Nomophobia

Recently, I had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on how you look at it) of misplacing my phone which led me to be without it for almost a couple of days. I did not realise at that point of time, the consequences of what were in store. Can you live without you phone for two days?

The primary advantage I had was that both the days were holidays and hence the pressure of official calls was non-existent. If it was, then it would have been a different ball game. Firstly, the feeling of getting lost started pervading. It was almost like I was one hand down. My trouser pocket did not have a protruding bulge.....in fact, it felt awkwardly comfortable. Sometimes, like every half an hour, I felt like I had lost my phone. I would invariably touch my pocket and, after a moment, realise that I had misplaced my phone. I started making eye contact with things on the road. But the wonder was I was the only person who was walking with his head held high. Almost every other person was head down, staring at and furiously typing into their four - five inch LCD screens. It was like I was the only single in a ‘couples only’ world.

I felt like a bozo. After a couple of hours, without facebook, twitter, google, hike, inshorts, and whatsapp, I was feeling different in a very weird kind of way. Stressed, maybe?

With no TV at home, I did not know what was happening in faraway Syria. Forget Syria, I did not know what was happening in Satara. Or Salem. Not that I was a superhero trying to save the world, but not knowing the news was kind of, strange. I talk very less on my phone; texting, reading and typing occupy more than 95% of my phone usage.

And I have this mandatory wee hour wake up calls...I lose sleep. These are the minutes and hours when the net becomes very active in my phone. With no wi-fi at home and no phone, i was prancing up and down like a hungry tiger.

Bizarrely nervy and strangely weird. No notification sounds, though I have most of them on mute anyway. I don’t know what sort of a phenomenon I can call it, but we are all afflicted by this bug. It is kind of escapist, I would say. These little gadgets have put up into a comfort zone and made us live a life which we can try to minimise living. Not to say that they are something bad. In fact they are good companions – they listen to whatever we say! They have made our lives easy – from contacting people to keeping in touch with long lost companions to searching for things, gaining knowledge to even ordering food and other stuff online... they are indispensible. Imagine emergencies and being without them - one is not even able to think about such situations. But it is kind of like our lives seem to revolve around them. Only around them. We are constantly into them, sometimes forgetting the other things we can do. Technology has had such an impact on our lives that instead of owning gadgets, we have allowed them to own us.

These couple of days of phone detox were perhaps what the doctor ordered, to jolt me out of the incongruent phone lifestyle I had gotten myself into. I could see the food I was eating, taste it properly, smell the trees, plants and flowers around me, even think more about things which I used to give thoughts about cursorily.

I went back in time....

I was a big time TV guy. My TV used to be on almost all the time I was awake. Even while cleaning or dusting or cooking, the TV would be on. The only saving grace was that I watch TV on mute all the time, except if it is music ....it is another weird habit that I have got. Hence others at home are not disturbed with any sound. Then one day, I decided to live without the TV. It was a decision in which I never had any faith in myself – I was expecting to install a dish any time immediately after that decision – but days became weeks became months and now, it is one and a half years that I have been without the TV. It was difficult at first, having been used to news and sport and movies all the time. It was a good companion. I have always maintained that TV is, was and will be the greatest invention of man. But it was taking over my life. I felt escapist while watching TV. Then I tried and gave it up. But now I realise that the TV has been replaced by another gadget – the smart phone. I don't know if I can give up the phone like I did the TV.

This is not to say anything negative about being addicted to a gadget. In fact, in this lonely world, I feel gadgets are our best friends. They are available at our beck and call, do everything for us make us feel as if they are there for us during every situation in life - whether we are happy, sad, lost, depressed...whatever.

When I got back my phone, it was like meeting a long lost, brother, parent, girlfriend whatever you call it  – lips quivering, hands shivering and, perhaps, even a churn of the liver.

Even as I am posting this, there are buzzes on the phone, signalling notifications. I don’t know if I have learnt, but I think I will perhaps try my best to peep into that little LCD screen a little lesser from here on.