5 Things Learned from Losing the iPhone and Using Facebook
Remember when we were in Spain and we had our iPhone stolen? We certainly do. Well, rather than jumping right into another iPhone, we wanted to see if we could function without one. The answer, at first, was b a r e l y. Talk about a challenge. Sheesh.
Anyhow, here are some things we’ve learned along our iPhone-less way, in addition to a few epiphanies we’ve had while trying to be more diligent about participating in the social media crack known as Facebook.
Here goes…
1) The absence of an iPhone has made us (and our friends) more responsible. No more “we’ll call them on the way” or other such potentially flakey behaviors. We firmly commit and we make our friends firmly commit because we can’t be reached as easily without the iPhone.
June 29th – Kent: Today we met visitors Dan, Audrey and James at our neighborhood cafe. After we arrived, I grew increasingly paranoid about the fact that we hadn’t reconfirmed. Were they lost? Were they tweeting? We had no way of knowing. I’m about one more inconvenience away from heading down to AT&T. Screw waiting for the iPhone 5.
2) We’ve lost precious time without the iPhone. The mapping feature and One Bus Away (and a few other things) are major time savers. We don’t know when buses are arriving, and we get more lost than we normally would. Not fun.
July 21st – Caanan: Moving our friend’s stuff across several several states would have been a whole lot easier with the iPhone’s mapping feature. My headache frequency and Tylenol consumption have jumped significantly.
3) We’ve gained precious time without the iPhone. The iPhone was becoming the 3rd NVR Guy. It went everywhere with one or both of us. Games, books, etc. were far too easily accessed and used as a distraction when a distraction wasn’t needed.
July 14th – Kent: I’m on the bus and am feeling a great sense of loss without the iPhone to fiddle with. I am recognizing that it has made my mood shift (for the worse).
4) Facebook amplifies everything. Being more active on Facebook, we’ve connected with people that we wouldn’t have otherwise. The expanded reach and breadth of relationships is nice.
July 28th – Kent: Today we posted a little blurb about the Olympics, and it’s getting some interesting comments. It’s fun. At the same time, I think I’m a little overly anxious to see where the conversation goes.
5) Facebook amplifies everything. Everything. Um… let’s just say people can be bitchy. In public.
August 2nd – Caanan: A colleague in the HR world was trying to get us all wound up about about a conversation going on on Facebook. He insisted that we weigh in. When I looked at the back-and-forth, I saw that it was a bunch of negative, unproductive gibberish that was – in large part – ill spirited and not forward-moving at all. Why do people waste time with this sort of stuff?
Despite those five realizations, we haven’t decided where we’re going for sure, for sure with all of this experimenting. We have made progress towards what might be a final decision in one area. I think we’re going to be just fine without the iPhone. I never would have guessed that would be the case. Yes, that means no more iPad and iPhone action at the same time.
We’ll keep you posted – our resolve may be shaken when the iPhone 5 is announced. We’re only human!
What about you? Are you addicted to the iPhone and/or Facebook? What have you learned? Please share!
I TOTALLY hear you two on this subject.
After a year of no phone on my RTW (and the end of ghost calls in my pocket…weird phenomenon), I was 100% getting a phone all together.
I loved the freedom of not being reachable 24/7 and tied to an electronic. Eventually, I caved and after spending sometime with a Blackberry, I’m loving the iPhone life.
Maps and knowing where I’m going saves so much time. Sure people got by without them not so long ago, but I can focus my time and energy somewhere other then how to get to a meet point, airport, restaurant, town, etc.
I save a lot of time checking email and facebook as I often don’t even turn on my laptop which prevents getting sucked into that bottomless pit.
And as for being reachable, if it’s not a good time, I simply don’t answer or turn off the phone all together.
Needless to say, for me the pro’s highly outweigh the cons.
Facebook is a whole other convo…
Ah… the conveniences. The absence of that convenience is what drove us both nuts (especially initially).
It’s been fun to mindfully examine whether or not we want to get another one. I should point out that a lot of the reason we might not is because we are out of the country so much (making it a waste of money). We’ll see…
Totally and completely addicted to my iPhone, Facebook not so much!
Not as into Facebook, huh? I can understand why. We’ve managed to keep that from becoming too much of a time suck.
Oh, Facebook…I’m totally addicted, checking it every five seconds, but I’ve noticed lately that it often makes my mood shift downward, especially with all of the political arguments going on right now and negativity. It just brings my mood down majorly. Sometimes I wish I could just go without it but I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.
