In this article, I’ll be reflecting on my 3 day experiment.
Now, I feel like I have more of an understanding on the subject of mobile phone addiction. There is no doubt in my mind that I was, and still am, a mobile phone addict. While it was a relief for me not to have it in my life – as soon as the 3 days were over, it was back in full force. One positive takeaway is that I am no longer subservient to the pangs of adrenaline. Instead, I now have the power to choose when I want to look at my phone.
Looking back, I was not aware that I had these pangs of adrenaline. I was completely unaware of how much I was looking at my phone. In fact, I was running away from giving myself space to think – filling my time with endless Twitter and Facebook posts.
It brought up some interesting thoughts on social media and the reasons why we share our lives in such a public space. It’s almost as if we need to share our lives in order to validate our experiences. Something I’ll take a look at in a later blog post.
How others were affected
One of the things that struck me the most was other people’s reaction to my lack of phone. My parents were relieved that they could get in contact with me again. My friends thought the experiment was a bad idea as they wanted to invite me out.
It’s safe to say my social life suffered and my friends were less than impressed. It also showed me how infuriated people get if they cannot get through to you.
In my opinion, what it does show is just how addicted to speed and connectivity we have become. When I mentioned to a friend that I didn’t have my phone she said ‘Well I Facebooked you too’. How many different ways should there be to contact someone?
I am not sure if they were more upset that I didn’t attend, or because it took me a day to message them back?
When I asked her how it had affected me she said, “It’s surprising how 3 days can affect you. You look less stressed seem happier and less preoccupied all the time.”
Am I a mobile phone addict?
In conclusion, I think that the 3 days have brought me clarity and knowledge on how mobile phone addiction affects us all – including my own behaviour.
It has led to me use my phone less, deleting some social media apps and owning my time rather than my phone-owning me.
You can read my in depth diaries here:
Philip Karahassan
