At the weekend, I left my mobile phone in the back of a taxi (and no, I wasn’t drunk). Once I discovered that I had lost my phone, panic set in. It felt like I had lost a limb.
After many unsuccessful phone calls to the taxi company, I called my network provider and asked for the phone to be barred. I was now officially “off the grid.”
Being without my phone made me realise, just how dependant we are upon new technology. Without my phone, I knew no useful phone numbers, could not be contacted by others and felt thoroughly lost.
This is a story with a happy ending though. Without going into all the boring detail, my phone was eventually found and returned to me, the following day. Needless to say, my faith in human nature, or at least Bournemouth taxi drivers, is now at an all time high!
After being re-united with my mobile, I immediately called my network provider and asked them to remove the block on the phone. This, I was informed, could take over 24 hours (I’m not quite sure why). It’s now Monday evening and my phone is still blocked but rather than feeling distressed and annoyed, I have been thoroughly enjoying the experience. Its been truly liberating, not being able to be contacted at any time of the day and it’s great, being able to go somewhere, safe in the knowledge that someone can’t call you to find out where you are.
I know that as future PR practitioners, we should be embracing new technology and that mobile phones are essential in today’s information age but after my experience, I can’t help but think that every now and then, it’s important to switch off.
Monday, November 27, 2006
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