a life without cell phones essay

Life Without a Cell Phone: Benefits and Outcomes

Introduction, role of the phone in my life, life without cell phones, people without cell phones, how to live without cell phones.

Since prehistoric times, man has sought ways to make his life easier through inventions. The last century has witnessed the creation of the most epic inventions which have revolutionalized human life. One invention which has had a major impact on human life is the cell phone. Despite being a relatively new communication technology, cell phones have within the last two decades gained unrivaled prominence as the preferred medium of communication. At present, it is estimated that 80% of the world population use cell phones, and nearly all homes own at least one cell phone. In this essay, I shall speculate on how life would be like if the cell phone was never invented. I shall then make recommendations on how to best live life without this device.

In today’s society, the use of cell phones has become an integral part of not only our social network but our life as a whole and it is now almost impossible to imagine a world without the cell phone. Personally, the greatest benefit of my cell phones is its portability, which virtually allows me to be in many places at the same time. I can monitor several activities in different places all with just a push of a button, saving me a lot of time and other resources.

My social life has also greatly been enhanced by this invention. It has enabled me to constantly stay in touch with my friend through phone calls irrespective of how far they are. Using the texting capability, I can send and receive multiple messages to and from several correspondents.

This increases efficiency as well saves me considerable time and cost. Cell phones are not limited to the basic function of making calls, and with internet capabilities, cell phones can double up as mini computers. This allows me to instantly download information, catch up on the latest news, views, and movies, communicate with my friend through different social networks, send and receive important business information, and the best part about all this is I can do it anywhere at any time.

Life would be significantly different without the presence of the cell phone. To begin with, people would not be able to deliver urgent messages promptly. The time taken to communicate would also be significantly increased since cell phones allow people to talk instantaneously. Without the cell phone, long distant communications would be complicated making it difficult to keep in constant touch with friends or relatives who may live far away. The coordination capabilities that cell phones facilitate would also be hampered and in instances such as rescue operations, the success rates would be significantly reduced.

Cell phones have undoubtedly made slaves of men. We are constantly forced to act on the information which we receive through our cell phones without breaks. Cell phones bring about a lot of pressure and cause unnecessary worries as a result of their immediacy. Real relationships have also suffered as a result of the pressure that mobile phones create since, in the present time, people are still obligated to deal with work issues even from their homes.

Before the invention of the mobile phone, people enjoyed some solitude while at home or on travel since then they did not have to tackle work or other emerging issues then. The mobility in which cell phones afford us has resulted in us losing touch with each other on the streets or at work where we are too engrossed with our electronic devices to even acknowledge other people around us. With these considerations in mind, it can be suggested that we would be better off without cell phones.

While cell phones have become an integral part of modern life, it is still possible to envision a life without cell phones. As has been noted, the greatest merit of cell phones is its ability to enable people to make plans.

People can still live without cell phones by making plans in advance and sticking to them. To help foster relationships over long distances means such as constant letter correspondence can serve the purpose of helping people to keep in touch as well as vocational visits. While this may not be as timely as cell phones, the time and effort that a person puts in the task may enhance the long-distance relationship. Without the constant distraction of cell phones, we as humans can get to enjoy solitude and discover ourselves.

In this essay, I set out to envision a life without cell phones which currently serve a major role in our lives. I began by articulating the roles that cell phones play in my life to demonstrate their importance. I then described how life without cell phones would be and evaluated my thoughts as to whether we would be better off without cell phones. Life without a cell phone would be less efficient and communication efforts would be more difficult than they presently are as a result of cell phones. Even so, the very benefits of cell phones have turned us into a connected people who are overwhelmed with information. Our lives would therefore be more fulfilling without the pressure that cell phones create.

Cite this paper

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2021, January 2). Life Without a Cell Phone: Benefits and Outcomes. https://studycorgi.com/life-without-a-cell-phone-benefits-and-outcomes/

"Life Without a Cell Phone: Benefits and Outcomes." StudyCorgi , 2 Jan. 2021, studycorgi.com/life-without-a-cell-phone-benefits-and-outcomes/.

StudyCorgi . (2021) 'Life Without a Cell Phone: Benefits and Outcomes'. 2 January.

1. StudyCorgi . "Life Without a Cell Phone: Benefits and Outcomes." January 2, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/life-without-a-cell-phone-benefits-and-outcomes/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "Life Without a Cell Phone: Benefits and Outcomes." January 2, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/life-without-a-cell-phone-benefits-and-outcomes/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "Life Without a Cell Phone: Benefits and Outcomes." January 2, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/life-without-a-cell-phone-benefits-and-outcomes/.

This paper, “Life Without a Cell Phone: Benefits and Outcomes”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: November 8, 2023 .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal . Please use the “ Donate your paper ” form to submit an essay.

Essay on Life Without Mobile Phone

Students are often asked to write an essay on Life Without Mobile Phone in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Life Without Mobile Phone

Introduction.

Mobile phones are a vital part of our lives. They serve as our lifeline to the world, but have you ever imagined life without them?

Communication

Without mobile phones, communication would be more challenging. We would rely on landlines or letters, making instant connectivity impossible.

Information Access

Access to information would be limited. We would have to rely on books, newspapers or computers to gather knowledge.

Entertainment

Entertainment options would be restricted. Without mobile games or social media, we might engage more in outdoor activities.

Life without mobile phones would be simpler yet more challenging, emphasizing the importance of face-to-face interaction.

250 Words Essay on Life Without Mobile Phone

Life without a mobile phone, in today’s digital era, seems like an unimaginable scenario. However, there was a time when communication was not as instant and accessible as it is today. This essay explores the implications of a life devoid of mobile phones.

Communication in a Mobile-less World

Without mobile phones, communication would be more deliberate and less spontaneous. Letters, landlines, and face-to-face interactions would regain their prominence. While this might slow down the pace of life, it could also lead to more meaningful connections, as people would invest time and effort in communication.

Information Access and Entertainment

The absence of mobile phones would significantly impact the way we access information and entertainment. The culture of Googling on the go and binge-watching favorite shows anytime, anywhere would cease to exist. This could potentially lead to a more focused and less distracted society.

Navigation and Convenience

Without mobile phones, we would revert to traditional methods of navigation, like physical maps. The convenience of booking a cab or ordering food with a few taps would be replaced by more time-consuming methods. This could foster self-reliance and problem-solving skills.

While life without mobile phones might seem inconvenient in the beginning, it could potentially lead to a more mindful society. It would encourage deeper interpersonal relationships, more focused information consumption, and enhanced self-reliance. Hence, it is an interesting thought experiment to ponder upon our dependency on this ubiquitous device.

500 Words Essay on Life Without Mobile Phone

In the modern world, the mobile phone has become an integral part of our lives. It is hard to imagine a day without the constant buzzing, ringing, and lighting up of our handheld devices. However, have we ever paused to consider the implications of a life without mobile phones?

The Dependency on Mobile Phones

Mobile phones have transformed from being a luxury to a necessity. They have become our personal assistants, managing our schedules, connecting us with the world, and even providing entertainment. The dependency on mobile phones has reached such an extent that it’s difficult to envision a world without them. However, a life without mobile phones could be liberating, less stressful, and more focused.

Life Without Mobile Phones: A Blessing in Disguise?

In a world without mobile phones, we would see a significant shift in our lifestyle. The constant need to check our phones for updates would no longer exist, leading to fewer distractions and increased productivity. We would be required to plan our schedules and remember important dates without the aid of reminders, thereby improving our memory and organizational skills.

Impact on Social Interactions

Without mobile phones, our social interactions would undergo a drastic change. We would no longer have the luxury of instant communication. Instead, we would revert to more traditional forms of communication such as face-to-face conversations and handwritten letters. This could potentially lead to more meaningful and personal interactions, as the convenience of digital communication often leads to superficial relationships.

Challenges of a Life Without Mobile Phones

While there are potential benefits, a life without mobile phones would also pose significant challenges. In emergencies, the ability to call for help instantly is invaluable. Mobile phones also provide access to a wealth of information on the internet, aiding in education and research. In a world without mobile phones, access to information and emergency services would be more challenging, and alternative solutions would need to be found.

A life without mobile phones would indeed be a drastic change from the world as we know it. It would present both opportunities for personal growth and challenges in terms of accessibility and convenience. However, it’s important to remember that mobile phones are tools. Like any tool, their value depends on how we use them. Perhaps the question we should be asking is not what life would be like without mobile phones, but how we can use them more effectively and mindfully to enhance our lives, rather than allowing them to control us.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Mobile Phone Addiction
• Essay on Usage of Mobile Phones and Internet
• Essay on Mobile Phone Boon or Bane

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

MIT Technology Review

• Newsletters

I asked my students to turn in their cell phones and write about living without them

• Ron Srigley archive page

A few years ago, I performed an experiment in a philosophy class I was teaching. My students had failed a midterm test rather badly. I had a hunch that their pervasive use of cell phones and laptops in class was partly responsible. So I asked them what they thought had gone wrong. After a few moments of silence, a young woman put up her hand and said: “We don’t understand what the books say, sir. We don’t understand the words.” I looked around the class and saw guileless heads pensively nodding in agreement.

I extemporized a solution: I offered them extra credit if they would give me their phones for nine days and write about living without them. Twelve students—about a third of the class—took me up on the offer. What they wrote was remarkable, and remarkably consistent. These university students, given the chance to say what they felt, didn’t gracefully submit to the tech industry and its devices.

The usual industry and education narrative about cell phones, social media, and digital technology generally is that they build community, foster communication, and increase efficiency, thus improving our lives. Mark Zuckerberg’s recent reformulation of Facebook’s mission statement is typical: the company aims to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.”

Without their phones, most of my students initially felt lost, disoriented, frustrated, and even frightened. That seemed to support the industry narrative: look how disconnected and lonely you’ll be without our technology. But after just two weeks, the majority began to think that their cell phones were in fact limiting their relationships with other people, compromising their own lives, and somehow cutting them off from the “real” world. Here is some of what they said.

“You must be weird or something”

“Believe it or not, I had to walk up to a stranger and ask what time it was. It honestly took me a lot of guts and confidence to ask someone,” Janet wrote. (Her name, like the others here, is a pseudonym.) She describes the attitude she was up against: “Why do you need to ask me the time? Everyone has a cell phone. You must be weird or something.” Emily went even further. Simply walking by strangers “in the hallway or when I passed them on the street” caused almost all of them to take out a phone “right before I could gain eye contact with them.”

To these young people, direct, unmediated human contact was experienced as ill-mannered at best and strange at worst. James: “One of the worst and most common things people do nowadays is pull out their cell phone and use it while in a face-to-face conversation. This action is very rude and unacceptable, but yet again, I find myself guilty of this sometimes because it is the norm.” Emily noticed that “a lot of people used their cell phones when they felt they were in an awkward situation, for an example [sic] being at a party while no one was speaking to them.”

Without their phones, most of my students initially felt lost, but after just two weeks the majority began to think that their cell phones were in fact limiting their relationships with other people.

The price of this protection from awkward moments is the loss of human relationships, a consequence that almost all the students identified and lamented. Without his phone, James said, he found himself forced to look others in the eye and engage in conversation. Stewart put a moral spin on it. “Being forced to have [real relations with people] obviously made me a better person because each time it happened I learned how to deal with the situation better, other than sticking my face in a phone.” Ten of the 12 students said their phones were compromising their ability to have such relationships.

Virtually all the students admitted that ease of communication was one of the genuine benefits of their phones. However, eight out of 12 said they were genuinely relieved not to have to answer the usual flood of texts and social-media posts. Peter: “I have to admit, it was pretty nice without the phone all week. Didn’t have to hear the fucking thing ring or vibrate once, and didn’t feel bad not answering phone calls because there were none to ignore.”

Indeed, the language they used indicated that they experienced this activity almost as a type of harassment. “It felt so free without one and it was nice knowing no one could bother me when I didn’t want to be bothered,” wrote William. Emily said that she found herself “sleeping more peacefully after the first two nights of attempting to sleep right away when the lights got shut off.” Several students went further and claimed that communication with others was in fact easier and more efficient without their phones. Stewart: “Actually I got things done much quicker without the cell because instead of waiting for a response from someone (that you don’t even know if they read your message or not) you just called them [from a land line], either got an answer or didn’t, and moved on to the next thing.”

Technologists assert that their instruments make us more productive. But for the students, phones had the opposite effect. “Writing a paper and not having a phone boosted productivity at least twice as much,” Elliott claimed. “You are concentrated on one task and not worrying about anything else. Studying for a test was much easier as well because I was not distracted by the phone at all.” Stewart found he could “sit down and actually focus on writing a paper.” He added, “Because I was able to give it 100% of my attention, not only was the final product better than it would have been, I was also able to complete it much quicker.” Even Janet, who missed her phone more than most, admitted, “One positive thing that came out of not having a cell phone was that I found myself more productive and I was more apt to pay attention in class.”

