72 Hours iPhone-less

So, I may have had a bit of an accident last week. I drowned my iPhone.

It kind of fell into the toilet when I was getting ready for work which, if you have ever experienced, is a terrifying ordeal. I quickly scooped my phone out of its watery grave, turned it off, and promptly buried it in a Tupperware container of uncooked rice. And there it remained for 72 hours. I thought that my poor iPhone 5 might’ve been done for, but I was thrilled to discover that it was still working. So thrilled, in fact, that I went around the house screaming “It’s alive! It’s alive” a la Victor Frankenstein. For all you doubters, the rice trick does seem to work. I think that it's imperative that you keep your phone off the whole time and let it dry out slowly.

My 72 hours without my iPhone was an interesting experience though. I haven’t been without my phone for more than a few hours since getting it nearly 3 years ago. There was some withdrawal going on, but I did learn a few things along the way.

• My life is on my iPhone. That sounds hyperbolic, I know, but it’s the truth. I didn’t realize how much I relied on my phone until it wasn’t there to rely on. I use it as my alarm clock in the morning and as my radio while I get ready; it’s a source of entertainment and a work tool; and it's how I communicate with everyone. I found it so inconvenient to have to check my emails on an actual computer, and let’s not forget how often I had to call people instead of sending a quick text message.  Without it, I felt so disorganized, so out of touch.
• I can send text messages online.  I discovered that you can send text messages online on a lark. It did make it a bit easier to stay in touch with some people, and it helped me to not feel quite so cut off from the world.
• Text messages are so convenient. There was more than one occasion when I had to call people to say something that I would’ve simply sent in a text. Text messages are so quick and easy. You don’t have to worry about ending up in a long conversation with a person or do the whole small talk thing. You get right to the point, which I prefer. What did we ever do before text messages?  Seriously.
• I feel naked without my iPhone. I roll my eyes when my Dad goes on about how this generation doesn’t know how to put down their phones, but he's right. I felt so uneasy without my phone on me and kept reaching for it, only to remember it was in triage at home. I think that using my iPhone is just as important to me as knowing that the option is there. 
• I’m more productive without my iPhone. I was able to get so much work done on the train when I didn’t have my phone there to entertain me. I read for work and for leisure, I did some creative writing, and I got to turn off my brain for a while. There was no Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter to check or update, no emails or text messages to read. I have to admit that it was nice to have some downtime.

So, will I make it a habit of leaving my iPhone at home in the future? Probably not. It’s as much a technological security blanket as it is a convenient tool for staying connected with the rest of the world. And nowadays I don’t know if we really have the luxury of disconnecting. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Hmm.

Have you ever drowned your phone or gone several days without it?