“That’ll be €12, please,” said the friendly man at the entrance to the stately home my friend and I were visiting. “Of course,” I said, and rummaged in my pocket for my phone. It wasn’t there, so I opened my bag – but it wasn’t in there either. I must have left it in the car, I thought, and rushed back to check, making my excuses to the man.
But it wasn’t in the car, and with a sinking feeling, I had an image of my phone on charge on the kitchen table at home. We had left that morning for a weekend away, and it was now too late to go back and get it. I would be without my phone, and the wallet contained in its case, for the whole weekend. Thankfully I was with my friend, who happily agreed to pay for everything, and let me know my share of the cost to transfer her at the end. She also sent a message to my family, to let them know they could contact me through her.
I tried to relax as we began a walk around the grounds, but couldn’t shake a feeling of unease. I kept reaching into my pocket, only to find nothing there. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, as I hadn’t been expecting any particular calls or messages, but regardless felt an overwhelming urge to check my phone.
As the weekend wore on, I became slightly more accustomed to the absence, and stopped reaching into my pocket. But it really brought home just how often I check my device. I keep it on vibrate, so I don’t really need to actively check for any missed calls in case of an emergency, and most notifications are messages which I could respond to later in the day.
By deliberate choice I don’t much use social media and have always considered that I have a good approach to distancing myself from my phone. However, the experience made me realise that my habits might have slipped recently. When I finally returned home to find it exactly where I had left it on charge, I checked it, only to find that I hadn’t missed any urgent messages at all. I resolved to have a holiday from my phone more often, and to leave the house without it again every now and then – or at least, if I need it in case of emergency, to leave it alone in my pocket for a while.