Some students felt not only distracted by their phones, but morally compromised. Kate: “Having a cell phone has actually affected my personal code of morals and this scares me … I regret to admit that I have texted in class this year, something I swore to myself in high school that I would never do … I am disappointed in myself now that I see how much I have come to depend on technology … I start to wonder if it has affected who I am as a person, and then I remember that it already has.” And James, though he says we must continue to develop our technology, said that “what many people forget is that it is vital for us not to lose our fundamental values along the way.”

Other students were worried that their cell-phone addiction was depriving them of a relationship to the world. Listen to James: “It is almost like the earth stood still and I actually looked around and cared about current events ... This experiment has made many things clear to me and one thing is for sure, I am going to cut back the time I am on my cell phone substantially.”

Stewart said he began to see how things “really work” once he was without his phone: “One big thing I picked up on while doing this assignment is how much more engaged I was in the world around me … I noticed that the majority of people were disengaged … There is all this potential for conversation, interaction, and learning from one another but we’re too distracted by the screens … to partake in the real events around us.”

In parentis, loco

Some parents were pleased with their children’s phone-less selves. James said his mother “thought it was great that I did not have my phone because I paid more attention to her while she was talking.” One parent even proposed to join in the experiment.

But for some of the students, phones were a lifeline to their parents. As Karen Fingerman of the University of Texas at Austin wrote in a 2017 article in the journal Innovation in Aging, in the mid to late 20th century, “only half of [American] parents reported contact with a grown child at least once a week.” By contrast, she writes, recent studies find that “nearly all” parents of young adults were in weekly contact with their children, and over half were in daily contact by phone, by text message, or in person.

The city in which these students lived has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and almost no violent crime of any kind, yet they experienced a pervasive, undefined fear.

Emily wrote that without her cell phone, “I felt like I was craving some interaction from a family member. Either to keep my ass in line with the upcoming exams, or to simply let me know someone is supporting me.” Janet admitted, “The most difficult thing was defiantly [sic] not being able to talk to my mom or being able to communicate with anyone on demand or at that present moment. It was extremely stressful for my mom.”

Safety was also a recurrent theme. Janet said, “Having a cell phone makes me feel secure in a way. So having that taken away from me changed my life a little. I was scared that something serious might happen during the week of not having a cell phone.” And she wondered what would have happened “if someone were to attack me or kidnap me or some sort of action along those lines or maybe even if I witnessed a crime take place, or I needed to call an ambulance.”

What’s revealing is that this student and others perceived the world to be a very dangerous place. Cell phones were seen as necessary to combat that danger. The city in which these students lived has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and almost no violent crime of any kind, yet they experienced a pervasive, undefined fear.

Live in fragments no longer

My students’ experience of cell phones and the social-media platforms they support may not be exhaustive, or statistically representative. But it is clear that these gadgets made them feel less alive, less connected to other people and to the world, and less productive. They also made many tasks more difficult and encouraged students to act in ways they considered unworthy of themselves. In other words, phones didn’t help them. They harmed them.

I first carried out this exercise in 2014. I repeated it last year in the bigger, more urban institution where I now teach. The occasion this time wasn’t a failed test; it was my despair over the classroom experience in its entirety. I want to be clear here—this is not personal. I have a real fondness for my students as people. But they’re abysmal students; or rather, they aren’t really students at all, at least not in my class. On any given day, 70% of them are sitting before me shopping, texting, completing assignments, watching videos, or otherwise occupying themselves. Even the “good” students do this. No one’s even trying to conceal the activity, the way students did before. This is just what they do.

In their world I’m the distraction, not their phones or their social-media profiles or their networking. Yet for what I’m supposed to be doing—educating and cultivating young hearts and minds—the consequences are pretty dark.

What’s changed? Most of what they wrote in the assignment echoed the papers I’d received in 2014. The phones were compromising their relationships, cutting them off from real things, and distracting them from more important matters. But there were two notable differences. First, for these students, even the simplest activities—getting on the bus or train, ordering dinner, getting up in the morning, even knowing where they were—required their cell phones. As the phone grew more ubiquitous in their lives, their fear of being without it seemed to grow apace. They were jittery, lost, without them.

This may help to explain the second difference: compared with the first batch, this second group displayed a fatalism about phones. Tina’s concluding remarks described it well: “Without cell phones life would be simple and real but we may not be able to cope with the world and our society. After a few days I felt alright without the phone as I got used to it. But I guess it is only fine if it is for a short period of time. One cannot hope to compete efficiently in life without a convenient source of communication that is our phones.” Compare this admission with the reaction of Peter, who a few months after the course in 2014 tossed his smartphone into a river.

I think my students are being entirely rational when they “distract” themselves in my class with their phones. They understand the world they are being prepared to enter much better than I do. In that world, I’m the distraction, not their phones or their social-media profiles or their networking. Yet for what I’m supposed to be doing—educating and cultivating young hearts and minds—the consequences are pretty dark.

Paula was about 28, a little older than most students in the class. She’d returned to college with a real desire to learn after working for almost a decade following high school. I’ll never forget the morning she gave a presentation to a class that was even more alternatively engaged than usual. After it was all over, she looked at me in despair and said, simply: “How in the world do you do this?”

Humans and technology

Building a more reliable supply chain.

Rapidly advancing technologies are building the modern supply chain, making transparent, collaborative, and data-driven systems a reality.

• MIT Technology Review Insights archive page

Backed by heritage, ready for the future

Building a data-driven health-care ecosystem.

Harnessing data to improve the equity, affordability, and quality of the health care system.

Let’s not make the same mistakes with AI that we made with social media

Social media’s unregulated evolution over the past decade holds a lot of lessons that apply directly to AI companies and technologies.

• Nathan E. Sanders archive page
• Bruce Schneier archive page

Stay connected

Get the latest updates from mit technology review.

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at [email protected] with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.

• Data, AI, & Machine Learning
• Managing Technology
• Social Responsibility
• Workplace, Teams, & Culture
• AI & Machine Learning
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Big ideas Research Projects
• Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy
• Responsible AI
• Future of the Workforce
• Future of Leadership
• All Research Projects
• AI in Action
• Most Popular
• The Truth Behind the Nursing Crisis
• Work/23: The Big Shift
• Coaching for the Future-Forward Leader
• Measuring Culture

The spring 2024 issue’s special report looks at how to take advantage of market opportunities in the digital space, and provides advice on building culture and friendships at work; maximizing the benefits of LLMs, corporate venture capital initiatives, and innovation contests; and scaling automation and digital health platform.

• Past Issues
• Upcoming Events
• Video Archive
• Me, Myself, and AI
• Three Big Points

Surviving a Day Without Smartphones

For young adults accustomed to continually checking their cellphones, even a single day without access to them can be anxiety-producing. What are the implications for executives about managing this constantly connected generation?

• Managing Your Career
• Talent Management
• Work-Life Balance

In contemporary society, many people, particularly those under the age of 30, rely on their smartphones for a variety of important activities, including waking up in the morning, listening to music, following the news, finding bus schedules, and communicating with friends and family. A 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 15% of Americans between ages 18 and 29 were “heavily dependent” on their smartphones for online access. There is no question that smartphones make our lives easier and more connected. But at what cost? Several studies have warned that excessive phone use can affect cognitive abilities, sleep, the quality of social interactions, and the ability to engage at work.

Based on the behavior we observed in our classrooms and the extent to which technology is infiltrating young people’s lives, we discussed what we could do to make our students more conscious of the costs associated with unrestrained use of mobile phones and other internet-connected devices. After reading about various ideas for curbing dependency on phones and devices, we decided to initiate a one-day project in which graduate students in our organizational behavior and leadership courses at the University of Bologna in Italy and the Bordeaux, France, campus of Kedge Business School would be asked to suspend all connectivity and keep a journal about their experience. This article is based on the experiences of 153 graduate students who participated in this project between 2015 and 2017.

Students reacted to the idea with a mix of incredulity and skepticism, although these reactions were often followed by a feeling of excitement. Some students, particularly foreign students, pushed back, citing concerns that family members or partners would worry if they were unreachable. In such cases, we suggested that students inform their families in advance and share the contact information of a friend or professor in case of emergency. A number of students questioned the very notion that they were in any way addicted to their devices. However, we ultimately decided to make participation in the project a requirement for our courses, and we advised students to inform their families that they would be out of touch.

Anticipating the Challenge

For a number of students, the days leading up to the challenge were both busy and stressful. Individual students were allowed to choose the day they would be off-line and away from their phone, and many were careful about how they prepared. In addition to notifying their friends and family, some students elected to announce their upcoming technology hiatus more publicly, by posting about it on social media. Many students anticipated some of the challenges they would face by printing bus schedules, driving directions, and other materials they usually accessed in real time from their devices. They consulted with friends and roommates on how to handle mundane tasks such as how to wake up in the morning without using their phone alarm.

Students were expected to keep track of the experience for a paper that would count for 30% of their final grade for the course. In the paper, they were to discuss how they prepared for the experiment, how they spent their time off-line, how the experience affected them emotionally, and what they learned about disconnecting from technology for one entire day.

Get Updates on Innovative Strategy

The latest insights on strategy and execution in the workplace, delivered to your inbox once a month.

Please enter a valid email address

Thank you for signing up

Privacy Policy

How They Spent Their Time

Many students noted that the unplugged day seemed longer than a typical day. Some saw this as a good thing as it allowed them to complete projects they had postponed for weeks. A German student said that, despite waking up later than usual (because he didn’t have an alarm), he had more time to read, exercise, and prepare a special meal.

For other students, having more time in the day was viewed as a negative, leaving them with gaps some admitted they didn’t know how to fill. “[Without the smartphone] my breakfast was too short and I did not know what to do next,” one student noted. Another wrote about his frustration at not being able to look at his phone during bus and train rides; he called it “the longest time of my life.” Not having a phone to look at made some students feel exposed. As one put it, “I was feeling uncomfortable, with no possibility to hide behind the phone screen.” One French student wrote, “I was not capable of doing nothing. I was thinking about my phone all the time.” To minimize their discomfort, a number of students elected to do the experiment on a day they knew would be busy. “In this way,” wrote a student from the United States, “I will be distracted and not think about my phone.”

Many students made a determined effort to approach the project as a learning opportunity. A few noted that it was a way to experience what life was like before the rise of mobile devices (or as one put it, to see “how my parents communicated when they were my age”). They reported spending time visiting new areas of the city (“I had been living in the city for six months, and there were still many places I did not know, so that was a fantastic day for me”). “I walked around for a couple of hours,” one student offered, “and it was so relaxing.”

Many participants said the experiment provided time to reflect on how technologies were shaping their lives and social interactions. Several said they experienced more meaningful conversations, which caused them to feel “closer and more connected” to their friends. One student wrote, “My friend and I had dinner in the evening, and we both remarked on how much more present we felt — how we could really hear what each other was saying.”

How They Felt

During the unplugged day, students experienced a mix of emotions. For many, the strongest feeling was anxiety. Students felt anxious about missing something important: What if their parents needed them? What if a dream employer was trying to contact them with a job offer? How would they catch up with all the social media updates they were missing? In anticipation of the experiment, some students reported that they had difficulty sleeping. In order to calm themselves, a few students said they used their smartphones as much as they could until the experiment began. (One wrote, “I spent [the] last minutes checking every communication and my social media apps.”)

A common sentiment was that the phone provided “a sense of safety.” Even when it was turned off, some students said they carried their phone with them in airplane mode just in case there was an emergency. Many noted that they felt the greatest amount of anxiety in the afternoon, when they hadn’t received a call for several hours. One Italian student wrote of her fears about losing contact with people and being excluded: “I am not receiving messages, photos, emails, likes, comments, etc. It feels as if no one is willing to interact with me, thinking about me! I am alone!!”

Students also expressed feelings of guilt at not being able to respond to messages received in their class chats. They were concerned that they were hurting their classmates’ ability to complete class assignments and worried about the repercussions their disconnection might have on their reputations and social life. A Russian woman studying at Bologna wrote, “Remaining silent for more than three hours is considered abnormal, requiring explanation later. Being fast in responses is a must that is needed in order to be part of social life.” When the 24-hour period was over, many students expressed relief. (As one student wrote, “Thankfully this challenge lasted only one day.”) Some of them even decided to insert screen shots in their papers documenting the number of missed messages, emails, and social media notifications.

