I just bought a phone again for the first time in about a year. When I got rid of my phone, I anticipated that there would be issues but I never thought that it was such an important device. I am going to tell you what it's like firsthand to not have a phone.
So as I said, I got rid of my phone service about a year ago. I got rid of it for a variety of reasons that I won't go into here due to the fact that I don't want to call anyone out and make them feel terrible. Let's just say I was never very keen on the idea of being constantly connected. I found myself turning into one of those cellphone people who couldn't leave the damn thing alone. I was constantly checking my social media sites and texts almost subconsciously, this was problematic for me. I also did not appreciate the way that large telecom companies treated their customers. They seemed to have the opinion that they delivered a necessary service and we were lucky that they did. It turns out, that they are not completely wrong about that.
A little back story. I live in Canada. In Canada for a very long time, there was no competition in the telecom market. It is so tight that to this day you can't get a Skype in calling number. We had three companies that would provide service. This has changed in recent years but it is still incredibly expensive for telephone service, cable and the internet. I was one of the first people I knew to completely remove cable television from my life. I thought it would be much harder to do, I asked myself what I would do with my time if I didn't have TV to watch. It ended up being one of the smartest ideas myself and my housemates have ever had. It saved us a bundle on monthly bills and we actually started going out and we talked to each other more regularly. It has now been about ten years or so without said cable.
But that is a separate story for another day. I noticed right away that not having a phone could be an issue. People would give me a hard time about not being able to get a hold of me and I had to train them to use one of the many online resources at our disposal. I never deleted the previously mention social media sites and even picked up a couple of new ones for communication purposes. I would leave Facebook, Skype, Gmail and Twitter open at all times so that people could contact me. As time passed I saw what that truly meant. I spent a lot of time at home getting far too involved with these services. It seems that people are not that keen on simply talking over the internet.
One of the factors that kept me from getting a phone was the advent of online food ordering. It was a brilliant system where I could choose what I wanted and I didn't have to talk to anyone, I thought that it was a way to get food delivered without needing that terrible piece of technology that I so hated. That is until I would get calls from the restaurants due to them running out of stock on my orders or with questions. My food would never arrive and I would be left confused and hungry. I am not that nice a person when I'm hungry!
As you could probably imagine, it also took it's toll on my romantic life. It is very difficult to convince someone that you are a catch when they ask you for your phone number and you offer them your email or you Facebook profile. Plus the fact that maybe you don't want the person that you are asking out to know all of your personal details before you go out with them. That is a problem, but one that I decided that I could live with.
But what really turned the tables on my decision to reacquire a telephone was the passport application I was filling out. Now I was used to having to talk to customer support and explain repeatedly that I had no phone and that I had no need for one. But the Canadian passport bureau was the hardest to convince. They told me that it was very likely that I could not receive a passport without a telephone and that only an email would not be acceptable. I had finally convinced them that it was ok. But it was that moment when I realized just how difficult I had made my own life. SO I got a phone. I am not extremely happy that I had to get one, but I got one none the less.
My lesson for those who want to eliminate their phone service. Don't. Western society is completely dependent on our telephone service. Get a phone that doesn't need a contract from one of the smaller companies. That way if you don't like your service you are not trapped in a contract and the smaller companies tend to respect their customers to a greater level than big telecom.
Reddie
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