‘The Summer I’ Chucked My Phone
By ditching my phone, I gained a new sense of clarity regarding myself and my friendships
First of all, my phone is fine, for anyone who might have cared.
This past summer, and like most of my summers, I went to a music camp.
Music camp consisted of six hours of violin a day, no air conditioning in the cabins. Just me, nature, and my violin. Oh, and I guess some friends too.
One particular note is, I didn’t have my phone.
I was gone for about two weeks, completely digital-less. Yeah, you heard me…or I guess, read me.
Completely without internet, service, wi-fi, nothing.
To be honest, it wasn’t even that bad.
I know this whole, “no phones in school” thing is quite annoying, and I get it, but hear me out: not using my phone was actually really impactful for me.
At my camp, we valued friendships, nature, and music. It was constant interaction with just our own community of 40 music-loving nerds.
Last year, the summer of 2021 was the first time in a few years I went back to this environment, and I had the best phoneless experience. I didn’t have the urge to constantly check who contacted me, update my social media, and be reminded of the trillion summer assignments I had to do. I finally got a chance to breathe.
It was like being in an alternate reality. The everyday routine of camp, becoming lifelong friends with people I met for two weeks, spending hours remembering my passion for music, and connecting with the beauty of nature was eye-opening.
As high schoolers, we are constantly on the run from 6 a.m. to the late hours of the night. During the cycle of school, sports, work, etc., finding a chance to breathe is seldom.
Camp reminded me that my phone is a huge factor of my stress. By keeping my phone out of sight, I was able to breathe, take in the rich Vermont air, and truly enjoy myself without a worry at all for the first time in so, so long.
Though, being without a phone isn’t all that easy.
What I described to you was my summer from last year. This year, 2022, my experience was a little different. I had created such strong friendships with my friends back home, but being phoneless and contactless for two weeks really tested those friendships.
I struggled a lot with missing them, writing them letters, and waiting for responses that never came. Not having that instant connection was much tougher than I remembered.
After the two weeks were over, I was eager to come home to see my friends, yet I could feel the immediate disconnect between me and them. Obviously, I couldn’t be upset or expect them to put these two weeks on hold while I was gone, but I didn’t expect to feel more lonely when I came back than when I left.
Something that phones have done extremely well these past couple decades is providing us with instant connection. There becomes this expectation to uphold that level of connection, thus, once that connection disappears for a portion of time, it’s so easily disrupted.
Friendships should pass the test of not having instant communication, but they don’t always. Regardless, taking time off phones ultimately gets you re-grounded.
The pressures of communication, social media, and notifications are drastically overlooked as large stressors in our everyday life.
I challenge you to put the phone down. Leave it at home or in the car, zip it up in your backpack, silence it, and take a moment to actually be in the moment.
Look up once in a while and notice the blue waters and salty air of our cute little beach town.
It’s not easy, but it’s so worth it to take time once in a while and chuck your phone.