What They Learned

Many students came to see that technology has pluses and minuses. Most of them concluded that technology was essential and that living without a mobile phone “would be impossible.” For example, they acknowledged that connectivity technologies had improved their lives and enabled opportunities (such as the ability to interact with people in other parts of the world) that were once more difficult to access. However, living unplugged — even for a single day — led many to see that control and moderation were important. As one male student from Turkey wrote, “I appreciate technology and the convenience it [brings] to our lives. However, too much technology can be detrimental.”

Students developed greater awareness about their own connectivity habits. As a Spanish student at Bologna noted, the experiment “was a surprising and revealing exercise that made [me] aware that [my] day starts and ends with a smartphone in my hands.” Even students who didn’t consider themselves overly reliant on their devices realized how dependent they were for simple things such as finding a recipe or setting a timer for cooking. Students also developed a greater awareness of the extent to which they were influenced by their peers. As one student wrote, “Since everybody is on the smartphone, I also do it.”

Finally, some students said that by observing other people in cafés or on trains who were totally immersed in their phones, they became more conscious of the fact that using phones in front of other people can be seen as disrespectful. One student wrote, “My friend checked his phone four times during our 10-minute encounter!! This made me realize how superficial some of our contemporary relationships are becoming.” Inspired by the project, several students have begun scheduling periods of respite when they pledge to be disconnected: “I can’t totally give up all my digital devices, but I’d like to have some unplugged days regularly,” wrote a male Chinese student at Kedge. An Italian woman studying at Bologna noted, “At the end of the day, I was missing neither social media nor having a digital connection. I was happy for the opportunity to challenge my unhealthy daily habits, because this gave me the opportunity to discover a slower, more conscious way.”

Implications for Managers

One thing we found was that young people are more open to adjusting their technology habits than we expected. Rather than being totally fixed in their ways, millennials are surprisingly open to discovering the value of new tasks and duties.

During the time they were cut off from their smartphones, many students rediscovered the value of other forms of collaboration. They found new ways to coordinate with classmates for meetings and sharing class material, class assignments, and so forth. Such flexibility and resourcefulness could give organizations ideas about how to approach their digital strategies and what kinds of limits to impose on internet connectivity. For instance, organizations might find it useful to limit the use of devices during business meetings, meals, or interactions with colleagues, and perhaps to establish guidelines around sending nonurgent emails during non-work hours, as a nod toward employees’ private lives and families. Although text messaging is certainly easy and fast, companies may want to encourage face-to-face communication when possible.

Working without devices for limited periods of time can highlight opportunities for improving self-awareness and self-regulation, two key elements of emotional intelligence. Following the experiment, we noticed that many students voluntarily adopted behavioral rules that limit the use of mobile devices when interacting with others as a sign of respect and undivided attention. One German student reported that he began hiding his phone and keeping it “out of sight” during social interactions to control his deeply ingrained habit of checking his phone or simply playing with it while he was with other people. Considering the pervasiveness of internet-connected devices in contemporary organizations, we hope that the unplugging experiment can be an inspiration for organizations — and especially for their leaders — as they attempt to model the right approach to using mobile technologies at work.

About the Authors

Marcello Russo ( @MarcelloRusso6 ) is an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy, and an adjunct professor at the Bordeaux, France, campus of Kedge Business School. Massimo Bergami ( @maxbergami ) is a professor of organizational behavior and dean of Bologna Business School. Gabriele Morandin ( @GabriMorand ) is an associate professor of human resources at the University of Bologna.

Acknowledgments

More like this, add a comment cancel reply.

You must sign in to post a comment. First time here? Sign up for a free account : Comment on articles and get access to many more articles.

Can You Live Without Your Smartphone?

“i can quit using my smartphone anytime.".

Posted March 6, 2019

We made up the quotation above, but it could have come from many conversations we overhear and articles we read. The paradox is hardly surprising, given our bombardment by messages of goodwill about cellphone's awesome power and thrilling beauty.

Apple says, “We believe everyone should be able to do what they love with iPhone.” Samsung calls us to “meet our latest and greatest innovation ” in its Galaxy S10. Google boasts that the Pixel 3 is “Everything you wish your phone could do.”

That all sounds rather good, doesn’t it? Stylish, fancy, new phones that give us what we want. Trust Apple, trust Samsung, trust Google. No wonder 46 percent of Americans admit they couldn’t survive without their smartphones.

But there seems to be a dark side, and a belief that cellphone addiction is a genuine malady . In 2018, the World Health Organization identified an internet gaming problem and Britain’s National Health Service created a Centre for Internet Disorders. In the U.S., 40% of consumers worry that they overuse their phones — 60% of those between age 18 and 34 —while 63% seek to cut down on phone time.

Apple’s Tim Cook banned his nephew from social media and Steve Jobs didn’t let his children near an iPad. Bill and Melinda Gates of Microsoft made cellphones off-limits to their pre-teens. Chris Anderson, lapsed editor of the once-biblical Wired magazine, calls screen addiction “closer to crack cocaine” than a sugar habit. John Lilly, former head of Mozilla, explained to his teenage son, to no avail, that “somebody wrote code to make you feel this way.” Anderson summed up the regret that has led to tech-free homes across Silicon Valley: “We glimpsed into the chasm of addiction, and there were some lost years, which we feel bad about.”

The malady is frequently associated with US hyper - consumerism . But again and again, for example in a classic of narcissistic New York Times journalism, we are told that this is about individual psyches, and are instructed to withdraw from addiction via medical or pop-psychology models.

The idea that smartphone addiction is an individual pathology implies that anxious parents can address it through family-centered remedies and time away from the screen. We might wish to follow that example, both for our children and ourselves. But we’re not told what it costs to engage "addicts" with non-digital substitutes. Perhaps we can’t afford non-digital choices once we’ve used up our money on digital devices, or must keep using them for educational or work reasons.

Individualized solutions for smartphone addiction are available to wealthy families because they enjoy a fantastic range of educational, informational, and cultural resources. Remedies are available in a range of settings, from the militarized regimen of the Internet Addiction Treatment Centre in Daxing , China to breezy, tech-free weekends at Camp Grounded in Mendocino, California .

The basic business models are similar: teach exercise routines and non-electronic forms of communication until patients aching to touch smartphones and tablets, to scroll and thumb as if their lives depended on it, are disciplined, calmed, and ready to be returned to the world as steadier, and somewhat fitter, consumers and employees. Moderation in all things—apart from phone purchase, of course.

Camp Grounded illustrates its wares rather alarmingly, with a photograph of a man shooting a bow and arrow, followed by a description of itself as “Pure, Unadulterated Camp For Grown-Ups.” We can’t wait. But if we really can’t wait, there’s always the “7-Day Phone Breakup Challenge ,” which promises “a relationship with your phone that actually feels good”—and by the way, don’t forget to buy the book that tells you how.

Here’s the thing: The moral psychology that informs Silicon Valley’s shared regret with the Gray Lady about addictive technologies reflects an inward-looking egotism that does not address the social scale of smartphone addiction. If addiction is a social ill that our society confronts with individualized solutions, the wealthy and privileged have a leg up in the quest for healthier digital environments. But what if our society opted to care for all of us? Then individualized solutions wouldn’t make sense; they’re too expensive, too fragmented, and too difficult to implement—even if budget “digital detox” compounds are available. We almost forgot—“ budget ” means under $300 a day. (Of course, as an alternative, you could be converted to Christ by joining Faith Technology’s Digital Sabbath).

We need socialized solutions to digital addiction that provide the greatest utility to the greatest number of people—something like a national social program that distributes a full range of informational, cultural, and educational resources to rival the allure of smartphones and connect to public alternatives to the private world of so much digital communication. Don't touch that dial.

Toby Miller, Ph.D., is a visiting professor at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Richard Maxwell, Ph.D. , is a professor of media studies at the City University of New York, Queens College.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Therapy Center NEW
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Understanding what emotional intelligence looks like and the steps needed to improve it could light a path to a more emotionally adept world.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

I spent a year living and working without a phone, and it radically improved my life. Here are 6 things I learned.

• Like many of us, Javier Ortega-Araiza found himself addicted to his phone. 
• So he tried a two-week experiment without it. He later extended that experiment by an additional year. 
• Oretega-Araiza said not having a phone forced him to learn how to better communicate.

For the past fifteen minutes, I had been standing at the agreed intersection, wondering whether my friend was still coming to pick me up before our tennis game. But I can't call or text him —since I no longer have a phone. For the moment, I wait, trust, and read as the clock keeps ticking.

As I ponder whether I should walk back home, a car honks from a distance, flashing its lights. My friend waves.

As we make our way to the courts, my mind backtracks.

A few weeks ago, my phone's charge port stopped functioning, and as an experiment, I decided to see if I could go without a phone for two weeks. When my two weeks were up, I didn't feel ready to have a phone again. Without a particular time frame in mind, I decided to extend the experiment and it ended up lasting an entire year.

Like many of us, I found that I spend too much time on my phone, and was way too reliant on it.

According to research from Insider Intelligence , Americans spend an average of 4 hours and 31 minutes a day on their phones. Research from the tech care company Asurion found that Americans check their phones an average of 96 times a day, or around once every ten minutes.

Even if you manage to avoid looking at your phone 96 times a day, research says that just having a phone around can negatively impact your cognitive abilities. A 2017 study published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research found that "even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention — as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones — the mere presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capacity."

Given those negative impacts, I wanted to know what would happen if I suddenly gave up my smartphone – whether I'd feel better or worse, more productive or less capable of doing my job. Like so many others, I'd treated my phone as a crutch – there to entertain me when I was bored, or remind me of a fact or event that I'd forgotten. I'd gotten so dependent on it that I wasn't sure who I was without it. But I wanted to find out.

I learned to let go of the anxiety of feeling disconnected

I'm a writer and content creator, and I found that when I sat down to write, not having my phone next to me allowed me to get into a deeper state of flow. I also run a business focused on educational travel. But since travel was halted due to the pandemic, and we had no groups moving around, there was nothing particularly urgent.

I wasn't a very active social media user when it came to Facebook or Instagram, but I relied a lot on WhatsApp and iMessage for my daily communications, and I mostly handled email from my phone. I found that when I checked my emails or messages on the computer after coming back from a tennis game, for example, nothing pressing had happened. It took time, but eventually, the anxiety I felt from being disconnected began to wane.

Suddenly, I could wake up and center myself instead of picking up the phone as my first action of the day. The absence of a phone allowed me to do some much-needed self-examination. What was I feeling anxious about? Why did I feel the need to be instantly available to all people?

I also realized how much I relied on my phone for basic things, like remembering phone numbers.

I knew the phone number of friends I had met over ten years ago — pre-cell phone — but I couldn't recall the contact numbers of anyone I had met recently. I'd been relying more on my phone's memory instead of mine.

Related stories

I now needed to write down someone's phone number and then wait and call them from my landline if I wanted to reach them, which made my communication more intentional. Instead of sending half-hearted texts and juggling multiple conversations at once I was forced to engage with one person at a time.

I was forced to face my feelings when I found myself alone

With a phone, when I needed instant gratification, I would message someone to gain validation, but I could no longer do this. With no on-demand apps available, my escape routes were blocked. If I was at a bar, sitting by myself, and I started feeling uncomfortable, I could no longer use my phone as a distraction. I had to face my feelings. The same applied to difficult conversations. I noticed how other people looked down at their phones, avoided the topic, and attempted to sort it out later through text. But I didn't have that easy out.

It presented some logistical challenges

There were, of course, also logistical issues that I needed to deal with without a phone.

For example, I couldn't order an Uber unless I borrowed somebody's phone, which I did when I had no other viable option in sight—and overall, things required more logistical planning, at least initially. Some things took longer than originally expected, and I had to do more communicating upfront with people when it came to making plans.

It forced me to learn to be a better communicator

I was forced to learn how to communicate better. I was also forced to undo the default instinct to pull out my phone to get directions. I'd been so used to having a GPS do the work for me, but without a phone or Google Maps, I had to ask for help — to actually talk to other people and ask for directions.

Not always being available made my employees more self-reliant

Needing help, and learning how to ask for help also transformed how I run my businesses. I realized that colleagues might know better than me when it came to certain topics, and it did not make me any less worthy. If we really want to build a team, we need to learn how to be open to receiving help along the way.

I had prided myself on being instantly responsive to everyone at my company. Now that this was not an option, people had to adjust and seek out their own solutions. Even if it was harsh at the beginning — many people around me did not like the change — it led to much-needed shifts because I was no longer always available.

I realized I was more of a micromanager than I thought. I became aware of how many problems could be sorted out by my staff if I trusted them, instead of always trying to be the savior. This helped my business be less dependent on me, and it also opened up the space for other people to step up to the plate.

