While American satellites plow the open spaces in search of an answer to the question: “Is there life on Mars?”, We are asking a more mundane question: “Is life possible without a smartphone?”. The era of mobile phones has seriously changed our lives, turning our ideas about everything: business, relationships, education, politics. Is it possible to exclude it from our daily "diet"?
I tried and I can say with confidence that a firm "yes" in response can only be heard from antisocial personalities and crazy people. A few years ago, stories about the "mobile diet" caused delight and admiration for willpower. Now, rather, refusing to use a cell phone can cause you to get fired, lose friends, or break off relationships.
The statement that absolutely everything: from a top manager to a driver, must be in touch seems to be an axiom. The idea that the transfer of documents was a lengthy process and carried out with the help of a messenger seems wild. What can we say about the disruption of a deal or meeting due to the fact that you did not get through on the right landline phone or could not warn about the illness.
According to Rew Research Center, the most important tool of an office worker is e-mail and the Internet. And the fastest access to them is through a mobile phone.
In addition, according to the World Bank, mobile phones not only help to find a job and keep a job, but also have a positive impact on business development. Accelerated exchange of information and access to various knowledge helps to build and develop your business more efficiently. Ironically, the small gadget also changed the big business environment. It is IT companies that are confidently ousting oil workers and other “mammoths” in this area from the list of the most expensive enterprises in the world.
Smartphones have also had a significant impact on our personal lives. An unattended Facebook post or a missed Instagram photo can be the cause of a serious scandal. What can we say about a nervous breakdown and a quarrel due to the fact that your child did not come home on time and you could not contact him to find out if everything is in order. Friends and relatives will also not be happy if you forget about their birthday and do not pick up a beautiful greeting or a funny picture.
But this medal also has a flip side - the ability to maintain relationships at a distance. Statistics show that up to 10% of marriages start with a long-distance relationship. American scientists have calculated that in the United States alone, about 10 million couples maintain relationships via mobile, being far from each other or living in different countries. Moreover, 75% of those surveyed said that at some point in the relationship, they were forced to communicate at a distance.
Scrolling through the news and feeds on social networks from time to time, at least, will allow you to keep up the conversation with friends and colleagues, and, at most, not to miss the approach of a hurricane or the beginning of a revolution. The main means of mass information and mobilization of the population, as the experience of the Arab Spring, protests in Hong Kong or Euromaidan showed, is precisely a mobile phone with an Internet connection.
Smartphones make the world safer. Back in 2010, in the United States, cell phones became one of the tools of the program to reduce and prevent crime. The ability to take a photo or video of a crime scene, as well as immediately call the police or call an ambulance, saves more than one life every day.
The realities of modern life are such that the main reason why it is impossible to exclude a mobile phone from a person’s life is its usefulness. Whether you need to contact your loved ones or a business partner, find your way, pay utility bills, or simply set an alarm clock, you turn to one gadget.
In the era of Instagram husbands, mobile education, and the widest online market, avoiding contact with modern technology is simply stupid. And life without a phone, as the fastest and most convenient way to access the World Wide Web, is impossible.
Andriy Shevchuk, Business Development Director, Fly Ukraine
Nowadays it is unrealistic to imagine life without a mobile phone. To be left without it is like getting to a desert island. Man does not know what to do and how to survive. Nevertheless, in the Czech Republic there was a person who could live without a phone and the Internet for almost half a year. Do you know what nomophobia is? This is the fear of being without a mobile phone. 66% of people who have phones suffer from this very serious disease of our age.
And according to surveys conducted by Motorola Mobility, 84% of people under the age of 24 even sleep with a mobile phone, afraid to miss an important call or message.
Tomas Geizler is a well-known Czech journalist, writer and publishing house owner. In March last year, at one of the film festivals, he saw a documentary about an unusual resident of Switzerland, who, for the sake of experiment, lived for a whole year without a mobile phone, computer and the Internet.
Exactly at midnight on November 30 last year, Tomasz Gaizler committed a heroic deed. He locked his phone and computer in the closet and began to live in a new way. He did not just copy or repeat what the Swiss had done before him. Tomasz Geisler had his own reason and philosophical explanation for his act.