As for the iPhone…I don’t have one so I can’t say I’m addicted but I’m sure if I had one, I would be (part of the reason I don’t).
As we’ve been on Facebook more, we’ve been astounded by 1) the amount of negativity and 2) the amount of mindless rambling. All said, though, we’re both limiting our involvement so it’s been okay.
We’ve been three years without a phone. Love. It. When we go out to do something…we GO OUT TO DO SOMETHING. We are not connected to anyone or anything, we can just enjoy our day for what it is.
That being said, we’ve been talking about getting an iPhone, for matters of business of course, we may not be able to get away without it for much longer.
We just won’t give out our number to anyone but my Mom.
PS, Your point #1 is bang on. We once had another travel blogger call us “rude” for not having one. Not sure what the problem was – if we say we’re gonna be somewhere, we’re gonna be somewhere. That is all.
The need to (and ease with which we can) bail or reconfirm or re-reconfirm has gotten out of control. Being iPhone-less has forced us to be better about communicating well and keeping our word.
I applaud you both for lasting this long, I probably would have caved in by now. I was quite late onto the smart phone scene, not getting one until last year. Now that I have travelled with one I couldn’t imagine not travelling with one. It is useful for so many things. I do limit myself by not getting sim cards with data plans (relying only on wifi), or I would be on the bus/train on facebook instead of reading a book.
So, I look forward to meeting the new 3rd NVR Guy next time I see you
If we get the iPhone 5, it WILL be the 3rd NVR Guy.
Ok, wait…are you saying don’t have an iphone, or that neither of you have a cell phone at all?
First of all, why do you specifically need an iphone? Let me answer that. You don’t. But in this day and age, you do need a *phone*, mostly for the reasons listed in #1 and #2.
Call me weird, but I may be the only person left in the US who doesn’t own something made by Apple. But I do love my Android smart phone and it has helped me out of a jam more times than I can count. It’s also useful when I travel, even though the cell service does not work outside the US.
So if you’re saying you don’t have cell phone, my question is why? I think for safety and convenience cell phones are critical. There’s no denying that. They also allow for more spontaneity. I can call home and say “want me to pick up some Vietnamese food for dinner?” Sure, I can be more “responsible” and plan everything out in advance, but if my husband is at the store and can’t remember if we need milk or not, he can just call instead of buying too much or having to make two trips. If one of us is running late, we can call so the other does not worry. And I’m a worrier.
If you’re concerned about the addiction factor, don’t get smart phones, or if you want the convenience of GPS and such, just don’t put facebook and twitter on them.
Oh, and facebook? I’m with you there. I resisted for a long time because I knew as soon as I got involved I would be obsessed. And guess what? I am.
Brain freeze. So much good stuff to respond to. I wish this was an e-mail exchange – I’d embed responses
Since it’s not, here goes….
-First, we DO actually have “burner” cell phones that we carry for emergency (etc.) purposes. 2 things on that (that also happen to address your thoughtful points).
*It’s the iPhone (smartphone technology), specifically, that’s addicting. We don’t care about the calling features so much because it’s the mapping and similar features that make us crave it.
*An obvious next question would be: “Well, why doesn’t one of your ‘burner’ phones work in situations such as #1?” Since we’re out of the country several months over the course of a year, we don’t socialize our throw away phones numbers (nor did we the iPhone number). We only distribute our Skype # because it’s the only one that truly comes with us. When we started this life – years ago – we made the mistake of circulating wireless numbers. On more than one occasion an emergency would come up, leaving a loved one saying “I left the message on your phone.” To which we would have to say “We didn’t have that phone in Ecuador for 4 months.”
-Next… Your scenario about milk at the store is spot on. If, say, Caanan is running out, he’ll take a burner phone if just such a situation arises. Similarly, we were just at a huge family wedding that had all sorts of glitchy, time sensitive, potentially critical situations arise. Of course, in those sticky situations we DO distribute a burner phone number with a strong “do not ever count on this number in the future” message. What #1 addresses is not those valid situations, it addresses that it has become way too easy to communicate poorly and too last minute in situations where it’s not necessary.
-Next… Why the iPhone? We’re huge Apple fans (to begin with), and it’s the best. No question.