Gradually, I felt a deeper sense of inner peace, which also allowed me to have greater focus on my work. Instead of waking up being instantly responsive, and interrupting my flow to respond to all the messages on my phone, I could be fully present with whatever I was doing.

I learned that I can have a healthier relationship with my phone

Before this, one of my most phone-intensive activities was my educational travel business, which, as I mentioned, had halted its ground operations. However, as travel returned, I was due to co-lead a program in New York.

I felt I needed a phone to do my job, so a year after my phone-free experiment began, I reactivated my mobile contract.

This would be a test of whether I would use the device or it would use me, but I'm proud to say it's been the former more than the latter.

As of now, I keep a "deep work" approach where I maintain office hours to respond to apps like WhatsApp or Telegram but otherwise try and stay away from my phone.

Of course, it is not always flawless. Sometimes the desire for instant gratification comes, and I turn to my texts. Or there are times when I'm in social groups, and the conversation is boring, and because I don't want to hurt people by leaving, I turn to my phone to check the latest ATP or Premier League scores.

But overall, I feel a lot better, and my anxiety about feeling connected to the world has dwindled over time. My awareness has increased, and so have my communication skills. I have a phone, but it's not my life — it's a tool I use when I need it. One of my proudest achievements is that I now have important conversations in person (or by a video call when the person is not in the same place as me) instead of attempting to escape the situations through vague texts or simply ghosting.

Smartphones aren't good or bad — they simply amplify the consciousness of their users. It can improve our lives or worsen them. Whether we make our phone our ally or our enemy is a choice.

• Main content

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Student Opinion

Could You Go a Year Without a Smartphone?

By Jeremy Engle

• Jan. 8, 2019

Do you own a smartphone? How often do you use it?

Now imagine: How long could you go without your phone? Months? Weeks? Days?

In the Opinion article “ In Search of Lost Screen Time ,” Paul Greenberg writes:

More than three-quarters of all Americans own a smartphone. In 2018 those 253 million Americans spent $1,380 and 1,460 hours on their smartphone and other mobile devices. That’s 91 waking days; cumulatively, that adds up to 370 billion waking American hours and $349 billion.

He describes some of the many things we could do if we didn’t spend so much time on our phones. For example, we could:

Circumnavigate Last year the globe-circling Scottish cyclist Mark Beaumont smashed the world circumnavigation record by riding around the world’s land mass in 79 days. He pedaled 16 hours a day for a total of 1,264 hours — or just under a year’s worth of smartphone usage. Average humans couldn’t match Mr. Beaumont’s feat, but the money and time saved by ditching their phones would afford them a lot of time with a personal trainer. Play Smartphone usage is highest among teenagers and people in their early 20s. And it’s at this crucial time when virtuosity in a musical instrument can be attained. At current rates of device usage, most young people will burn through the famous 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell associated with becoming an “elite pianist” over the course of the next decade. How many virtuosos will we lose in the years ahead if device use among young people continues to grow apace?

Save The average American spends $14,000 per decade on smartphones. That’s $70,000 over the course of an average working life. Invested in a conservative mutual fund with an annual rate of return of 4 percent, that would yield over $1.3 million in retirement savings. (The current median household retirement savings is $5,000.)

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

— How much time do you spend on your phone each day? What kinds of things do you do on your phone?

— Could you go a year without your smartphone? Why or why not?

— What benefits does your phone have for your life? In what ways do you think it negatively affects your life?

— If you don’t have a smartphone, what are the advantages to not owning one? What are the disadvantages?

— Does the article persuade you to give up your phone for a year? Which of the examples provided by the author are most persuasive? How would you spend your time if you were to live without a phone for a year?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

How does it feel to live without a smartphone? ‘Almost spiritual’

For most, giving up a smartphone in 2023 would be an almost inconceivable inconvenience. But those who’ve done it say they found delight with dumber devices

• Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email

E arlier this year, Angelo Profera’s smartphone gave up the ghost. Like many 21-year-olds, he’d been using it a lot: messaging friends, scrolling social media and taking care of personal admin. But he’d also started feeling like the phone was more chore than convenience. “I felt a lot of pressure to be connected,” he says. “I didn’t like how much energy I was putting into answering voice messages and being available all the time.”

Browsing for a replacement phone, he had a brainwave. He left the shop with a phone that had no internet and could only receive calls and text messages: a dumb phone. It was a bold move for a smartphone native, and Profera, who lives in Switzerland, was initially worried his new device might cause some problems. Instead, he says, it has transformed the way he interacts with the world.

He now calls people when he wants to speak to them, rather than having drawn out chats on WhatsApp, which has improved the quality of his relationships. And he feels more confident and productive, including in his work as an engineer. “With calling people much more regularly, I felt more comfortable speaking to businesses and getting things done.”

Without the distraction of a smartphone he feels freer, describing the experience as “almost spiritual”.

Profera is not alone: although smartphone sales globally continue to rise, an increasing number of people are trading in their smartphones for simpler, more basic models. HMD Global, owner of Nokia, recently reported that the market for limited-feature flip phones is up 5% in the US and rising in Europe, while reports suggest sales in Australia have doubled in the past year . Nokia has even embraced the ‘dumb phone’ moniker .

T he first iPhone was released in 2007, and just one year later the UK Post Office coined the term ‘nomophobia’ to describe the fear of going without a mobile. Now, smartphone usage is almost ubiquitous in wealthy countries. UK mobile users spent an average of 4 hours and 14 minutes a day on their phones in 2022, while in Australia it was closer to 5 hours .

We’re regularly warned of the effects that too much screen time can have on our sleep , relationships and mental health . Frequent, too, are studies showing rising rates of smartphone addiction.

Ru Litherland, 49, has passively observed the rise in smartphone usage over the past 16 years. The London-based market gardener finds it difficult to understand how people have become so attached. “There’s an uncritical embracing of it,” he says.

“Technology should be there to serve us, but so often technologies are created to make profit … I approach it from the perspective of: how useful is this, and what do we lose from it? So often where there’s a gain from technology, there’s a loss too.

Though Litherland recognises the practical side of smartphones, he thinks they can take people away from appreciating the world around them. Though the alternative might involve a long queue at the bank; time spent waiting on hold to a call centre, or communicating via letter, Litherland sees these tasks as opportunities for more meaningful social interactions.

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Dr Zeena Feldman, a senior lecturer in digital communications at King’s College London, says smartphone refusers typically fall into three groups: the older generation who have never really used them; middle-aged people who have chosen to give up their phones because of privacy concerns, and younger people who “have realised the toxicity of this dependency we have on our little pocket computers”.

Feldman says gen Z advocates tend to be middle class and fairly privileged – typified by the New York City ‘ Luddite Club ’.

Temporary or permanent smartphone blackouts have also received celebrity endorsements: Michael Cera, Selena Gomez and Aziz Ansari are all converts.

But these movements are far from mainstream. Litherland suspects this is why people find it difficult to understand his choice. He is pleased to have the chance to talk about it, he says, because very few people seem to engage with the idea when he mentions it. Reactions are usually bemused.

Litherland reluctantly bought his first smartphone a year ago. It was a decision he felt forced into: many school social activities are now organised through WhatsApp groups, and he was worried about limiting social opportunities for his child. WhatsApp aside, he has not downloaded any social media apps, but says he does appreciate the camera.

F or those who have already used smartphones, switching back to life without one can prove difficult too. Catherine Webb, 45, has tried several times, using a dumb phone for months at a time. She says she finds it “freeing”.

“In spare moments you can just think, rather than pick up the phone and find out that the world is ending, or that you have a worrying work email, or that someone on the internet is annoyed by an inconsequential thing.”

Although she would like to use a dumb phone permanently, the pandemic-accelerated rise of QR codes, for everything from restaurant menus to mobile ticketing, has made it too impractical.

In an increasingly connected world, Feldman says that giving up your smartphone is often a privilege only afforded to those who don’t rely on one for work. Unlike Cera, Ansari and Gomez, most people do not have agents or assistants to scroll for them. Gig-economy jobs like delivery driving require a smartphone; while the expectation of quick communication in other industries means not having one can severely curtail one’s productivity, and, ultimately, attractiveness to employers.

David Sorauer, a digital marketer from Sydney, finds our addiction to smartphones troubling, particularly the idea that people should always be contactable. Rather than switching handsets, he has used every setting available to dumb down his smartphone. He permanently set his phone to greyscale so the screen is less appealing, uninstalled all social media apps, and hid other time-sucking apps such as email, news and web browsers.

This means he can still use the phone for practical tasks like finding directions, banking and taking photos, but the device is far less tempting for mindless browsing. He says it hasn’t affected his job because he sets clear expectations about when he will be contactable. “Reducing my dependence on constantly being connected” has given him “a feeling of freedom and clarity”.

Even telecommunications companies are onboard with less drastic measures to disconnect. In Australia, Optus has created a ‘pause’ setting that allows users to disconnect their phones and internet for set periods of time. Optus marketing managing director Matt Williams says that pausing peaks from 9pm to 10pm on weekdays, with users averaging 28 hours of ‘pause’ time a month.

Meanwhile, gen Z interest in dumb phones may not be a wholesale rejection of technology either. The 1bn views of ‘flip phone’ videos on TikTok suggest it is as much about the nostalgic (or ironic) trend towards Y2K technology as it is about switching off.

O le Lordieck, who lives in Berlin and works in computer programming, also says ditching a smart device does not have to mean disconnecting entirely. He got his first smartphone in 2018, but the 28-year-old switched back to a dumb phone recently because he found it too distracting.

Although his work is internet-based, he gets by using a laptop to contact team members via Telegram and Slack during the work day.

Lordieck concedes he would return to smartphone usage if it was a requirement “for my dream job”, but he adds: “I would try not to get forced to use a smartphone in my daily life again.”

Lordieck has noticed a social cost: friends contact him less now, and he thinks this might be because his name no longer appears on their list of WhatsApp or Telegram chats.

But Webb believes there’s a social cost to using a smartphone, too. “People … opt out of the reality that’s right in front of them and plunge into their phone reality,” she says. “And I think that’s a really bad option for us to all have in our pockets.”

Research supports Webb’s “phone reality” comment. In 2021, a group of anthropologists from University College London described smartphones as “ a place we live ”, likening usage to a snail withdrawing into its shell.

A University of Melbourne study , carried out during Covid lockdowns, also found that people used smartphones to self-soothe.

“People have figured out how to use them for the purpose of strategically manipulating their own emotions,” says Prof Wally Smith, a researcher in computer-human interaction who worked on the Melbourne study.

However, while traditional forms of emotional regulation, such as listening to music, are typically innocuous, Smith says smartphones can be a volatile resource, causing what the study authors call “disrupted regulation”. Watching a funny video or texting a friend might quell feelings of unhappiness or loneliness, but much of what we see on our phones can provoke the feelings we’re trying to avoid.

“One thing [study respondents] did was go and look up news about the economy or news about the virus as a way to quell their uncertainty,” says Smith. “What they found would often throw up things that were actually more distressing, more disturbing.”

This underscores the reason Litherland avoided smartphones for so long. “There are plenty of other ways to fill your time,” he says. “I’d rather go for walk.”

• Australian lifestyle
• Smartphones
• Mobile phones
• Social media

Comments (…)

Most viewed.

Three things we can all learn from people who don’t use smartphones or social media

Chair in Inclusive Societies, University of Sheffield

Directorate Advanced Research Computing (ARC) Durham University, Durham University

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Durham University and University of Sheffield provide funding as founding partners of The Conversation UK.

View all partners

• Bahasa Indonesia

Many of us spend hours every day tethered to our devices, pawing at the screen to see if it will deliver a few more likes or emails, monitoring the world and honing our online presence. Social networking platforms such as Whatsapp, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are supposed to make us feel more connected. Yet our reliance on technology to “see” the social world around us can be a heavy burden.

The Pew Research Centre recently reported that about a quarter of US adults say they are “almost constantly” online. Stress, addiction, depression and anxiety seem unsurprising consequences of using social platforms often specifically designed to keep us repeating the same actions over and over again.

Even so, many would find the prospect of living offline worrisome, or simply impossible. That’s why we undertook a small study with 50 people who may seem nothing less than social outcasts in today’s screen saturated environment. None of our participants used social media or had a mobile phone, and most even refused to email.

We wanted to understand why these people had decided to switch off, and how they managed it. But rather than seeking quick fixes for overuse, we explored the principles and values that drove our participants to live the way they do. Much has already been written about how we can switch off – but that won’t achieve much, unless we really feel the benefits.