Life is like a river from which it is very difficult to get out
To me, our whole modern life, with phones, computers, the Internet, resembles a river. in which we swim. It's just that the flow was slower before, and with the advent of new technologies, it has accelerated. Imagine that you are in a big river, the Danube, and it doesn't matter if you are swimming upstream or downstream, the river will still take you with it. Few people have a chance to get out of there. And I wanted to go ashore and think about whether I need this river. Is this the life I want to live. And only at the moment when I turned off the phone and the computer, I realized how much a modern person is dependent on the phone buttons, which he presses almost around the clock. When Tomas Geiszler realized the horror of modern humanity's dependence on the telephone, he went to the library and took a book. Scientific book about human happiness. And then a lot of things became clear to him.
Chemistry explains everything
If you consider the concept of “happiness” from the point of view of chemistry, you will find out that it is based on dopamine and oxytocin. Dopamine is released into our blood at the moment when we have done something and feel happy. They cleaned the apartment, received a salary, made a purchase. The human body receives dopamine and thanks to social networks. Like, repost, tweet, comment, retweet - and dopamine enters your blood again and again. And you are happy.
Tomas Geizler (Photo: Adela Paulik Lichkova, Czech Radio)
Happy for some absolutely petty and insignificant reason. Dopamine is a good and important substance, but only when it is contained in the body as much as another substance that makes a person happy. There must be balance. Another substance is oxytocin. We get it from relationships with people, falling in love, romance, relationships. That is, oxytocin is not produced as quickly as dopamine.
Dopamine is like coffee or alcohol. It can be obtained instantly. And for the sake of oxytocin, one must live not a virtual, but a real life. For which people no longer have time, since they are sure that they are happy. You have 1,500 alleged friends on Facebook, and each of them gives you a dose of dopamine. And everyone is sitting in these social networks like alcoholics.
Having begun to live without modern means of communication, Tomasz Geisler realized that there are many unusual things in the world that "ordinary" people simply do not pay attention to.
Telephone booth brought moral injury
There are things that everyone considers already absolutely ordinary. I used to go to visit my parents, they live outside of Prague. I went online and looked at train schedules. And without the Internet, I had to go to a pay phone. Do you know how expensive it is to call from it?! And you also need a trifle, a mountain of trifles. Or another example. Map of Prague. Now everything is on the phone. And I went and bought paper. This is all very unusual. And people have already forgotten it. They can do everything from home. Buy tickets, pay bills. They don't have to go anywhere.
- How did you meet your friends? How did you negotiate with them?
I had three ways to stay in touch with humanity. The first is to write a letter, put it in an envelope, buy a stamp and send it. The second way is pay phones. But they brought me such moral trauma that I quickly stopped using them. And the third way is to get dressed and go to visit a friend. Six in the evening, I assume that he is at home, and I'm going. By the way, do you know how many people do not have calls? At the huge one.
The bell broke and is no longer being repaired. Everyone has mobile phones, you can call and say: "I'm under your house, open it." And the fact that the bell does not work, no one will know until death. Even before the advent of mobile phones, people simply came to visit each other, and the meetings were deeper, more joyful, brought more experiences and surprises. And now there is no such thing, when you can take and call a person at any time.
People have lost the habit of listening and hearing, but are accustomed to reading and writing
But isn't it tiring, walking or driving to someone all the time, not being sure that he is at home or at work?
When you cannot call or send an email, then everything in this life becomes clear and clear. At the first meeting, you agree that, say, exactly a month later, we meet again there and there at 15 o'clock. And the person can no longer cancel. How will he let me know? For all the time that I lived without a phone and the Internet, only two meetings that were scheduled earlier did not take place. Once I mixed up the days, and the second time a colleague was late.
You know, when there is a phone, people cancel or reschedule meetings all the time. A bunch of answers. "Let's go tomorrow, I'm tired, I'm late." Etc. And when you still met, then a normal conversation still does not work. All the time calls, SMS, facebook. You look at your phone while chatting with a friend. People began to wean themselves from hearing and listening to each other. Get out of the habit of human voices. They are used to reading and writing, rather than speaking and listening... Well, back to your question. My friends and colleagues were also interested, they knew that I was setting up a kind of experiment. And the fact that they were not late for meetings and remembered that they had a meeting in a month - this also brought joy to them.
The money ran out, the experiment ended
For exactly two months, Tomasz Geizler did not use the Internet and telephone at all. And then I realized - you have to compromise with yourself. It is impossible to live completely without the Internet.