In summary… totally agree on the convenience / safety thing. Just didn’t want to muck up the post by getting into all that. Overall, I guess we’ve both found it interesting to examine our relationships with tech / social media and the line between talking about life and actually living life. Our maintaining a fulfilling, No Vacation Required life is in no small part due to remaining mindful of things like this.
I can’t say that I’m addicted to Facebook, but I’m probably addicted to my iPhone. I don’t even use it much for calls because here in Germany, probably only 6 people have my number. But it allows me to keep in touch with Andy during the day when he’s at work and I’m at school. It’s a nice distraction for me when I’m waiting for or on the tram. I actually could go days without getting on FB if it weren’t for my blogs’ fanpages since I like to stay active on those. I also play lots of Words with Friends on my phone, and since it has a messaging aspect, it’s almost like texting my friends in the US, which is nice.
As I read through the comments, it’s interesting to see how many people aren’t that into Facebook.
I have never owned an I Phone (have not even felt one in my own hands!!) and use a phone with simple functions. And facebook, I dont even have an account… I know some people think that its so backward to not be on facebook, but I think its really time wasting. How much better we can use our time that we just waste on fb. Twitter, too, I have just started using recently and I must say that it is addictive.
PS – My Capture the Colour post is now live. Do check it out! And I am eagerly waiting to see your take on it
Thanks, Arti – We really respect your stand
My dinosaur phone — which barely took blurry photos — died a few days ago so I decided it was time to upgrade. iPhone 4S, baby! Within minutes, I mapped (Google) myself right into a tasty lunch (foodspotting!), wrote up a Tripadvisor review, checked Facebook and email while dining, and actually called my better half for an estimated arrival time for dinner. I LOVE my new phone. I foresee an addiction.
Reading your 5 lines has made me envious. Just when I think we’ll be okay….
Of COURSE the strongest thing you guys take is Tylenol lol. I Just got an iPhone a month or so ago. As always, your points are dead-on — and entertaining to read. Loved this post. Me? I love to turn off and have no problems doing so, whether I own an iPhone or not. Especially after living without all of that stuff for a year in Costa Rica. I have zero sense of direction. My GPS happened to break about a week before I got my iPhone and discovered Waze. So yes, I consider myself an iPhone addict! But I am rarely on Facebook, don’t check my phone for long periods of time, turn off, I honestly don’t care. I should care more. Maybe people would actually read my blog haha.
Oh pa-leaze. You know people read your blog.
I think it’s situations much like yours in Costa Rica that remind us that we don’t really need this stuff to the extent that we have used them and that so many other people use them. As I was saying to Kristina, above, we’re learning to enjoy taking a more mindful approach to where we put our time/energy because it DOES matter (and we both spend enough time w/ tech & social media).
FB – FAR too buggy. To the point that I ditched completely in October 2011, after 7 years of near daily usage – do NOT miss it at all!
iPhone – Skype works really well on my jail-broken 3gs via T-Mobile… Hi Gerard and you too Robert! *grin* – I don’t ever want to be without an iPhone.
Kudos to you gents for going cold turkey but I can’t. :-/
We actually think we have a fantastic solution. Details when we decide for sure, for sure.
Come back to the dark side. . . .
Oh, MJ – we’re still in the dark side… just less so
I’m considering getting an iPhone for its photo-taking capabilities. There are times when taking photos with a regular camera would feel awkward, but with an iPhone I could be more discreet about it. I currently have an Android, but its camera is lousy, so I may have to upgrade soon.
Oh, yes, that’s ANOTHER thing that’s addicting – in a good way. Well… in a dad way too, I guess. I could spend hours fiddling with Instagram’s effects, etc.
I get addicted to distractions. Both the phone and Facebook/Twitter are there on that list. When something else is inconvenient, or unpleasant, it calls for a distraction. Work, trams, generic boredom all need distractions.
At one point in life I had TV and I stepped out of that to a large extent to bring more time into my life. Now it is other things that take that time away. As you say, each of these things both brings convenience and time-savings, along with a huge time sink. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to concentrate on one without the other.
I’m pretty good about not needing the phone all the time, but feel lost without it when I leave the house. Facebook, I wish I could leave, but it is part of the blogging and expat communication toolset.
Love the way you frame this as getting addicted to distractions. Isn’t that the truth.
This amused me. Good idea for a post. Having been phone free for four months, I am going to be sad to have to return to real life again.
Oh, that’s easy…. don’t return.
Done.
You’re welcome.
