How I divorced my cell phone.

I have a very important exam on 1/11 that I have to pass. I have another chance in the spring if I don't, but it would make my life a lot easier if I got it out of the way. My studying hasn't been efficient thanks to some turmoil in my personal life and some never ending gun arguments (post Sandy-hook, if you are reading this in the future) on Facebook, and I was starting to get a little distressed. Last night I had a brainstorm, and in the span of ~2 hours I had sent my phone to live with a friend and had another friend lock me out of Facebook and diaspora*, with instructions not to give me the new password for 3 weeks. I don't see any problem with lasting 3 weeks, and may try for a month just to round out the experiment. This blog post will document that month.

Day 1: Saturday. I have unconscious urges to check Facebook like an amputated limb. I still bounce around the 'net while studying, but I get back to work a lot quicker because I run out of things to look up. The cell phone separation is WEIRD. First, lets talk about going to the bathroom. I don't want to be indiscreet, but we all do it and I want to point out how weird it was to do it without my phone. I haven't had urges to check my phone like with FB, I don't know why, but today was the first day I woke up at a normal hour and was not completely stressed out. I am already contemplating porting my number to google voice and going without permanently. I don't think I want to carry a contact device anymore. I already feel the difference being forced to interact with the world, and my mind is a lot clearer. I feel like Seven of Nine.

Day 2: Sunday, 2 days before Christmas. The use of the word 'divorce' when describing this experiment was not hyperbole. My involvement with social media and communication is akin to a spouse. My cell phone is the first thing I think of when I wake up, the last thing I check before I go to sleep, and it is always with me in the interim. Whenever I am away from it for a period of time I start to think about when I can check it again. In addition to the constant companionship, I turn to it for communication and response to my needs at all times. Thus, in addition to filling the space that should belong to a human, it gives a false sense of connectedness with the outside world. It keeps you in fear and isolates you. If you think about it, its kind of like an abusive boyfriend. Well, I'm ditching this ball and chain.