In January, I was in the midst of writing a book. And then I realized that I could not find the information I needed for her. Moreover, at that time my family and I also went to live in Israel for several months, and there is no Czech library there. And I decided that I would use Google, purely to search for information.
I was afraid to “break loose” and start using social networks and email. But he didn't break. Initially, when I started everything, I planned to finish the experiment on June 1st. However, he finished it on May 15th. Two weeks earlier. Just because our family ran out of money. I'm a publisher, all contacts are on the Internet, by email, in networks. No internet, no income. But even the fact that my experiment was shorter in time than I had planned, still satisfied and fulfilled all my expectations and desires. I rested. Rethought the attitude to life. And got a lot of new impressions.
- So now you are already “online” again?
Some programs I have not yet installed on the computer. I deleted them at one time so that they would not “tempt” me. Yes, to some extent I'm already online, but not quite online either. I decided to stop using my cell phone and use a regular landline. Let them call home. And if I'm on the street or at a meeting, I don't want my phone to distract me. I have changed the way email works. He automatically sends everyone a response with the following content: "I will answer you, but I check my mail once a week." I do. I go to the mailbox only on Friday mornings.
Same with Facebook and other networks. I have identified certain “windows” in my schedule when I can use them. And, more importantly, I do not use the Internet at all after six in the evening. I am a “lark” by nature, and before, because of the Internet, I could not sleep. New impressions, thoughts. There was insomnia. I began to feel worse. Same with everyone. Now every person, before going to bed, looks at who wrote to him. And then he can't sleep. Therefore, it is better to limit your time on the web than to constantly stare senselessly into this Internet emptiness.
A circle of friends and family is better than virtual friends
- Do you only have a couple of hours a week to write all business and personal letters?
I eventually realized that the less you send emails, the less emails you receive. Even spam. Any. For those incomplete six months that I lived without the Internet, I received only 1,842 emails. I specifically counted. I used to get 200 a day. And here I did not write, and they did not write to me. By the way, out of these 1,842 emails, only 30 turned out to be important. I realized that it is better to live with family and real friends than to communicate with these alleged friends. Therefore, now my principle is this: “The less I broadcast, the less they write to me.”
- Would you advise other people to repeat your experiment?
Yes, I would recommend this to anyone. It's like a religious fast, when a person restricts himself in food. Anyone who has tried fasting knows that it somehow purifies a person, he sees reality better. It is not necessary to disconnect yourself from the Internet for six months. Try for a week. Or at least for an hour. Or, say, every Monday - without the Internet. Because when you have a phone and the Internet at hand, you do 20 things at once. Write something, sit in a chat, answer an email, look for information, listen to music. For example, at some point I could no longer concentrate, I was not able to write a long text. And after a month without the Internet, everything went fine. I became focused again. Therefore, why are we surprised when we sit on social networks all the time, and then complain that we don’t have time for something or that something doesn’t work out.
- Aren't you afraid to "break loose" and again become an Internet telephone-addicted person?
Of course, it could happen that I start staring at Facebook again. But I'm like an alcoholic who has been treated. Starting to spend hours on Facebook again is like drinking again. But it is easier for a previously cured alcoholic to recover again. Known technique how to do it. This is the first. The second is my wife. She'll say, "You're in trouble." Then I will start healing. But so far I don't have that problem. I use the Internet in moderation and can control myself.
July 15 is celebrated world mobile phone free day. Meanwhile, in recent years, the mobile phone has become a tool for Russians indispensable for daily work. As follows from the study, every third Russian is not able to part with his phone even for 24 hours.
Photo Source: nicolasnova / CC BY-NC
A smartphone is also a phone
The question, of course, is philosophical. Yes, it is used for calls, but sometimes it seems that this is a secondary function.
According to the statements of the persons who were interviewed during the study, Smartphones are used by 83% of all mobile device owners. In addition to voice calls, respondents most often use the ability to send and receive SMS (89%), take photos and record videos (82%), surf the Internet (78%), receive and send letters (73%), use social networks ( 53%).
Nine out of ten smartphone users use mobile apps. Mostly for browsing the web (94%), as well as for receiving and sending mail (68%). A large number of users use instant messengers (54%) and shopping apps (43%).
How much does it all cost
Every third Russian pays from 300 to 800 rubles for the use of a telephone or telephone conversations, 17% of respondents spend more than 1,500 rubles a month, and 19% fit into the amount of up to 300 rubles.
