My iPhone fell into a pool and I was left without means of contact or even payment – I felt completely lost without it
September 24, 2024 9:00 am
I’ve always loved the idea of going phone-free for a while, or heading to one of those silent retreats. They sound so amazing in my head: peace, quiet, no distractions. And then I realise how awful I would be without my phone.
One recent experience made that very clear to me. I do find London to be quite full-on, so any chance I get, I go home to Ireland with my kids for some chill time. It’s a place I find super relaxing – everything feels slower and I can really clear my mind, plus my kids love it there, too, so it’s a win-win.
We were at home and my children had just finished swimming. But as I removed my youngest’s puddle jumper swimming vest he bolted and bombed back into the pool unaided. I panicked and jumped straight in after him – fully clothed with my phone in my pocket.
My son was thankfully all fine, but my other family member – my beautiful iPhone – was not. She would have likely survived had she not been flung around and smashed on numerous occasions rendering her no longer waterproof.
As soon as I realised she was broken, the sadness began to creep in, followed by such a bolt of anxiety that I had to take one of my beta blockers to calm me down.
Immediately I went into problem-solving mode. My insurance couldn’t deliver me a brand spanking new phone because they only deliver in London. So I did what any normal person would do and shoved her into a bag of rice. I left it there for a few hours and then tried to turn it on and off, which in the phone world is very similar to using a defibrillator.
It did not rise again. Thankfully my stepdad had a spare phone lying around, one of those relics with actual physical buttons on it, but beggars can’t be choosers and all of that. It was the same kind of phone I had when I was 13; calls only, no internet. Looking on the bright side, I thought, you know what, this is going to be freeing and ultimately good for me.
Time away from your phone is meant to reduce stress and anxiety and improve sleep, which – if you are a regular reader of this column – you’ll know is music to my ears. It can also improve your mood and increase your productivity, and as I was already trying to reduce my phone time around the kids, this was just the kick up the tush I needed.
Leaving the house, I was feeling good. I was contactable in case of emergencies, but ultimately free from the noise that comes with a smartphone.
But around three minutes down the road I decided to stop at the shop and get the kids some croissants. They were just out of the oven and I picked up four but when I went to pay I realised I couldn’t – I’d left my bank cards in London. I never travel with cards because everything is in my phone. I left the shop sans croissants and with some very upset children, but sure, I’d saved myself a few quid. All good.
When I got home I needed to film a few things for work, but once again I couldn’t unless I wanted to send them grainy footage in black and white. The filming would have to wait. Quite a lot of things had to wait, like bills that needed to be paid, and I was dreading the amount of WhatsApp messages I would have to get back to.
I already had 332 unread messages on my phone and I’d been hoping to get through some of them instead of having them build up on me while I was offline.
In the end I was without a phone for two days. I know it’s hideously embarrassing to have become so worked up about just 48 phoneless hours. But what can I say? I am definitely a phone addict, and I did feel lost without it.
The whole experience made me realise that my phone is an extension of me. It keeps my life together allowing me to work, keep track of my fitness, pay for things… the list is endless.
As much as I wanted to embrace not having a phone, those two days were hard. I felt like I wasn’t as productive as I could be. It slowed me down and – I feel bad writing this – I was also a little lost without my phone in a very literal way, because I have a very bad sense of direction!
I do think being more mindful of our phone use is important. I for one spend far too long watching people cleaning other people’s houses on TikTok. I know I’m too old to be consuming that kind of content but my god, I love it.
I have forced myself to make changes though. As well as trying to reduce my usage when I’m with the kids, I also never leave my phone out on a table if I’m out with pals; it’s difficult to give someone your full attention if you’re checking messages. At night I try to limit myself because I can quite easily end up doomscrolling for hours.
But I know that I still have a lot of work to do before I’m ready for that phone-free retreat. At the very least, I hope next time my trusty iPhone dies I won’t need pharmaceutical aid to cope with the loss.
