Going Offline, Sometimes

Work today took me to a law court in London, which even in 2017 will not allow phones in. It makes sense, as most phones have cameras. Although I can remember going in 2000, with a no-camera non-smart phone, and they were still banned back then. Rather than drop my phone in the travel agency that enterprisingly charges a small fee to guard such devices, I left it in the car at the train station. I felt strangely exposed.

To be totally honest, I did use my phone to pay for the car park before I turned it off. But after that, I was rudderless on a sea of opportunity. Cresting the ocean wave on a tide… [enough of this crap. Ed.]

What has happened to us? Why does going commando without your phone feel so odd? Well, the clue is staring us in the face. They are no longer phones.

Here are the things I missed today:-

1. No clock. I foolishly forgot to wear a watch, so I had no idea what the time was for half a day.
2. No map. I had to memorise the location beforehand, still got slightly lost, and had to find one of those huge map boards in the street.
3. Out of reach to my wife. Any earth-shattering daughter or dog emergency would have to wait for my return 4 hours later.
4. Out of social media reach. Good. That felt great.
5. No music.
6. No audiobooks.
7. No eBooks. But I had brought a newspaper.
8. No news feed. If Brexit went south before lunch time, I wouldn’t have known.
9. No text messages. So I didn’t know, and couldn’t tell my wife anyway, that the courier was due at home around noon. We missed him.
10. No camera. So no permanent record of my day.

Despite all of that, I soon came to like the experience. I got a little nosy, eavesdropping more on my fellow travellers. I watched an altercation between a deranged (or very enthusiastic) preacher and a commuter on the tube platform. I watched one man’s protest at the rabbit-breeding ticket barriers that are everywhere in London transport hubs now. Barriers are so 1980.

Because I didn’t know what time it was, I arrived very early for my appointment and got chatting to the barman. I looked out of windows more, from the train and from buildings. I felt more attached to my surroundings, more involved in life.

I am starting to sound a little strange. But I do recommend losing the phone, at least one day a week.