Incommunicado

We rely on our phones. We are addicted to the idea that we can contact anyone, anytime, anywhere, and immediately be able to reach them.

There's no longer a valid excuse for being unreachable because you "were out of the house." You are expected to have your cell phone on, powered, and in an area of superb cell service at all times.

The expectation is a little extreme, but (almost) all of us are guilty of this reliance of being in constant communication at all times.

The thing is, cell phones aren't perfect, and things like dead zones (i.e. the subway) exist, or the fact that your smart phone - or "computer phone," as my cousin calls it - can do everything but wipe your nose for you, loses battery power by the second.

I'll be honest that I have gotten frustrated with friends if we have prearranged plans and then their phone died/had no service, which put a foil into meeting up at exactly the right time in exactly the right location. However, (as my uncle recently reminded me), there was a time when the ability to communicate with people on the go was unfathomable, and yet friends still managed to meet up. Friendships were actually probably stronger, because no one had the ability to send the infamous lie of a text message -- "on the way!" -- when you haven't even left your apartment.

I'm trying to more and more to put my phone down, turn it upside down, and even - gasp! - leave it behind when I go to the gym. What would happen if I'm unreachable for a few hours? Probably nothing....although there is the frightening thought of something of significance happening in that time span and without your phone, you're the last to know. 

But, I'm really trying to move away from my iPhone reliance. One time, a few hours had gone by that I hadn't received a single text message. I had my mom text my phone just to confirm that it was still working. It was.

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