Becoming iPhone Free

NOT SO SMART PHONES

Feeling like the technology has taken over your life? Find you have no memory, a low attention span and can't hold a conversation unless it's via email, messenger or snapchat etc. — then you're not alone. Thankfully, there's a new-old phone re-surfacing which is getting people talking again!

So, after a botched software update rendered my smart phone out of action, I regressed to utilising a not so smart Nokia 3310 and here's how the following days panned out...

Diary Of A Nokia 3310 User

Day 1 – Morning

It was the sunrise, waking me from sleep this morning. The alarm on my iPhone is usually the first thing I hear, but not today. I'd left it on charge, next to the bed. It's very early, but I'm not sure of the time, as the screen is still frozen with a progress bar at 99%.

I reach for my diddly Nokia 3310 which, even after a day being unplugged, has a full charge...how refreshing! I'm training with a friend today, so I fumble to the write messages section and txt confirmation of our 7am meet up. It takes some time to warm up as I recall the basic sms function on this thing. I already added his number to the address book last night after swapping over the SIM card from my now defunct iPhone. 

After a leisurely brekky, I'm outside with my bike on the corner, ready to go. No sign from my pal and no txt message either. I'm a bit early, so I wait patiently for my mate to appear. It can only be a few minutes, but like a dog waiting for an owner to return, I'm impatiently scanning every bike that stops at the traffic lights for a glimpse of him. I catch the eye of a girl standing outside the tube station and smile back. She's handing out Time Out magazine but there's few takers. I realise that I'm the only person acknowledging her presence, as folk are head down on a mission, many interacting with their phones as they go. So, I take the mag to keep me entertained and spot a couple of interesting bits I'd like to check out over the bank holiday. There's mostly ads in here these days — not a patch on the old paid-for edition of the mag, so five or so more minutes elapse before I put the mag back down again. 

I spot a ray of sun now coming up over the buildings opposite and move along the path so I can stand with my face in it. A cyclist, pulled up at the lights, comments on the lovely day ahead and we swap pleasantries. It's nice to be nice! Pulled from my reverie, I'm now questioning if this meet up is still happening at all. I pull out my Nokia and start to txt again, deciding almost immediately that it's too much hassle, so I call instead. Turns out, my friend has been here in Balham all along but been waiting for a porridge in Macky D's. I never received his messages because Nokia 3310 can't receive iMessages, Doh!

Having no clock on this retro phone, means I have lost all sense of time. I'm surprised that only five minutes have passed in total since I left home. I must have really power-scanned Time Out!

We're riding our bikes over to Regents Park and usually, while I'm travelling, I have something playing in my ears from the likes of Spotify, iTunes or podcasts etc. But not today! So crossing Clapham Common is peaceful on this occasion. As the sun's golden rays shone through the trees illuminating the blue sky up ahead, I muse how fortunate we are to have a beautiful Spring day off from work. 

At the park, my running mate has his iPhone in hand to keep a measure on the pace and timings around the track, but I'm more interested in watching the crow diligently picking up twigs and the duck sun bathing in the middle of the track. I'm finding my own rhythm without an app anyway!

After 25 sprints, It's time to head off — matey has a dental appointment in Borough. Google maps are opened but I have already visualised the route in my head and leading the way. Using the sun and river as direction markers, we detour along some back streets, where I discover the location of a quirky pub I'd not realised was so close to Southwark bridge, which I'd like to investigate some other time.

While I wait in a cafe, I read two newspapers from cover to cover in under five minutes. No wonder the newspapers are suffering — utter garbage! It's a nice cafe however, with decent menu and a high rating on trip advisor according to the framed certificate opposite me. I make some chit chat with the waitress and order a tea. It's only ten minutes passed and already I'm out of entertainment...or am I? Snake! Loved playing the 2 player version on my Nokia 6110 back in '98. 

Ok, it's enough after 10 more minutes, I'm becoming too distracted to play games by the smells and sounds of people eating all around me. I can see that everyone has a smart phone out either on the table in front of them or up in their hands whilst simultaneously eating. I find myself instinctively going to grab my own iPhone from my jeans, feeling the Nokia in it's place instead. 

After another 35 mins of clock watching, I txt my mate a short, definite message 'hngry gota eat!' Embarrassingly, he arrives just as my full English gut-buster turns up. He comments on my athlete's choice as he orders the poached eggs on granary. I agree, as my days of eating full English brekkies are long past. I realise I'm doing a lot more 'old skool' things today, as I pay using cash — no Apple Pay option plus I didn't bother with any credit cards today either. 

We lay in the park to digest the meal. The weather is glorious! My mind is free from thoughts and I snooze for a bit. I wake feeling a bit disorientated and chilly. The sun has dropped in power. My friend is sat upright next to me, tapping on his phone so I ask if it's late? It's not even midday. Time is so elastic — it's been a great, invigoratingly and productive morning! Don't think my pal caught any zzzz's...

Lunchtime

We're both trying to stay off the booze, which is difficult to do on a sunny day, hence planning some exercise instead. Feeling a bit knackered after cycling and sprints, we ditch the idea of a session at The Arch Climbing Centre and opt instead for a game of boule at a place I know in Kennington. We swap beer for pints of chilled juice with soda. It's a very thrilling match which he deserves to win, then head back closer to home for some early Thai dinner at our local pub. 

Evening

There's a considerable wait for food and, lacking in energy, I find our chat getting a bit laboured. It's the first time today that I really feel at a loss for my iPhone as I'm without any stimuli and watching my friend selfishly toying with his phone, twangs at my obvious smartphone addiction. The soda angostura isn't cutting it either and I'm observing the happy faces of guys coming in after work, as they receive a cold pint. Sorely tempted to join in....

