probably with less regularity. You will still be able to call my landline, or send me a letter through the Post Office.
I can’t be sure what will happen to me between now and January 1, 2020. I am confident, however, that I’ll have an interesting time. As I make my pilgrimage into the physical world this year, I will share notes of my journey, as chronicle a life less online.