Owning and using a smartphone costs not only a lot of money, but also time. More than half of Russians (60%) say they use their phone often (at least once an hour) or very often (every few minutes). Only every fourth respondent believes that rarely (a maximum of a couple of times a day), and only 13% picks up the phone once or twice a day.
Turn off the phone - it's not about me
Up to 32% of Russians are unable to turn off mobile phone for 24 hours. The respondents do not imagine such a step, mainly because of the loss of contact with loved ones (47% of answers), and also because of concern for those who may be worried about not being able to contact the owner of the phone (27%).
I wonder how such statements will sound in the mouths of future generations? Even now, young people cannot live without a telephone, as shown by a number of studies conducted in Russia and around the world.
Meanwhile, according to other studies, more than half of Russians (53%) believe that a child should receive his first phone already in elementary school.
A PHOTO Getty Images
While I was working, the phone was my first necessity. They could call me at any time, I was constantly in touch. And from work, I called my daughter to find out where she was when she was going home to tell her what to eat for lunch, ask how her day went and help with homework if needed.
But when my daughter grew up and went to study in another country, my rule of “being in touch” remained with me. And when I left work, the phone was still my constant companion. Not so much out of necessity, but out of habit: you never know what. I laughed at myself: what could happen so urgent? But she continued to keep it close at hand. Without him, I felt somehow uncomfortable.
However, everything changed when I bought a house three hundred kilometers from Moscow. A real village house with carved shutters, with a Russian stove, with a well on the site. Only without mobile communication: it is simply absent there. And I, to my surprise, realized that I could live without her and feel great at the same time.
Farewell city!
I leave my Moscow apartment, get into the car. Five hours ahead. And the phone, of course, is with me, it lies nearby, so that it can be seen and heard. Finally I pass Vyshny Volochok and turn onto the road that goes through the forest. I am glad that I will soon be in the village. But then I start to stop. I stop when I see a stone suitable for a curb on the property. I get out of the car to stretch my legs. Looking for a place to see mushrooms. And all the time I wait for the mobile to give a voice, because I know that a “dead zone” will begin in a few meters.
During the journey, as usual, my good friend called me a couple of times to find out how I was going. Another message came from the site kniga.ru. And I didn’t expect any more calls, because I warned everyone that I was leaving for three days and would be offline. But I drive slowly, with stops, because it seems to me that right now someone will call me or send me the most important message, or something very important will come to mind and I will need to urgently call someone.
Finally I get. And then I start to panic that I'm "unavailable." I'm unloading things from the trunk. I run to the well for water. Still with a mobile in his pocket, although I know that he does not catch here. But still I keep hoping: what if?
Getting used to silence
I kindle the stove so that the house warms up before night and the firewood has time to burn out, I bring in more firewood for the future, lay out things ... And all the time I look at the phone, and there is a crossed out circle - a miracle does not happen, the network does not appear. But it is already getting dark, and you still need to close the gate and bring the remaining things into the house, so as not to run outside in the dark.
All. Tired. I dragged myself. I pour myself some tea and go out on the veranda to enjoy the view before it gets completely dark. An overgrown area is in front of my eyes, the trees are rustling, the sun is setting, air, silence, beauty. I begin to “recover”: the panic subsides - first from hopelessness, because there is still no network, and then because it’s just very good. Vain city thoughts go out of my head and simple and very reasonable village thoughts come - about what needs to be done today and tomorrow, and what about the cold weather in general. And now - rather put the water on to warm up, dry the bed linen, make dinner and go to bed not too late, so as not to oversleep the Saturday grocery store, and then the Zhiguli, which will bring milk from the neighboring village.
And in the house there is a mobile with its crossed out circle, and now it's just an alarm clock. And there are three magical days ahead of you! As before, when there were no mobile phones and they left for themselves as long as they wanted. And only once a week they went to the post office, ordered a conversation by long-distance telephone to inform them that everything was fine in general, about the details at the meeting, and that time flies quickly and we will see you soon. And when they met, they talked about the most interesting, funny and beautiful, because by that time all the troubles had already ended and were remembered as funny adventures.