Back indoors, I check my messages and emails on the computer. There's nothing interesting or important that I've missed. I call my girlfriend and it goes VM, so I leave a message — this must be the first time in 10 years that I've done this! I can barely keep my eyes open, so I silence the Nokia and jump into bed for a moment, but I'm totally gone to the world by 8.30! it's a very early night for me....

Day 2 - Morning

I naturally wake up again at 6. I've decided to leave the curtains and blinds open at night so I am woken as the sun comes up. The iPhone is now just a dead, blank screen. I txt my mate to say I'm blowing out another run today — gonna chill instead. I get the same message back instantaneously — serendipity! I reach for some books that have been gathering dust and surprise myself with a focussed 45 page blast. It's hunger that detracts me once again, so I get up to eat.

I have an idea for a blog post. Usually, I'd make notes on my iPhone but I've found a little note book and mini pen bought from Muji years ago, which I'm now going to use instead. Hang on — where's the iPad? There's a bit of charge on it which is handy considering I never really use it. I tap up my diary entries from bed with a cuppa. My Nokia rings asking for my work services and I'm able to negotiate terms very efficiently in the call rather than schlep out an email. Bob Hoskins pops up in my imagination 'It's good to talk'. 

Lunchtime

I head outside for a leisurely walk and opt for a little bit of lunch at a pub. I don't usually go in pubs on my own unless I've got a laptop or smart device to work on, so I'm very quickly bored and leave the old timers, who have mastered the art of hanging out in a pub solo, to sup their pints in peace.

I sit in the sun once again and watch the world go by for a bit. I have a strong urge to check my phone but I can easily see that it's got no messages or missed calls and so back in the pocket it goes. Again I'm bored, so I head back home to stream a couple of programs on the laptop. I read for a bit and check a few job boards. I can see how distracting the computer is because I can't just read or just watch a show or just do the one thing. I'm multi-tasking and it's making none of it any fun. I need to get outside in the fresh air again!

Apparently, nicotine stays in the body for a couple of hours after one cigarette, but for heavy smokers, it can take more than 8 hours before they get a crazy urge. I wonder if the time frames are similar for tech-addictions???

I head to the shop for groceries and on looking around me, can see a fair few in the queue are staring into screens. Am I feeling envious now, WTF? With nothing to read or listen to, it feels like an eternity getting to a self-serve till. I'm definitely having some kind of a come down, as I feel irritable and a bit manic without my iPhone fix.

When I get home, the iPhone is miraculously still on but now with an enthusiastic Hello message on the screen to greet me. I'd resigned my fate to at least a week of hi-fi tech abstinence, so I leave the sim in the Nokia and decide to only use the iPhone when I get a wifi signal instead. I'm kind of disappointed that it's working, if I'm honest.

So now i'm carrying two phones in my pocket and it's a bit cumbersome, plus, a couple of calls & texts come through that I don't recognise on the Nokia. But I'm in the sun eating my sarnie so away from distractions pretty much. I realise I've switched back to the posher granary, top-shelf sarnies — maybe there's a connection somewhere?

The Nokia rings and I end up picking up a marketing call plus then calling someone else back by mistake, which is a bit annoying. I fish my iPhone out and see that it's picked up a free WIFI signal, so I fire off a couple of iM replies, plus check my emails. Suddenly, I'm reminded of an invoice I have to send and another reminder about checking the progress of my insurance payout. 

Evening

Here I am an hour and 20 minutes on hold to Aviva and I haven't even spoke to anyone yet. By the time I'm done, 2 hours have passed and I'm no wiser about my insurance claim. I curse myself for giving in to the iPhone urge as those reminder notifications got me here. I switch it off and watch some comedy vids to elevate my spirits

Day 3 - Morning

I'm awake and reading again. But the iPad & iPhone are both within reach, charged and switched on. I can't help myself. I check my emails....all junk. I'm clearly a junkie too, lol! But hold on, a couple of words in this book I'm reading are beyond my vocabulary, so I look them up. I love my iPhone for the knowledge it can reward me with! I'm starting to miss it again.

I make and take a couple of calls and realise another failing of this Nokia – no speaker or hands-free option. So talking to British Gas becomes even more of a bore as I'm 100% tied in to this call. When I get off the phone, some whatsapp and messenger chats have come through on the iPhone – likely because I re-opened Pandorra's box yesterday afternoon. I type up a long sms reply on the iPhone, then get an error — the receiver only accepts SMS and there's no sim in the phone right now.

VIva La Revolution

So, that was it....barely 2 days really. I'm back in the matrix. But what have I learned to do differently? Arguably, the time I had at the beginning of this experiment, when I felt like a rebel sticking two fingers up to society ruled by their phones, was really great. It was truly liberating. I felt better connections with people. I was using my mind to figure out directions, estimate timings, remembering to do things that were important, ignoring the things that weren't and living in the moment. I realised I've got to slow down a bit more to enjoy some calm, peaceful me-time, be more comfortable in this solitude and ideally have some better chat for when I'm with friends.

Conclusion

Going forward, I'm going to try and reduce the time the iPhone's in my pocket, have more DND time or airplane mode and only use computers for email. I'll add caveats to my comms that say calling is best or that I'm not checking on mobile etc. And rather like the pack of antibiotics can save the embarrassment of lying about not wanting to get blasted on a Friday night, I will whip out the Nokia 3310 from time to time and say with a convincing sigh, that "the bleedin' phone is up the spout again", while secretly knowing I'm part of the minority who have broken the locks and become (temporarily) free from their techno-chains!