Here’s what our respondents said they’d learned, from living their social lives offline.

1. Spending time with others

Part of the problem with social networking platforms is that we don’t just use them for communicating – they also promote a particular way of being connected to and supportive of those around us. These interactions are channelled through the platform to create data, which is ultimately fed back to data brokers and marketers.

Our participants shared a deep belief in, and attachment to, a different way of socialising that’s focused on expression, touching, talking and being in the same space, physically. For them, this helped to maintain a feeling of human bonding and connection.

And while this slower, deeper acknowledgement of others was especially valued by our participants, they also thought it might be valuable to society more broadly. Given the angst-ridden nature of frenetic social networking, we could all benefit from slowing down and taking stock more often.

For many people today, the sense of being “always-on” is generating a desire to achieve greater balance and disengage from the things that are causing them stress. For our participants, who didn’t use smartphones and social media, time with others was associated with a sense of calm and purpose in life.

2. Switching off is not missing out

Our participants questioned what exactly is “social” about social media: what constitutes communication, and what do we get from the way that social stuff is measured on online platforms – whether that’s friendship, support or social contact. Rather than having hundreds of “friends”, they would always choose to see people face to face and nurture relationships that would support them through the tough times.

Taking the opportunity to switch off may, at first, cause some anxiety. But the trick is to realise that switching off is not the same as missing out. When you first switch off, you may spend more time in your own company. But from these moments may come a realisation of how exhausting it is to sustain online connections, and indeed how superficial it is to be locked in endless exchanges of trivial information.

Those who chose to disconnect are neither sad nor excluded. Freed from the screen, they escaped from the overwhelming flows of information and tasks. Their deep sense of connection with the world, and their loved ones, was clear to see.

3. Being, rather than doing

Many of those who switched off enjoyed new-found vitality, because they found time to connect with the world in the here and now. This is crucial to helping us reset and relax , so that we are prepared for more stressful times.

Time spent scrolling through content may feel as though it makes light demands on body and mind. But the visual interference from a bright screen is far from relaxing. You are much less likely to have restful sleep if you share a bed with your smartphone, or surf to sleep .

As mindfulness is becoming more popular, its core ideas are often coopted by technology. On Instagram, for example, successful influencers show off their yoga skills and promote spiritual disciplines. Fitness trackers, health data and yoga apps consistently rank among the top apps downloaded by smartphone users.

Our disconnected group told us that we should be more critical of our use of apps and start leaving our phone behind. If mindfulness is a state of being focusing on the present – channelling thoughts, feelings and sensations as they flow through us – then what use is a screen? Constant connection paradoxically results in less free time, and periods when we are able to think without interruption give precious refuge from the demands of daily life.

These disconnected people did not switch off to be “anti-social”. They did so to take charge of when and where they connected with people. They may well be part of a vanguard, leading to new ways of being happier, more rested and, yes, more social.

Ten years from now, we might look back at the emergence of social media as a part of humanity’s growing-up – a time that created social divisions, anxiety and restlessness and which damaged the health and well-being of many. Until then, maybe it’s best to put our smartphones down – or at least switch them off a little more often.

• Social media
• Social networks
• Smart phones
• Articles for young people
• Social media addiction
• Social media platforms
• Digital addiction

Assistant Editor - 1 year cadetship

Program Development Officer - Business Processes

Executive Dean, Faculty of Health

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Earth System Science (School of Science)

Sydney Horizon Educators (Identified)

You Cannot Live Without Mobile Phones Argumentative Essay

While communication technologies have penetrated to the lives of contemporary society, it does not positively contribute to its adequate cultural, psychological and social development.

Ladies and gentlemen, today my team plan to prove the affirmative speaker’s argument is not well-grounded because it distorts the current data on negative influence of mobile phone use. My argument will provide a wider picture on social, cultural, and political contexts that are negatively influenced by the wireless technology.

My first speaker will elaborate on the negative impact of mobile phones on human health, which can persuade the audience that living without mobile phones is possible because this lifestyle is much healthier.

My second and third speakers will focus on detrimental effects of living with mobile phones in cultural and political terms. The exploration of all these outcomes can prove the living without mobile phones is much better.

Affirmative speakers recognize that mobile media and communication networks have captured the entire global community that cannot imagine their daily activities without phone use.

All meetings, conferences and appointments are now arranged by means of these portable devices because it is incredibly fast and convenient. However, overuse of mobile phones deprives people of face-to-face communication and makes them less interested in visiting their friends and relatives.

More importantly, daily use of cell phones can pose harm to human health due to the influence of phone radiation. In a broader sense, use of telecommunication technologies makes people more dependent on social opinion and political power that often manipulates society for their own purposes.

Power and mobile communication, therefore, shape a dangerous synthesis depriving people of personal, objective evaluation of various events.

The fact that society is constantly developing is undeniable and the invention of mobile inventions is a logical outcomes. However, technological progress does not always contribute to the improvement of societal welfare.

Hence, emergence of wireless technology creates a wider access to information and people, but deprives people of face-to-face communication (Ganguly et al 2011). Reference to previous history of development proves that society can flourish without use of mobile phones.

The point is that older generations are not so dependent from cell phones as their descendants (Walsh et al., 2010). Indeed, young people embracing technology are more likely to employ wireless technologies rather than take advantage of live communication.

Despite this face, the possibility to minimize the use of cell phones is possible as soon as numerous researches introduce the persuasive arguments about the harmful effect of their frequent utilization.

As it has been mentioned previously by affirmative team, mobile phones constitute an inherent element of daily life. However, within a health care perspective, mobile phone radiation can have negative consequences for human health.

Although recent studies have not approved the connection between radiation emission and cancer emergence, there are still other negative outcomes, such as thermal heating, which pose risks to human health. According to Ganguly et al. (2011), hazardous influence of mobile phones is under the focus of most scholars due to the increased demand for wireless technologies.

In particular, the researchers insist, “most of the heating effect occurs on the head surface, facial nerves and surrounding sift tissue causing increase in temperature by a fraction of a degree” (Ganguly et al. 2011, p. 370). Many other negative outcomes can make the modern society think over the reduction of mobile phone use.

Certainly, total refusal to use mobile phone in daily life is impossible, particularly for the representatives of Generation Y and Generation Z. These layers of population have grown up along with the simultaneous invention of these telecommunication devices. Therefore, their lifestyles could not be changed immediately.

Although the affirmative speaker focuses on the development of innovative technologies as the way to societal welfare, the emergence of innovative technologies has had an adverse effect on social and psychological development of the global communities.

This is of particular concern to the shifts in communication approaches, as well as daily activities. However, these changes could not be regarded as absolutely positive, although these technological introductions contribute to the emergence of a new society with new moral and ethical values that differ much from older generations (Nassiri et al. 2012).

Dependence on these cell phones in these terms can distort individuals’ understanding of social and cultural identity. Nassiri et al. (2012) have also found interesting data about the connection between personality traits and mobile phone use.

In particular, they have discovered, “…extraversion and neuroticism have from two major personality factors related to dependent on mobile phones” (Nassiri et al. 2012, p. 114). The studies, therefore, prove that use of wireless technologies creates an overwhelming impact on human behavior, personality, and consciousness, leading to loss of self-awareness and self-esteem.

The possibility to live without mobile phones can also be supported by the greater concern with political influence and its dominating power in the sphere of media and telecommunications.

In this respect, Goggin (2011) focuses on historic perspective to underline the insignificance of communication in lives people. In fact, most media companies have become dependent on mobile phones as the most popular media platform for mass mailing and advertising.

Reference List

Ganguly, S, Mukhopadhayay, S, & Guha, S 2011, ‘Stress to Human Health Due to Electromagnetic Radiation Emitted from Mobile Phone’, International Journal Of Bio-Resource & Stress Management , vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 369-372.

Goggin, G 2011, “Power and Mobile Media”, In G Goggin (ed), Global Mobile Media, New York, Routledge, pp. 13-37.

Nassiri, Z, Hashembeik, N, & Siadat, S 2012, ‘The relationship between type and amount use of mobile phone and personality characteristics of students’, Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business , vol.4, no.3, pp. 113-120.

Walsh, S, White, K, & McD Young, R 2010, ‘Needing to connect: The effect of self and others on young people’s involvement with their mobile phones’, Australian Journal Of Psychology , vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 194-203.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, June 18). You Cannot Live Without Mobile Phones. https://ivypanda.com/essays/you-cannot-live-without-mobile-phones/

"You Cannot Live Without Mobile Phones." IvyPanda , 18 June 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/you-cannot-live-without-mobile-phones/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'You Cannot Live Without Mobile Phones'. 18 June.

IvyPanda . 2019. "You Cannot Live Without Mobile Phones." June 18, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/you-cannot-live-without-mobile-phones/.

1. IvyPanda . "You Cannot Live Without Mobile Phones." June 18, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/you-cannot-live-without-mobile-phones/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "You Cannot Live Without Mobile Phones." June 18, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/you-cannot-live-without-mobile-phones/.

• Central heating systems
• Heating and Air Cooling Systems
• The Future of Large Face-to-face Meetings with Regards to Information Technology
• Face-to-Face Communication: Why It Is Better Than Other Types of Communication
• Emerging Technology in Wireless Networking
• Ad on Sex Education Distorts Obama Policy
• Passive Solar Heating Systems and Their Benefits
• History of the Heating Systems
• Hotels Cooling and Heating Systems
• Affirmative Action: Advantages and Controversy
• Value of Smartphone Security
• Monopolistic Competition of Smart Phones
• Cell Phone Industry in the USA
• Mobile Technology Advancements
• Increase in the Use of Mobile Phones and it’s Effects on Young People

• Bipolar Disorder
• Therapy Center
• When To See a Therapist
• Types of Therapy
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Couples Therapy
• Best Family Therapy
• Managing Stress
• Sleep and Dreaming
• Understanding Emotions
• Self-Improvement
• Healthy Relationships
• Student Resources
• Personality Types
• Guided Meditations
• Verywell Mind Insights
• 2024 Verywell Mind 25
• Mental Health in the Classroom
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board
• Crisis Support

Nomophobia: The Fear of Being Without Your Phone

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Verywell / Bailey Mariner

The Origins of Nomophobia

• Why We Can't Be Without Our Phones

Have you ever found yourself getting anxious or even panicked when you couldn't find your phone? Does the thought of being stranded in an isolated place with no cellular service fill you with a sense of dread? If so, you just might have some of the symptoms of nomophobia.

Mobile phones have become a ubiquitous part of modern life. Not only do they serve as a way to communicate, but they also act as a social network tool, personal organizer, online shopping tool, calendar, alarm clock, and mobile bank. While they are without a doubt beneficial devices, some suggest that overreliance on digital devices may be a form of behavioral addiction .

In fact, the term nomophobia was coined fairly recently to describe the fear of being without your phone. This includes not just losing, forgetting, or breaking your phone, but also being outside of mobile phone contact. It is a growing concern in a world where always being connected seems more important than ever before. When people lose their phone, when their mobile runs out of battery, or when they are in an area with no cellular coverage, it can lead to feelings of stress and anxiety—or even feelings of fear or panic.

This fear of being without a mobile device is often considered a sign of problematic digital device use, which some experts believe may have a detrimental impact on mental health and well-being.

Frequent mobile phone use has the potential to cause short-term negative outcomes such as increased distraction, but it may also have long-term consequences such as exacerbating existing mental health issues or contributing to behavioral addictions.

Nomophobia is an abbreviated form of " no - mo bile- pho ne pho bia ." The term was first coined in a 2008 study that was commissioned by the UK Postal Office. In a sample of more than 2,100 adults, the study indicated that 53% of participants experienced nomophobia. The condition is characterized by feelings of anxiety when people lose their phones, run out of battery life, or have no cellular coverage.

The study revealed that this fear can be so powerful that many people never turn off their phones, even at night or during times that they won't be using their devices. When asked why they never turn off their phones, 55% cited a need to keep in touch with family and friends, 10% said they needed to be contactable for work reasons, and 9% reported that turning off their phones made them anxious.

The fear of missing out on something is perhaps what leads so many people to report that they would respond to a call or text even if they are in the middle of something else. The study revealed that people were often willing to interrupt life activities in order to respond to a call. The majority of people (80%) were willing to answer a call while watching television, 40% would respond to a call while eating a meal, and 18% would be willing to answer the phone when they were in bed with another person.

How Common Is It?

While the research on the phenomenon is still limited, the available findings suggest that nomophobia is quite common. One study of students in India found that more than 22% of participants showed signs of severe nomophobia. Around 60% of those who took part in the study had moderate signs of the condition.  

Signs of Nomophobia

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by an irrational fear of an object or situation. In this instance, the fear is of being without a phone or being out of the reach of cell phone service.