I’m going to Mongolia soon for THREE weeks. THREE weeks without internet, without instagram, without emails, without facebook, without twitter, without EVERYTHING. OMG. not sure how to survive… but yes, I will take my iPhone with me. Just in case.
Be sure to report back!
We went from having the iPhone 3G to the 4S and it was all the difference in the world. Having it in the States is fantastic but when we’re abroad we take out our SIM cards so we don’t pay roaming. All wifi at that point… and you can imagine how frustrating that is!
Sounds like your queued up for the iPhone 5, yes?
I was phone-free when I traveled around the world in 2010 for five months…I had my unlocked Blackberry with me just in case I needed it and found I really didn’t. I used it as an alarm clock, used wifi for basic tweets and FB posts, and had some music on it plus my calendar and other relevant travel info. I didn’t miss having a phone. Now, I have an iPhone 4S from Verizon and I love it. I really resisted going with the iPhone when it first came to Verizon, but after dealing with Blackberry and a crappy Storm2, I moved to a more reliable platform…Apple. I’ve always waited until well after everyone else has drank the kool-aid…and I’m okay with that! Interested to see what you decide.
It is hard to resist the kool-aid drinking mentality that takes over Apple products (and others!). We base our buying decisions on personal experience and lots of research. If we get another feature-rich phone, it’ll be an iPhone.
Oh guys, I’m ridiculous when it comes to the iPhone. I use it literally all the time. Ditto Facebook and Twitter (I mean, you’ve seen how frequently I tweet haha!) I’m going to *try* and tone it down next year when I’m travelling, i.e. not use it in public, but at the same time I know I’ll use it a lot in private as I’ll be blogging like crazy.
Oh and about the iPhone 5, my boyfriend is SUPER excited about it. I’m kinda complacent. It’s nice, but can it make me a bacon sandwich?
The iPhone 5 is supposed to be a significant upgrade, so it just might make you a bacon sandwich.
You crazy. I love my phone.
We can always count on you to keep it brief, funny and real.
I love my iPhone, but really only for the camera and photo editing capabilities. Scott gets mad at me because I don’t even use the map or GPS on my phone and don’t care to learn how. It’s not why I got the phone. The main reason I got the 4s was so we could use it in other countries to keep up on blogging stuff. We got tired of relying on hotels to have wifi.
That being said, I don’t think I could survive without a phone in general. I know you said you have an emergency phone, but I like being able to have a constant phone number to be able to stay in touch with friends. I guess that would be a different story if we stayed away from home as long as you guys do. We would probably become addicted to Skype.
I’m mad at you for not using the mapping
It’s so helpful.
Having a Skype number as our “constant” number works great. One of the best decisions we ever made. A tough transition – but a great one.
last year I lost my iPhone, and I had the sam e problems…unfortunately we’re addicted. But these gadgets make our lives more easy..
I lost my iPhone a while back and didn’t replace it with a new phone for nearly 2 months. I probably missed out on a lot of things, but because I didn’t have the phone, I didn’t miss the fact that I’d missed those things (if that makes sense…)
That being said, I’m planning to buy a new iPhone in September (hopefully the iPhone 5). Maybe I’ll be a little less reliant upon it now that I know life is okay without it. But I’ll probably just go back into my old ways as usual. But I’m all for disconnecting for short periods of time!
I have a feeling that the iPhone 5 will be even more addicting.
I have only had a smartphone for a year now and whilst I can appreciate its advantages, I don’t think it is a necessity. I absolutely hate how some people are *always* on theirs and I find that to be quite rude. What I would say is: if you are using your phone around other people, you are pretty much saying to them ‘this is more important to me right now’. In some (very rare) cases, that may just be true but otherwise – put it away!
Just yesterday, we were out on a run. We saw a teenager getting pushed around in her wheelchair. The pusher was trying to engage her in conversation, but she wasn’t having any of it. She was completely entrenched in her smart phone. Our favorite, though, is seeing two people together (out to dinner, etc.) but only interacting with their individual phones.
I am currently without my Samsung Galaxy S3, so I can understand your pain. I am passing through a very similar experience.
Technology really is a bit of catch-22 isn’t it? Having an iphone and all its associated apps makes life so much easier (how did I live without google maps before? seriously?) and it’s definitely a lot more convenient meeting up with people spontaneously when you have a phone.
But I hear you about how disconnected we get from reality when we’re playing games and fiddling with our phones rather than engaging with the people actually around us.