You know, I saw this prompt while speaking on the phone
to a friend.
And while I so very much agree
that life away from screens is, well, critical for us
I considered, briefly, what I would have missed that day
without my phone.His plea for help. Unheard.
His text. Unanswered.
My homework. Unfinished.
His words. Unspoken.
His voice. Unlistened to.
The phone. Undialed.
It's not the phone. It's not the cords or receivers or digits or telephone lines.
It's the smarts. It's the touch and the face recognition and the filters and the status updates and the comments and the selfies and the likes and the shares and the videos and the memes and the apps and the tweets and the dings and the beeps and the chimes and the bings and the Hey Siri’s and the Alexas and the Bluetooth and the cordless charging and the instant replay and the stories and the Snapchats and the reaction options, and the Facebook events and the hangouts and the chats and the emojis and the quizzes and the BuzzFeed and the Instagram and the vines and the YouTube videos and the views and the subscribers and the channels and the playlists and the …
It's not the phone. It's the rest of the crap.
It's not the far off (tele-) sound, voice (-phone). It's the far off (tele-) madness (-mania). It's the far off (tele-) useless, meaningless s(t)imulation (-crap).
I understand the sentiment and I agree. Do try it – there's nothing like it. It's worth it. Without a phone.
For me, it's not the telephone, but the telemania and the telecrap.
I'd like to live without it.
The Young Writers Project provides VPR's audience another avenue to hear and read selections and see visual art and photography from Vermont's young writers and artists. The project is a collaboration organized by Susan Reid at the Young Writers Project. The thoughts and ideas expressed here are the writers' own and do not necessarily reflect those of Vermont Public Radio.