While nomophobia is not a clinical diagnosis, some of the signs that are commonly identified as related to this fear include:

• The inability to turn off your phone
• Constantly checking your phone for missed messages, emails, or calls
• Charging your battery even when your phone is almost fully charged
• Taking your phone with you everywhere you go, even into the bathroom
• Repeatedly checking to make sure that you have your phone
• Fear of being without Wifi or being able to connect to a cellular data network
• Worrying about negative things happening and not being able to call for help
• Stress over being disconnected from one’s online presence or identity
• Skipping activities or planned events in order to spend time on the mobile device

In addition to emotional and cognitive symptoms, people may also experience physical symptoms as well. People might breathe faster, their heart rate may increase, they may sweat more, and may shake or tremble. They may also begin to feel weak or dizzy. In severe cases, these fear symptoms can escalate into a panic attack .

Characteristics of Nomophobia

In a 2015 study, researchers identified some key dimensions of nomophobia.   The fear of being without a phone center on:

• Not being able to communicate with others
• Feeling generally disconnected
• Not being able to access information
• Giving up a convenience

People with this phobia check their phones constantly, take their phones everywhere they go (including the shower and bathroom), spend many hours per day using their phones, and experience feelings of helplessness when they are separated from their phones.

Studies have shown that frequent or compulsive mobile phone use is connected to increased stress, anxiety, and depression. Excessive phone use has been linked to a number of negative effects that include decreased grades, increased anxiety, lower life satisfaction, and a lower sense of overall well-being.  

Why We Can't Be Without Our Phones

There are a number of reasons why people experience symptoms of nomophobia.

Usefulness for Daily Tasks

The usefulness of mobile phones plays a key role in this fear of being without one’s phone. Smartphones are capable of doing so much; people use their phones to stay in touch, to research things that are interested in, to conduct business, to stay organized, to share personal information, and even to manage money.

Because people now turn to their phones for so many important tasks, it is perhaps not surprising that people fear being without their devices. Being without your phone can leave people feeling cut off and isolated from important aspects of their life including friends, family, work, finances, and information.

Amount of Use Each Day

A 2014 study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions found that college students spend as much as nine hours per day on their cell phones.  

Researchers suggest that this constant cell phone use represents a paradox of technology. Smartphones can be both freeing and oppressing. People are able to communicate, gather information, and socialize, but at the same time cell phone use can lead to dependence that is both restricting and stress-inducing.

Familiarity With Technology

The National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens suggests that this cell phone separation anxiety may be more common in teens and young adults. Young people in this age cohort are mostly digital natives, meaning they were born and brought up in the age of digital technology. Because they had early experience with computers, the internet, and cell phones, these devices are often an integral part of daily life.

Recognizing Nomophobia

It is important to note that while many people report feeling anxiety or fear about being without their phones, nomophobia is not officially recognized as a disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) .

This type of fear may meet the criteria for a situational specific phobia depending on the symptoms and presentation. A specific phobia is characterized by an unreasonable and excessive fear and an exaggerated fear response that is out of proportion to the actual threat.

Researchers have developed the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) to assess symptoms of nomophobia, and studies suggest that the questionnaire is a useful measure of the fear of being without a cell phone.

The questionnaire asks respondents to rate how strongly they agree or disagree with statements such as:

• "I would feel uncomfortable without constant access to information through my smartphone"
• "Running out of battery in my smartphone would scare me" 
• "I would feel anxious because I could not keep in touch with my family and/or friends"

One study found that higher levels of nomophobia as measured by the NMP-Q corresponded to higher levels of obsessiveness, suggesting the nomophobia may have a high level of comorbidity with some disorders. For example, some other research suggests that people with anxiety and panic disorders may be more likely to develop nomophobia.

Coping With Nomophobia

If you have symptoms of nomophobia or if you feel like your mobile phone use is causing problems in your life, talking to a mental health professional can help. While there is no specific treatment for nomophobia, your therapist may recommend exposure therapy , cognitive-behavioral therapy , or both to address your symptoms. In some instances, your doctor may also prescribe some type of medication to address symptoms of anxiety or depression that you might be experiencing.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is a behavioral technique in which you will learn to gradually face your fears. In the case of nomophobia, you will progressively get used to going without your phone. You might start very small (like leaving your phone in another room for a certain amount of time) and then progressively work your way up to longer periods of time without your phone (such as leaving it home while you go to the store or turning it off while you are busy doing something else).

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a process that involves addressing the negative and irrational thought patterns that contribute to maladaptive behaviors. Your therapist will help you learn to identify these ways of thinking and replace these thoughts with more realistic and rational ones.

For example, rather than thinking that you are going to miss out on something of vital importance if you don’t check your phone for messages every few minutes, CBT will help remind you that you aren’t likely to miss anything as long as you check your phone occasionally.

Medications

While there is no FDA-approved medication for the treatment of nomophobia, your doctor or psychiatrist may prescribe anti-anxiety medications or antidepressants to address some of your symptoms. Selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Lexapro, Zoloft, and Paxil are often used as first-line treatments for anxiety and depression.  

If you think you have nomophobia or feel that you are spending too much time on your phone, there are things that you can do to better manage your device use. 

• Set boundaries. Establish rules for your personal device use. This might mean avoiding your mobile device at certain times of the day, such as during meals or at bedtime.
• Find a balance. It can be all-to-easy to use your phone to avoid face-to-face contact with other people. Focus on getting some personal interaction with others every day.
• Take short breaks. It can be tough to break the mobile phone habit, but starting small can make the transition easier. Start by doing small things such as leaving your phone in another room during meals or when you are engaged in another activity.
• Find other ways to occupy your time. If you find that you are using your phone excessively out of boredom, try looking for other activities to distract you from your device. Try reading a book, going for a walk, playing a sport, or engaging in a hobby that you enjoy.

Nomophobia is a growing problem along with other fears and behavioral addictions tied to technology use. Given how reliant many people are on their mobile phones for work, school, news, entertainment, and social connectedness, it can be an incredibly difficult problem to overcome.

Stopping cell phone use entirely is not realistic, but learning how to set limits and boundaries on how much you allow your phone to control your life can help. Taking an occasional break from your phone, engaging in activities separate from your phone, and finding distractions to keep you busy rather than mindlessly playing on your phone are all good places to start.

Bhattacharya S, Bashar MA, Srivastava A, Singh A. NOMOPHOBIA: NO MObile PHone PhoBIA . J Family Med Prim Care . 2019;8(4):1297–1300. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_71_19

Farooqui IA, Pore P, Gothankar J. Nomophobia: an emerging issue in medical institutions? . J Ment Health. 2018;27(5):438-441. doi:10.1080/09638237.2017.1417564

Yildirim C, Correia AP. Exploring the dimensions of nomophobia: Development and validation of a self-reported questionnaire . Computers in Human Behavior . 2015;49:130-137. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.059

Lepp A, Barkley JE, Karpinski AC. The relationship between cell phone use, academic performance, anxiety, and satisfaction with life in college students . Computers in Human Behavior . 2014;31:343-350. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.10.049

Roberts JA, Yaya LH, Manolis C. The invisible addiction: cell-phone activities and addiction among male and female college students . J Behav Addict . 2014;3(4):254–265. doi:10.1556/JBA.3.2014.015

NIDA for Teens. Teens and "nomophobia": cell phone separation anxiety .

Lee S, Kim M, Mendoza JS, McDonough IM. Addicted to cellphones: exploring the psychometric properties between the nomophobia questionnaire and obsessiveness in college students . Heliyon . 2018;4(11):e00895. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00895

King AL, Valença AM, Silva AC, Sancassiani F, Machado S, Nardi AE. "Nomophobia": impact of cell phone use interfering with symptoms and emotions of individuals with panic disorder compared with a control group . Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health . 2014;10:28-35. doi:10.2174/1745017901410010028

Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D. Treatment of anxiety disorders . Dialogues Clin Neurosci . 2017;19(2):93–107.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Life Without a Cell Phone

Introduction.

The nowadays life can not be imagined without the means of communication. Computers with their instant messages, voice mails, e-mails and cell phones which make us available for our relatives, friends, companions etc have completely interwoven in our lives, and became an essential part of this mad world. First of all it seems that mobile technologies give us the freedom of actions and movements, give us mobility, but on the other hand this freedom is rather conventional. It is like a proverb, that goes the following: “computer easily helps solving the problems, that did not exist before its invention”. Surely it is professional humor, but every joke is a joke just partially.

Phones in our lives

The cell phones are such indispensable, that we even do not mention their presence until one is lost, or missing. The extent o their penetration in our lives is so huge, that even well known cell phone sub-culture appeared. Here the Shorthand contractions and abbreviations are meant.

The notion that there might be value in easily understood shorthand has proved to be prescient. If u cn rd these days, and, just as important, if your thumbs are nimble enough so that u cn als snd, you can conduct your entire emotional life just by transmitting and receiving messages on the screen of the cell phone. (McGrath, 2006).

Shorthand contractions, along with letter-number homophones (“gr8” and “2moro,” for example), emoticons (like the tiresome colon-and-parenthesis smiley face) and acronyms (like the ubiquitous “lol,” for “laughing out loud”), constitute the language of text-messaging – or txt msg, to use the term that txt msgrs prefer. Text-messaging is a refinement of computer instant-messaging, which came into vogue five or six years ago. But because the typical cellphone screen can accommodate no more than 160 characters, and because the phone touchpad is far less versatile than the computer keyboard, text-messaging puts an even greater premium on concision. Here, for example, is a text-message version of “Paradise Lost” disseminated by some scholars in England: “Devl kikd outa hevn coz jelus of jesus&strts war. pd’off wiv god so corupts man (md by god) wiv apel. devl stays serpnt 4hole life&man ruind. Woe un2mnkind.”

This may be the universal attraction of text-messaging, in fact: it’s a kind of avoidance mechanism that preserves the feeling of communication – the immediacy – without, for the most part, the burden of actual intimacy or substance. The great majority of text messages are of the “Hey, how are you, whassup?” variety, and they’re sent sometimes when messenger and recipient are within speaking distance of each other – across classrooms, say, or from one row of a stadium to another. They’re little electronic waves and nods that, just like real waves and nods, aren’t meant to do much more than establish a connection – or disconnection, as the case may be – without getting into specifics. (McGrath, 2006).

“We’re all wired together” is the collective message, and we’ll signal again in a couple of minutes, not to say anything, probably, but just to make sure the lines are still working. The most depressing thing about the communications revolution is that when at last we have succeeded in making it possible for anyone to reach anyone else anywhere and at any time, it turns out that we really don’t have much we want to say.

The internet research, that was conducted on the issue if it is possible to live without a cell phone showed, that people, who got used to having it all the time within grasp can not do without it.

The Yahoo Answers service is accessible enough to have the complete reply on the question, whether the “immobilized” life is possible:

I live without one, and I think it would probably be horrible to have to live with one! We keep a pay as you go phone in the car for emergencies. Other than that, I wouldn’t know why I would ever need anything beyond a land-line.

Well, cell phones are made to be convenient. You can just pick up your phone and call anyone anytime. Without a cell phone, you’d have to go home, or use a pay phone. Without a cell phone, I think people would have harder time to communicate. But for sure, even without cell phones, we can live.

I have been living with a cell phone for more than 10yrs now, and when it got broken I had to get it fixed and they told me I have to get it after a week(poor service but cheaper) I thought ill die having no communication to others!!! But I actually loved it. I felt free!!! It felt really great. Like I could dance in the rain without thinking that ill make my cell phone wet, or I could go anywhere without thinking that someone might call me. It really feels great! But after a week I got my cell back and have to handle lots of stuff that I have left behind!

The people who consider that such life is possible are so rare, that it was difficult enough to find the completed consideration. People just argue that it is either possible or not. Some define the life without a phone as a relief, confirming their thoughts by the notion, that people would have more possibilities to meet each other, while they just talk over the phone, often living next door to each other. Surely, it helps keeping in touch the people who live far away from each other, but cell phone is also an electronic collar, that helps parents, bosses or chiefs control the person at a distance.

Mobile phones have become a worldwide craze. From Europe to Asia, from Australia to Africa-mobile phones have generated a huge sensation. As more and more sophisticated models have been launched, mobile phone users are now able to keep themselves abreast of latest technology and information. First came the camera feature, then the music-Internet is the latest addition. Today you can access the Internet from anywhere anytime. Thanks to WAP and XHTML for making Internet available with the mobile handsets.

