Just found a video from Eckhart Tolle which made me smile. So, it is time to talk about my aversion to phones and mobiles. They not only tend to ring at the wrong time, why do I have to answer a call on the spot as many people expect?
Yes, there are emergency calls but how often do these take place? How did generations before us survive without mobiles?
In the same way I don’t like surprise visits. I might not want to drop what I’m doing because out of the blue someone shows up at my door.
The most appreciated invention for me has been the answering machine back at the time when mobiles did not already flood the markets. To listen to the matter of a caller gave me options to decide:
- it is important/an emergency, pick up the phone immediately
- important/interesting enough to respond soon/at the same day
- not necessary today
- no call back to people wanting to sell sth or ask to do a survey
I felt deeply relieved with my answering machine.
Mobiles made it worse. Before, if your employer called, you could say “I was not at home”. You still can say that you left your mobile at home, but how often can you do it? They might even ask you to have your mobile with you. 24/7 availability. What for? Not talking about people here who are working for police, fire stations. Nowadays almost everybody has to be available around the clock.
The Good about Mobiles
I use it as a tool. To take a picture, if I don’t have my camera on me. To look up train or bus times, to read when traveling by train, google maps, the torch (rarely but nice to have), scanning codes, alarm clock. Recently I used a government app to scan my passport. I don’t like the idea of sending my passport via mail. It still can get lost, no matter how much I pay for safe delivery.
I prefer to talk face to face. Mobiles or phones are good to contact friends and family if they live too far away to meet more often.
My attention is not very distracted by these devices.
The Wonder Called Me 