The one regret I have with my iPhone is that I am now perpetually plugged in. I check and recheck my bag before I leave the house to make sure that my phone is with me. I have stopped taking the Metro paper from the friendly guy outside my subway stop because I'll be getting my news from Twitter. I research restaurants on Yelp for the weekend, check flight deals on my lunch break, and text and email while walking. I don't even use my digital camera anymore because I have the camera in my phone. And my phone charger is the first item on my packing list when I go away on a trip. Panic levels escalate if I don't have my phone.
These panic levels may have something to do with the fact that I feel perpetually overwhelmed by the amount of information at my disposal, and the added task that I have to sift and synthesize all of it.
It's an issue that my undergraduate classmates don't seem to mind. They are information sponges. I'm a fast typer and texter, but these kids are outrageous. By the time we get to class, they're Foursquared themselves along with 20 other people and they post at least 10 Tweets to our online class discussion in the next hour. They're still able to ask and answer questions and participate in in-person conversations while I'm still trying to get my post under 140 characters (I'm verbose, if this blog didn't give that away already). And they know so much. They're on top of every meme, every video the day after it has come out, and news from every corner of the world. I wonder if they're part of the 21% of Americans who would give up sex for Internet access.
But those days when I forget my phone or the battery dies are actually some of the most pleasant. I'm forced to stop and interact with the world around me. I'm inaccessible and suddenly not responsible for answering calls, responding to email, or sending texts. As part of several New Year's resolutions to obtain more peace and focus in my life, I have been trying to remain unplugged more often. I try to leave my phone in the car or at home while doing quick errands or activities or put it on silent so that I forget to check it. And I love it.
I find that I get increasingly annoyed at myself and other people who run into awkward silences and suddenly everyone resorts to checking their phone to avoid talking to one another. I find myself putting my phone on the table at dinner (even though I rarely, if ever, answer it) and it bugs me. My boyfriend loves his smartphone (he arrived even later to the smartphone party than me--it's why we're good together) and he feels the need to research everything and show me the photo or video or article for everything he references. When he did it on a hike I was tempted to chuck his phone into the Potomac River.
Yet the acceptance of remaining unplugged is being chucked too. It is a common expectation that everyone has a smartphone and therefore you can find directions if you're lost, or email or text if you'll be late to a meeting. If you don't Tweet, post, or Pin several times a day you're not keeping up with the global conversation. Employers expect that employees answer their phones and check their email during work hours, but the definition of work hours has expanded to include nights and weekends too. I was incredibly hesitant to ask my old employer for a work smartphone, because though I wanted the pay assistance, I didn't want to be required to be plugged in at all times.
This past summer, I spent a week with my boyfriend's family in the Outer Banks in a gorgeous house on the beach. My boyfriend and I slept in, went to the beach, ate, went to the pool, drank, napped, ate, and drank again every day for an entire week. It. Was. Glorious. But his relatives were taking calls from clients during the wee hours of the morning and testing the WiFi for online meetings throughout the whole week. My boyfriend and I were puzzled because the memo we received said we were on vacation. I asked his brother-in-law about why he didn't go off the grid during vacation. He said that his law firm got paid to provide a service, and that service didn't turn off just because he was at the beach. As part of his responsibilities, he had to respond to his clients needs when they occurred, not the other way around, and it was a part of life at his job that he had embraced.
I find myself growing increasingly anxious about my smartphone (or worse, my work Blackberry and my personal iPhone) taking over my life if I work for a PR agency or corporate client. Do I want a job where I have to be "on" at any given hour? Do I want to work in an industry where I'm constantly monitoring social media sites or checking email? As I go up the chain of command, will I be the one who gets woken up at 3am to deal with a client crisis? I expect that I will learn to find balance in some capacity, but I'm nervous just the same.
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