Frankly speaking, it’s really difficult (if not impossible) to imagine life without mobile phones. Over the last few years we have been addicted to the mobile phones in such a manner that they have become as essential to us as that of food and shelter. To put it another way, we have joined the mobile bandwagon called “mobile mania”.

The data on the matter what people think of living with or without cell phone can be found mainly in the places, where people share their thoughts and emotions openly – in blogs (the authors of the blogs wished to stay unmentioned):

Recently, I happened to lose my cell phone…..life has been so miserable until i got a new mobile….1 day without mobile was a 9th wonder for me).

Donno how on earth we were living few years back, without a mobile phone….and donno how we could live if there is no cell phone on earth….gosh…cant even imagine things….I did not know any of my friends or family member’s number…neither did I had a back up of all the contacts….lost all my good ring tones, beautiful pictures taken along with family and friends, good sms

People start losing the ability to communicate openly and face to face. Most prefer sms to real communication, and care more on the matters of ringtone than on what to tell. It has been mentioned long ago by the communication psychologist Leil Lowndes, that everyone is anxious if there is nothing to put on when going to a party, but no one cares if there is nothing to tell. The similar situation is with the phones: the more expensive the phone – the more the person is popular, especially within teenagers.

Underlining all the observations it is possible to mention, that people who have not lost the ability to communicate, and keep their phones to keep in touch with the people they need to contact, will be able to live without this collar until the moment it would be necessary to have contact with someone who lives far. This type of people has their phones exceptionally for contacts, and do not overfill the memory with games, applications, and media not associated with their friends other persons to keep in touch with. This may be regarded as “friend-in-a-pocket”.

The people who can not imagine their life without a cellular are subjected to cult of electronic devices, and mostly obtain phones, pocket PCs, flash-players not to get all the conveniences these gadgets provide, but because it is fashionable to have iPod player, Apple lap-top, and iPhone. These type of people purchase their phones to have as more fashionable ringtones, pictures or videos on their phone as possible, and these users are mainly teenagers, just because the older the person is, the less time one has to fill the memory with all that garbage. (Collins, 2008).

Surely, this hypothesis had been made without taking into account all the mobile services, like shops, information services, emergency etc. And it is impossible to argue, that these two types of cell phone users are distinct: surely, like all the other divisions these criteria are polar, and the types are often mixed.

As for the matters of cell phone sub-culture, the essentials of which had been revealed above, it is necessary to mention, that it is just a kind of cyber punk, or techno punk movement. It mixes the inevitability of technical language development and the development of the conversational slang, it is a silent protest against the restriction of the messages by only 160 characters per each and the desire to insert as more sense as possible into the lesser amount of symbols. Some these methods had been borrowed from the stenographs, and are meant to save the time for decoding and encoding the information. In the case with the short messages it is claimed to spin out the symbols. One of the most notable fact in all these letterings is that Netiquette fully allows such abbreviations and contractions: the only claim is that these messages were readable.

Inspite of the fact, that electronics are gradually capturing our lives; we are still staying social animals, and can not do without communication. All the gadgetry that we use make us forget how to communicate face to face, and distant messaging help to conceal real thoughts and emotions. Living without having a phone number is regarded as something extraordinary and sometimes silly, as not to get lost in this mad world one should always keep in touch, and be able to understand all the slang expressions, born by electronic communication. Inspite that academic electronic sources use literary language, alive conversation more and more takes place with using contractions like 2moro, gr8, 4u, and emoticons, or, as they are also called – smilies.

Works Cited

Collins, Bob Can you live without a cell phone? News cut. Minnesota Public radio. 2008. Web.

McGrath, Charles. The Pleasures of the Text The New York Times, 2006.

Minsky, Marvin L. Will Robots Inherit the Earth Scientific American, 1994.

Yahoo Answers Living without a cell phone? 2008. Web.

Life without phone

• . Update: Jul 16, 2022 9:11 am

Table of Contents

Points to speak for the topic – “Life without a phone”:

• It’s been more than a century since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. Over the past few decades, phones were made affordable to the common people and now they are the popular form of communication . Instant communication is made possible through phones. We are so dependent on phones that it is difficult to imagine a life without phones .
• Without phones, life would have been the same as a few decades ago, when people used letters to communicate . Or perhaps, a new type of communication tool would have emerged .
• The phone is helping in transforming our societies into inclusive societies . It is quite beneficial for differently-abled people and senior citizens to live independently.
• Not just for communication, but phones are now used for many purposes. They made our lives easier with the advancement of mobile phone technologies. Now, we can order things by phone make payments etc. Without phones, these things would have consumed more time.
• Mobile phones are life-saving in emergencies. Without phones, many lives would have been lost due to the delay in informing.
• People who lived before the era of the phone may be able to cope up with a life without phones because they are already used to it, but the generation which was born after phones have become a common thing can find it difficult to live without phones.
• Due to phones, now many people are preferring virtual lives to focus on maintaining real connections. With this, so many people are feeling lonely. This is causing social anxiety issues too. Without phones, there would have been much more face-to-face interactions .
• The invention of smartphones increased the number of distractions for us. Without phones, our focus will improve .
• Continuous use of phones and 24/7 availability is causing anxiety issues for many. Earlier people used to ask whether they can meet, but now people are expecting 24/7 availability on phones from everyone.
• Even though life without phones feels scary, using letters for normal communication needs is not that bad. It can slow down our communication and hence can reduce conflicts .
• Now digital detox is becoming famous. Pausing phones for a while helps in leading a peaceful life and to understand how to utilize cellphone without getting trapped by them.

Conclusion:

Life without a phone is very difficult in the present times because now we are so dependent on phones for communication. But once in a while, switching off the phone helps us to reclaim our time and to focus on ourselves & our loved ones.

What are your thoughts on life without a phone? Express your point of view through the comment section below. And subscribe to our blog to read answers to the trending GD topics.

Photo by  Suzy Hazelwood  from  Pexels

Copyright @ Group Discussion Ideas.

Want to listen to this instead?

Subscribe to our YouTube channel . We upload videos on GD topics regularly.

10 Comments

someone, Mar 13, 2023 @ 9:07 pm Reply

life is at its best place without phones. in today’s world phone has became the basic need of world which is the worst part.

Leslie, Aug 12, 2022 @ 1:34 am Reply

As a 14 year old I think we don’t need phones like life is getting boring I think we should get rid of them tbh

Hamshita. M, Sep 15, 2022 @ 11:53 am Reply

Life without phone – Thinking of this many are addicted to phone nowadays. This is making difficult to people for there future, from this many of them don’t no how to communicate to others. Phone helps in many ways to all but there is also problem from that. Nowadays phone to everything to all, without phone they feel empty themselves. This generation students don’t no how the olden days were, how happy the people were before this smartphone invention. Those days are really precious, today’s children don’t no the emotions and feelings of there family. Always addicted to phone… This causes more problems in society.

Abhishek, Mar 27, 2023 @ 10:37 am Reply

Suresh, Apr 9, 2023 @ 5:29 pm Reply

Yes, now a days It is big impact on new generation they can’t understand the value of family. They are becoming very aggressive and enger. Everytime everyone wake up and use mobile while brakfast time while eating everyone want mobile. And many more problem are created by mobile phone.

Sajida, Jul 12, 2022 @ 5:21 pm Reply

Excessive use of cell phones/addiction generating a gap between people especially in families. Parents spend more time on cell phones can’t pay proper attention to their children. These children feel deprived off and will not be able to perform their duties as a responsible citizen. Although a lot of benefits we get from cellphones but we should priorities things in our life

Vivek, Jun 27, 2022 @ 11:19 pm Reply

Life without phone little bit possible but our life is involved in phone as daily basis , phone very harmful for our eyes pupil ,most impact at night time.whenever you miss phone in the home you alone or nervous. If my memory serves that, we will use the mobile for 6 or 7 hours in day. If you can’t believe go to settings in mobile and search digital and wellbeing than you can understand. Whenever your net pack is expired then you can arrange money before 2 or 1 day ago. Technology very advance level now a days flip flop mobile can’t see any where and mobile provide you all information, news , live matches , even education is online mode at time of covid so mobile is a habitual action take as man. Only use phone at important work you have, don’t take phone if you have free time you set time limit or alarm. If you are following rules and regulations of your life the you concentrate yourself, control use of mobile then you have a time to spend your family. That time you realise most of the time spend in mobile what happens in your life. So doing little bit efforts and your goals.

Team GD Ideas, Jun 29, 2022 @ 10:15 am Reply

That’s right Vivek.

SANKARAN.D, Feb 21, 2022 @ 8:38 am Reply

also It saves the Man time, fuel charges, natural resources.

Yashashree Manoj Joshi, Oct 7, 2021 @ 12:05 pm Reply

Life without phone is a scary dream in today’s world!! Phone has became our best friend as it is not only used for calling or connecting but now our daily work depends on it. Right from our morning’s alarm, meetings schedule, news updates, google assistant, social media, entertainment, google maps, ola-uber, clicking pictures etc we need our phone. Giant companies like apple are modifying the use of mobile by adding on more features in it which is on the other hand making us dependent on it. Just like our basic necessities like food, shelter, clothing now mobile has became an integral part of our life. So imaging life without it is almost impossible for all of us. But everything in this universe follows a simple rule if used beyond limit then it shows negative effects. Same goes with mobile many neurological and psychological disorders have emerged due to excessive use of mobiles. And now we are at that stage of our life that we need to compulsorily avoid the usage of mobile to have peace of mind and take a break from our social life.

So i would like to conclude by saying life without phones is tough but if we use it in limits then it won’t have adverse effects on our personal and social life.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Related Posts

Plastic Money – Advantages & Disadvantages

Social Media – Impact on human behavior and society

FDI in retail – Boon or Bane?

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies
• 3rd Party Cookies

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

• Mobile Phone Essay in English for Students

Essay on Mobile Phone for Students

What is an essay? An essay is a write-up from one’s perspective or jotting down one’s thoughts in one place regarding any topic. Writing an essay helps one to develop their writing skills and inculcate creativity in their writing. Likewise, all the parents should teach their kids how to write an essay. 

For your convenience, we have provided a sample essay on ‘Mobile Phone’ in the following. Take a glance through the article so that it becomes easy for you to teach how to write an essay effortlessly.

Mobile Phone

In the era of technical advancement, mobile phones play a very significant role. Technology has made our life quite easier. Life without a mobile phone seems to be quite impossible these days. Precisely, we become handicapped without a phone in hand.

Speaking of mobile phones, it is also referred to as ‘cellular phone’ or ‘smartphone’. Martin Cooper of Motorola produced the first handheld mobile phone call on a prototype DynaTAC model on 3 April 1973. 

Earlier it was only used for calling. But these days, everything is possible through a mobile phone. From sending a message to video calling, internet browsing, photography to video games, emailing and a lot more services can be availed through this handheld phone. 

Advantages of Using Mobile Phones

There are several advantages to using a mobile phone. Here are some provided in the following. 

Helps to Communicate:

Life is easier with mobiles. It helps you to communicate with your near and dear ones through calls, video chats, text messages, emails. Apart from that, it helps you to book a cab, show the map direction, order groceries and many more things. The main advantage of having a mobile is it helps to keep you connected with the entire world irrespective of your location.

A Medium of Entertainment:

With the advent of mobile, now you will be able to get entertained wherever you are. Now the world of entertainment is available just a click away, such as you can watch movies, listen to music, or watch your favorite sports or browse on social media networks etc. 

Mobile Banking:

Can you imagine doing all of your banking transactions and other relevant work through your cell phone? Yes, now everything is possible with the advancement of technology. Be it making a quick payment or transferring money to your family or checking the transaction history or accessing the bank accounts, everything is possible with just a tap of your button. So, it is quite efficient and saves a lot of your precious time.

Office Work Through Mobile:

These days mobiles are used for different types of official work such as scheduling meetings, giving presentations, sending and receiving important documents, applying for jobs, etc. Mobiles have become an essential device in every working person’s life.

Disadvantages of Using Mobile Phones

Creating distance:

While mobile phones claim to connect people and help to communicate with each other, the irony here is that it is creating more distance between people. Nowadays people are more hooked on their phones. So, they mostly spend their time browsing social media or texting each other rather than meeting and talking face to face. 

No Privacy:

These days one of the major concerns is losing one’s privacy through mobile usage. Now anyone could easily access all the important information related to you with just one tap. Not only your information, information about your family, friends, personal life, career, everything is pretty easily accessible. 

Waste of a Lot of Time and Money:

Time and money both are precious in everyone’s life. As the utilization of mobile phones is increasing day by day, the waste of time and money is also increasing gradually. People are becoming addicted to their phones, be it surfing the internet or playing games or checking social media. Besides, the smarter a phone becomes, the more money people spend to buy that phone instead of spending the money on something useful.