Human communication instead of mobile
For three days I live in peace and quiet. I don’t rush to call anyone if a problem arises, but I calmly think everything over and find a solution myself. I think well here when I do something around the house or in the garden, when I go for water or heat the stove. Everything around gives peace and solidity to thoughts. I just forget about the phone, and I like that I can go to the neighbors without calling, I like to meet someone on our village street and chat about everything in the world. And how much you learn while waiting for the grocery store! No internet is needed. And in the evenings we visit each other here and again talk for a long time, share news and plans, agree when we go for mushrooms ...
But three days of my village life will end, and I will come home, to the city, and the mobile will again “walk” around the apartment with me. First, closer to the bathroom, then to the kitchen, then to the TV, then next to the pillow ... On the way back, everything will happen in the reverse order: first the network will appear, then the same friend will call to find out how the road is and how I got there, and a message will come from book.ru. And it turns out that no one tried to call me during these three days. And why, in fact, if I warned everyone that I was leaving? I myself will not be at all upset that I have lived for three whole days without a single telephone conversation. And I won’t call anyone on the road and I won’t dial anyone from home, why? In order to report in live time about the traffic jam that I will get into at the entrance to Moscow, about how tired I will be from a long road?
No, I’d better call later, when the impressions subside, and all the most interesting, funny and beautiful things will appear in my memory - I’ll talk about this. And send photos from my wonderful, beloved and such a convenient mobile phone. But for some time I will still forget to pull it out of the bag when I come home.
» on your favorite Lifehacker. The topic raised in this article has always seemed very relevant to me. What is it like to go on an "internet diet", especially for me, a person whose life is closely connected with gadgets? After all, my job requires me to use almost 3 different devices on different operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows Phone) at the same time. Either manufacturers send novelties for testing in the form of new smartphones, or, following the scenario, you have to test various services and new programs.
Agree, it's one thing to restrict access to TV or the Internet for an ordinary user. Another thing is to "tie" the hands and feet of a person who cannot imagine his working day without a smartphone. Have you ever wondered how many times a day you unlock the screen of your smartphone just like that, out of habit? It seems that there is a specific task to check mail or look at the calendar, but then suddenly a push notification came, someone posted a new photo on Instagram, and on Twitter there were already 30 unread messages in the last hour. And away we go ... You have even forgotten why you pulled your smartphone out of your pocket.
Familiar? Congratulations, you have adicophony. This term means painful dependence on the phone and the fear of being cut off from the world. Have you ever assessed the degree of dependence on your smartphone? But I became insanely curious about what feelings I would experience for 7 days if I were deprived of my workhorse iPhone 5 and the Internet in general. Especially when the guys from our revolverlab.com team bet that I would last a maximum of 2 days in this mode. But I was sure that this story would have at least two interesting endings. Of course, some work aspects of my daily life will suffer greatly, but the positive aspects are bound to appear.
And I decided to go for this experiment. But, before starting the story about the 7-day adventure, I want to note what exactly a smartphone is for me, and what functions and services I use during the working day.
So, the most important features and services that I use on my iPhone:
1. Evernote + Notes. It's scary to think, but the Evernote app and standard notes on the iPhone are almost a complete mirror of my daily life. Everything is recorded there: names of people, ideas, scripts for device reviews, all the news that I saw or read. I even write down phone numbers in Evernote first of all. There are times when I am very busy, and at this time 2-3 people communicate with me at the same time. In order not to miss the details, I turn on Evernote and make an audio note. Then I listen to everything in splendid isolation. And I recommend it - very convenient.
2. Viber+WhatsApp+Skype. With these programs, I forgot what phone calls and sms are. 99% of my circle of friends use these messengers, it remains to transfer my parents, and the SIM card in my smartphone will be responsible solely for the mobile Internet. Savings on communication per month are simply incredible: my tariff plan is $10 per month, which is exactly how much the Internet costs for me - about 2,000 messages (Viber+) and about 30 hours of conversations (+Skype).
3. Yandex. Maps + 2gis + Yandex. Navigator- these programs start as soon as I get behind the wheel of a car. And this happens 2 times a day - in the morning when I go to work and in the evening, returning from work.
4. Calendar + Mail + Camera. 3 native iPhone features that I wouldn't trade for anything. The calendar in iOS is the best, the Mail client on iOS is much more convenient for me than the native Gmail client on Android. I love the camera on the iPhone for its simplicity. There is nothing superfluous, it has one function - to shoot. It is out of love for this minimalism that I consider Apple devices to be my main working gadgets. I take photos quite often, about 100 shots a day. iPhoneography is one of my constant hobbies.
