I feel tied to my cell phone. I’m tired of only having chats on the one side of the house that gets reception. Also, I’m sick of my friend checking Facebook on her phone when I’m telling her about my new boyfriend and his weirdo bad habits.
Aside from the insanely high prices of owning a cell phone (and there being an infinitely cheaper option called a land line), I thought I’d share some reasons why it’s time to drop your cell in the trash.
1. Puppies! In real life!
GIF Credit: Giphy
Puppy GIFs are cute (and a great way to avoid working on your actual to-do list), but when is the last time you ran your fingers through some fur? You can volunteer at a dog shelter or maybe go visit the friend who is blowing up your feed with puppy Instagrams.
2. Mountains
GIF credit: Giphy
GIF Credit: Giphy
Make any photo you take a #latergram and actually enjoy the feeling of being in nature.
3. The concert experience
GIF Credit: Giphy
Been to a concert lately? It’s all cell phones and iPads in the air, trying to capture every moment. Maybe it’s time to start living in that moment, instead.
4. Antique store browsing
I may have accidentally replaced my need for looking at old, pretty things by scrolling through Pinterest instead of wandering through vintage boutiques.
5. Photo albums
Okay. Long-winded slide shows are boring. But, there’s something nice about flipping through a photo album and asking a few questions about your friend’s adventures. Facebook albums just don’t cut it.
6. Dinner conversation
GIF Credit: Giphy
I want another good, old-fashioned dinner full of spit-takes and talking over top of each other. And, if there’s a food fight, we’ll let it go just this once.
7. The dark of a movie theater
Ever tried to make out in a movie theater these days? It’s not dark and romantic. It’s blue and disengaged by the flash of cell phones being checked during boring (but probably vital) parts.
8. The joy of ignoring emails
I actually warned this super cute guy that I’d probably need to check and answer emails a couple times during our first date. Not cool.
9. Real flashlights
GIF Credit: Giphy
True fact: You can’t make scary faces with that flashlight on your cell. (It’s also more expensive to replace if you lose it in the woods.)
10. Meeting (nice) strangers
There’s a tradition in my family to buy my mamaw roses on her anniversary, since my papaw is no longer alive to do it. In grade school, I stood in line to buy her a couple dozen roses when a dad-aged man asked me who I was buying the flowers for. When I told him, he bought them for me to give to my mamaw. Who goes to the florist anymore?
11. Being pushed into pools and lakes
GIF Credit: Giphy
No one does that anymore. They’re too afraid of the uninsured phone!
12. Going to the doctor
Going to the doctor is terrible… but not as bad as when the internet tells you that you have an incurable disease.
13. Visiting your buddy’s house
Remember when we used to have to go to our friends’ house in order to tell them gossip? We didn’t want overheard in our own house. Then we’d stay for dinner with their family and swoon over their cute older brother. Now we just text or message them news from the solitude of our bedrooms.
14. Getting lost
GIF Credit: Giphy
Before Mapquest and GPS, people got lost. Sometimes getting lost is stressful. But, my nieces only know the joy and adventure of climbing and splashing around at Flat Rock Creek because of a wrong turn I took 10 years ago.
I’m convinced that while the internet may have connected us to more people, it severed a lot of true bonds and watered down some of the joys that come with actual human interaction. Even if you just have a no-computer night or swear to start leaving your cell in your car, I think a lot of good could come from scaling back on internet time. Wanna do it with me?
More on cellphones
Is your cell phone preventing you from sleeping with him?
Peter Frampton throws away cell phone of rule-breaking fan
Mom develops Ignore No More app that punishes kids who don’t call back
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