FAQs on Mobile Phone Essay in English for Students

1. What is essay writing?

An essay is a piece of writing that expresses the author's point of view; yet, the definition is ambiguous, merging with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short fiction. Formal and casual essays have typically been divided into two categories. The formal essay has a serious objective, dignity, logical organization, and length, whereas the informal essay has a personal element, humor, graceful language, rambling structure, unconventionality or freshness of theme," and so on.

Literary critique, political manifestos, academic arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author are all popular uses for essays. Although almost all modern essays are written in prose, compositions in verse have often been labeled as essays. While an essay is typically defined by its brevity, works such as John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population are exceptions. To garner more information, click here.

2. Give a brief overview of mobile phones and their history.

Mobile phones are quite important in this age of technological growth. Our lives have been made much easier by technological advancements. These days, life appears to be impossible without a cell phone. Without a phone in our hands, we become disabled.

When it comes to mobile phones, they're also known as 'cellular phones' or smartphones.' On April 3, 1973, Motorola's Martin Cooper made the first handheld mobile phone call on a prototype DynaTAC device.

It was formerly only used for calling. However, nowadays, everything is possible via a mobile phone. This handheld phone can do anything from sending a message to video calling, internet browsing, photography, video games, and emailing, among other things.

3. What are some advantages of using mobile phones?

Using a mobile phone has several benefits. The following are a few suggestions.

Aids in Communication:

Mobile phones make life easier. It allows you to contact your loved ones via phone conversations, video chats, text messages, and emails. Apart from that, it assists you in booking a cab, displaying map directions, ordering groceries, and a variety of other tasks. The biggest benefit of owning a mobile phone is that it allows you to stay connected to the rest of the world regardless of where you are.

An Entertainment Medium:

With the introduction of mobile phones, you may now be amused wherever you are. The world of entertainment is now just a click away, with options such as watching movies, listening to music, watching your favorite sports or browsing social media networks.

4. State some of the drawbacks of using mobile phones.

Some of the drawbacks of using mobile phones are:

Creating a buffer:

While mobile phones claim to connect people and make it easier for them to interact, the irony is that they create more distance between them. People nowadays are more reliant on their phones. As a result, they choose to spend their time on social media or texting instead of meeting and talking face to face.

There is no privacy:

One of the major issues these days is losing one's privacy due to cell phone usage. With just one swipe, anyone may now readily access all of your vital information. Not only is your information easily accessible, but so is information about your family, friends, personal life, and work.

A waste of time and money:

In everyone's life, time and money are both quite valuable. As the number of people using mobile phones grows, so does the amount of time and money spent on them.

5. How is an essay writing useful to students?

Writing essays help students develop important abilities and functions in their education, making them more useful. One, writing essays allows students to practice and improve abilities that they can apply throughout their academic careers and into their careers. For example, one can improve their reading and writing skills, as well as their capacity to think, organize thoughts, and communicate effectively.

Two, it enables pupils to develop a formal and orderly writing style that reliably conveys information. Three, it aids in the organization of your thoughts on what you are learning, the development of vocabulary, and the development of a distinct writing style. Get free study materials through the Vedantu app and website.

Transfer and Postings

Life Without Mobile Phones Essay: How Our Lives Would Change

Life Without Mobile Phones Essay: Mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives. They are our constant companions, and we use them for almost everything. From communicating with loved ones to accessing information, mobile phones have revolutionized the way we live. However, have you ever imagined what life would be like without mobile phones? In this essay, we will explore the possibilities and challenges of living a life without mobile phones.

Table of Contents

Life Without Mobile Phones Essay

In this blog Life Without Mobile Phones Essay, we include About Life Without Mobile Phones Essay, in 100, 200, 250, and 300 words. Also cover Life Without Mobile Phones Essay for classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and up to the 12th class and also for kids, children, and students. You can read more  Essay Writing in 10 lines about sports, events, occasions, festivals, etc… Life Without Mobile Phones Essay is also available in different languages. In this Life Without Mobile Phones Essay, the following features are explained in the given manner.

Historical Background On Mobile Phones

The early development of mobile phones can be traced back to the 1940s, when mobile radio communication devices were first introduced. However, it wasn’t until the 1980s that the first handheld mobile phone was developed. Since then, mobile phones have undergone a significant transformation, with the introduction of smartphones in the early 2000s. Today, smartphones have become an essential part of our lives, and many of us cannot imagine living without them.

However, with the rise of mobile addiction, the impact of mobile phones on our lives has become a subject of concern. Studies have shown that excessive use of mobile phones can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. Moreover, the constant need to stay connected can result in decreased productivity and increased stress levels.

What Would Life Be Like Without Mobile Phones

Living a life without mobile phones would be a drastic change for us. We are so used to the instant communication and access to information that mobile phones provide that it’s hard to imagine life without them. However, there are several benefits that living without mobile phones can offer.

• Firstly, without mobile phones, we would have to rely more on face-to-face communication. This would lead to stronger relationships and more meaningful interactions. With the constant distraction of mobile phones, we often fail to give our undivided attention to those around us. By disconnecting from mobile devices, we can give our full attention to the people we are with, leading to better communication and stronger relationships.
• Secondly, without mobile phones, we would be forced to find other means of entertainment. We often use our mobile phones as a distraction, spending hours scrolling through social media or playing games. Without mobile phones, we would be forced to be more creative and find other ways to spend our time. This could lead to increased productivity and creativity.
• Finally, without mobile phones, we would be able to disconnect from the constant stress of being connected all the time. The need to constantly check our phones can lead to increased anxiety and stress levels. Without this constant distraction, we would be able to focus on the present moment and reduce our stress levels.

Challenges Of Life Without Mobile Phones

• However, living without mobile phones does come with its challenges. Firstly, without mobile phones, we would be dependent on other forms of technology, such as landlines and computers, to communicate and access information. This could be a challenge, especially in emergencies.
• Secondly, without mobile phones, we would not have access to instant communication. This could be a challenge for those who rely on mobile phones for work or other important matters. It could also make it difficult to stay in touch with loved ones who live far away.
• Finally, living without mobile phones could have social and psychological impacts. We have become so used to the constant connection that mobile phones provide that disconnecting could be challenging for some. The fear of missing out (FOMO) could lead to feelings of social isolation and anxiety.

Conclusion On Life Without Mobile Phones Essay

In conclusion, living a life without mobile phones would be a significant change for us. While there are several benefits to disconnecting from mobile devices, there are also challenges that need to be considered. It’s important to find a balance between technology and the real world, and to be mindful of how much time we spend on our mobile phones. By doing so, we can enjoy the benefits of mobile phones while avoiding the

Read More: Excessive Use Of Mobile Phones Essay

FAQ’s On Life Without Mobile Phones Essay

Question 1. How is life without mobile phones?

Answer: Life without mobile phones can be challenging but rewarding. It requires a shift towards face-to-face communication, increased creativity, and finding new means of entertainment. It also requires dependence on other forms of technology for communication and access to information. Overall, it can lead to stronger relationships, increased productivity, and reduced stress levels.

Question 2. What if there was no mobile essay?

Answer: If there were no mobile phones, people would need to find alternative means of communication and entertainment. They would have to rely on other forms of technology such as landlines and computers. It could lead to stronger face-to-face communication and reduced mobile addiction. However, it could also create challenges in emergencies and staying connected with loved ones who are far away.

Question 3. Why we Cannot live without mobile phones?

Answer: Mobile phones have become a necessity in our daily lives. They provide instant communication, access to information, and entertainment. They have made our lives easier, efficient, and more convenient. Due to the constant need for connectivity, it has become difficult to imagine life without mobile phones.

Question 4. What happens if we don’t use mobile?

Answer: If we don’t use mobile phones, we would have to rely on other forms of communication and entertainment. It could lead to stronger face-to-face communication, increased productivity, and reduced stress levels. However, it could also create challenges in emergencies and staying connected with loved ones who are far away. It may require more effort to stay informed and up-to-date with current events.

Question 5. Can I live life without a phone?

Answer: Yes, it is possible to live life without a phone, but it would require significant adjustments. People would need to find alternative means of communication and access to information. They would need to rely on other forms of technology such as landlines and computers. It could lead to reduced mobile addiction and increased focus on face-to-face communication.

Read More Essays

• Essay On Disaster Management
• Essay About Trip With Family
• The Use Of Internet Service In Modern India 250 Words
• Football Is My Favorite Sport Essay
• Essay On Hockey
• Essay On Air
• 10 Lines On Basketball
• Composition On Internet
• My Favourite Outdoor Game Essay
• Student Essay On Time

Share this:

Leave a comment cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

• MBA Admission Predictor
• MBA ROI Calculator
• CAT College Predictor
• MBA Strength Finder
• Program Finder
• Career Calculator

Articles For MBA Students | MBAROI

Life Without Phone

“Telephone” the greatest and most useful invention of all time was invented by Graham bell in 1876 .  At that time it was only the mode of communication between two people. But technology kept on upgrading itself and so did the functionality of the phones. The old age phones become the new era’s smartphones. And today a smartphone is performing most of our tasks directly and indirectly. Smartphones working is not limited to calling anymore. It became the model of business, education, entertainment , and this dependency on smartphones become a problem. As of now, we cannot imagine our life without the phone.

According to the survey by Psychguides “ Many teenagers feel depressed and panic when their phone is low on battery or misplaced .” Last year in an experiment conducted in China . In that, all the students have to switch off their phones for ½ hour . And most of them feel depressed just after 10 minutes.

MBA Colleges Rankings:- Top MBA Colleges in India | Top 10 MBA Colleges in India | Top MBA Colleges in Delhi

On the other side, the mobile phone is helping people all around the globe. In a tough time of covid-19 , the smartphone makes the lives of people easy. Students are able to take their classes online with the help of phones and many businesses starting and operating with smartphones. If people stop using phones then it will create problems for them. Now read in detail about what will happen if we have life without a cell phone?

Learn About the – Group Discussion | CMAT Exam

Pros of life without a phone.

• Extensive use of mobile can cause problems like anxiety, and depression and impact the thinking level of the user. And if we do not have phones this problem will minimize. 
• People will start connecting to each other physically in place of virtually. And this will make their bond stronger.
• Teenagers will not expose the things which are harmful to them.
• People will start living in the reality instead of living in a fake social media world.
• Smartphone addiction is one of the major concerns according to the psych guides and avoiding the frequent use of mobile phones is the only way to do this.
• Phones have become the medium of distractions. If we live a life without phones it will increase the concentration and Patience level of people.
• Life without a phone will reduce the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in people.

Also Read :- Impact of Social Media on Youth and Technology Addiction

Cons of life without smartphone.

• Most of our task is totally reliable on the phone and in that scenario if the use of the phone stops it will create a huge amount of problems for us.
• Phones are helping in the evolution of society and along with the phone people also becoming smart.
• Terms like online education or work from home are gaining so much popularity because of the phones. We know the fact these things will remain in the market no matter phone is there or not.  But without smartphones, they will not able to reach us easily. Read More about Working from home vs work from office .
• The functionality of Many businesses like – Google, Amazon, Zomato, Paytm, Byjus, and many more are mostly dependent on phones. If phones are banned then these companies have shut their operation and millions of people will lose their jobs.
• During a medical emergency phones become the life savior many times. Specifically in the time of the Covid- 19-second wave when the whole of India is suffering from the oxygen supply. At that many people and groups share information about oxygen and bed availability which help and save the lives of many peoples. Suppose we do not have a phone at that time then we have to face tough situations.
• Life without a mobile phone will disconnect us from our loved ones who live far from us.

We all have to accept the fact that phones are one of the greatest things invented by humans. But the other side of the story is also true that phone is causing some real problems for us and society. As mentioned above there are many advantages and disadvantages of life without a phone but it is also the fact that we cannot imagine our lives without phones. It is just we need to learn the uses of phones for improving our knowledge and productivity. Because there are many examples of how a phone can change our lives positively.

Addiction is the main concern with phones and not only phones addiction to anything is harmful. In the past few years, the addiction to phones has increased and all the smartphone companies are working in direction of making people addicted to phones.  We need to reduce our dependency on phones so we can avoid the habit of using mobiles. The conclusion of the whole discussion is we can’t live a life without a phone but we need to reduce its uses of it.

Check the other:- Group Discussion Topics

Also, Read Other Popular Article

• Top MBA Colleges accepting MAT Score
• Top MBA Colleges in Pune
• IIM Placements 2022
• IIM CAT Cut off

You may also like...

Books Vs Movies

Impact of Technology on Jobs

Selling during Covid 19

Login to mbaroi.

Enquire Now