5.Twitter+Instagram and other social networks. Twitter and Instagram in my application are working tools. It is in these social networks that I manage to find contacts of people of interest to me and establish contact with them. Moreover, by subscribing to the necessary sources, I learn about all the news that affects my interests. What I read about on Twitter in the morning, I come across in the news only a day later. Now as for VK and Facebook. I have publics in these social networks, but I use them very rarely. I would have removed myself from both a long time ago, but due to my work I can’t afford it, so much is tied to them.
In addition, I listen to a huge number of podcasts on my iPhone that I subscribe to on iTunes, and music is no exception.
Perhaps it's time to finish the software part. There are many more apps and cloud services that make my daily life easier (or maybe cluttered), but I won't list them all. Above, I described those features that I definitely cannot refuse.
Before starting a new work week without a smartphone and the Internet, I still had to stay connected. Moreover, you also need to record any events. So I armed myself with a $25 Nokia 1280 phone, a pen and a notepad… and started the journey of a lifetime, 7 days to be exact.
Day 1.
Adaptation on the first day is perhaps the most difficult period for all 7 days of rejection of the "beautiful". To be honest, the first thing I did when I got out of bed in the morning was pick up a smartphone and only then went to the bathroom. Not that I wanted to know anything urgent, it was just that with a smartphone in hand, I felt kind of safe…
And here it is - the first morning without a smartphone ... This is a terrible feeling when it seems to you that you are not in control of the situation at all. Complete confusion and a feeling as if you were in an unfamiliar place for the first time. Do you know what is really happening? Later you will realize that before that you simply did not notice a huge number of things around you.
Today is the first day that I have unsettled myself. And in the absence of a smartphone, going to work, I forgot to take a driver's license, the keys to the revolverlab.com office-studio and a purse with money and credit cards. But the most amazing thing is that the whole working day I was haunted by the feeling that I forgot my smartphone! About the absence of another, I found out only on arrival home. The first day is chaos and a mess: every half an hour, the hand reflexively gropes for the smartphone in the pocket, and the brain gives impulses “check your mail, what’s on Twitter?” .., probably someone writes in Viber?” At the end of the working day, I realized that it was impossible to continue like this, it was necessary to take measures and keep myself busy with something. Preferably useful.
Day 2
Morning of the second day. I remember with horror that I forgot to put my phone on charge. I take the Nokia 1280 out of my backpack and realize with surprise that the division of the battery indicator indicates that it can not be charged for another 6 days! Incredible feeling :)
So, at 6 in the morning, to work at 10. These 4 hours were enough for me for bath procedures, breakfast, parsing letters in the mail, reading news on Flipboard, Twitter and Instagram. Now I have plenty of time, and I can finally do morning runs! And so he did. It was decided that every day of my life would start like this. Feeling better, during intensive runs you don’t even have to think about social networks, mail and other Internet processes.
When I got to work, I took a pen and notebook. I haven't written anything on paper for a long time. Already after the 3rd sentence, he twists his arm, but no, twists his whole body to the heels. But still there is something real in it! A similar feeling arises from riding a bicycle, especially if your last race was 10 years ago. Now, when I need to write down a phone number, choosing between a push-button Nokia or a notepad, I will choose a notepad. Typing anything on a phone of this form factor is a real punishment. Except for dialing the number itself.
Now it's time to talk about communication. Since I preferred messages and letters, this option is no longer available on my new "disposable" phone. You have to make phone calls. Choosing the right tariff plan from all operators or buying several SIM cards is not comme il faut. I take the most optimal tariff plan. In general, in just 1 day I said $ 22 - these are the realities of modern operators and what many people face. How I miss my instant messengers… Meanwhile, in the Revolverlab office, I hear the familiar sounds of incoming Skype and Whatsapp messages every now and then.
In the evening of the same day, I remembered that I had a long, unfinished book by James Rollins gathering dust on my shelf. I decide that the most suitable period in my life for reading has come. 4 hours flew by like a blink of an eye. Fell asleep like a baby. Now another one has been added to my circle of hobbies. In no case do not pick up a smartphone before going to bed, it is better to read an interesting book.
Day 3
Another working day. A lot of filming and writing scripts for the Revolverlab Youtube channel. I write all the texts on an A4 sheet (and the notes for this article are no exception). Now it is clear to me - I have become less distracted when performing certain tasks. As it turned out, the most important distraction was the smartphone, and not the people who surround me and try to tell me something.
But it turns out that people need to be listened to more often and get in touch with them: everyday tasks are completed faster and more efficiently, and a lot of new ideas come to mind. By the way, I found a loophole for myself and a small lifehack :) The fact is that all my colleagues at revolverlab.com have Twitter and Instagram, so if you need to find out something urgently or write a letter, you can just ask them to look at it and in a short form to state everything that I need. It is very curious to watch from the side of people who, at the first opportunity they get, are immersed in the screens of their gadgets. You begin to understand that you were the same, although few people will see it ...
If you have any complexes, do not worry ... they will not be noticed. Most people today are busy with completely different things, they do not watch what does not concern their person, they can only watch you online. The real world is slowly freeing up, so we are starting to take advantage of the moment: this is where the real rest is, and if you find like-minded people, it’s generally great.
Day 4
TV set. How many rumors and criticism are pouring in the direction of the "zomboy". But if you are a child of the Internet, social networks and gadgets, TV is not terrible for you. I tried to watch it during my free day and was very surprised. Television is being transformed into the Internet. Youtube videos are flooding humorous channels, although it can be said differently - the Internet is rapidly moving towards television, apparently TV budgets are still taking their toll ...
Information gets to television with a catastrophic delay, in contrast to the World Wide Web. But do not rejoice, fellow internet users. Many of you are very proud that you don't watch TV, but at the same time you forget that you can't drag them by the ears from Facebook or VKontakte, from the screen of your tablet or smartphone. Actually, the difference is not great. For a long time I was not enough, the TV was turned off and I returned to entertaining reading. I even came up with a new hobby: I got myself a free bookshelf, and now I will put on this shelf only those books that I have read from beginning to end.
Last 3 days (Fri, Sat, Sun).
Now I don’t feel discomfort at all from the lack of the Internet and a smartphone. On the one hand, I'm curious how much I missed in those 5 days. On the other hand, nothing terrible happened: the workflow is not broken, while the advantages are obvious. And most importantly, this week helped me realize how to move on, how to distinguish between my free time and the time that I will devote to gadgets in the future. Rejecting modern technology and moving against progress is stupid. Gadgets really help us every day, the main thing is not to abuse it.
Now I will describe what actions I took on the first day after the 7-day "cleansing" and rethinking:
1.
Disabled push notifications on my smartphone. Push is not a convenience, it is an evil created by companies to compete for our attention. If I need to check any events, I am able to do it myself and at the moment when I see fit to do it. And by the way, the battery life of the smartphone will increase decently.
2.
Checking mail: 2 times a day, only during business hours. Before work and after - no mail!
3.
Reading news once a day.
4.
Checking the Twitter and Instagram feed 2 times a day, I no longer see the point. A request to readers, count how many times a day you go to Twitter or Instagram? And how often were these actions justified?
5.
But from the camera, I will not refuse. Now I have much more free time, and I can shoot a huge amount of great shots and events that surround me.
And now the facts. What happened during the week of my absence:
1. Mail. The number of missed letters is 328. Of these, not a single letter of "first" importance.
2. Number of missed Viber+WhatsApp+Skype messages. Given that I warned all the people important to me about my absence online, in total I received 67 messages and 7 missed calls. It's okay, before there were no telephones at all, and somehow people lived. If someone is openly dissatisfied with the fact that they cannot get through or get through to you, do not pay attention. It is your right not to answer the phone.
3. The number of missed posts on Twitter is 2890. I didn’t even bother to reread it.
4. Instagram. For the whole week, worthy pictures of 2 pieces. People mostly take pictures of kittens, flowers and food. Oh yes, even myself near the mirror. In 7 days I saw much more interesting things. And people, and nature, and other delights of offline life.
5. The number of written pages in the notebook is 48! And, to be honest, it's cool. You touch the pages and some special trail of memories of this unusual period of time flies through your head. Now I will write on paper more often!
6. The amount of money spent on phone calls. For 7 days I had to call a lot, the total amount spent on calls was about $ 130. With a smartphone, this money would certainly be enough for me for more than six months. Here is a confirmation of how modern technologies help to save on communication.
Now I exercise more often, read more books, spend much more time with my family and spend more time in real life. I completely forgot, my bookshelf was replenished with 3 more books. I hope this number will increase with an enviable constancy. =)
