I spent 72 (uncomfortable) hours without a phone. That’s what it taught me

It happened while I was on the plane to Zagreb. My phone randomly started making an error. And then it just… completely died. I tapped madly on the screen, which – shockingly – didn’t help. wellI thought and put the phone away. Life goes on. But that was before the reality of my situation really hit me: Without a phone, I eventually realized, I would have no boarding pass, no email access, no banking app, no contacts, no map, or Uber app , no way to tell the time. Without my phone I would have nothing. And I flew to another country. I will spend 72 hours in Croatia without a phone.

We spent the first 12 hours in a state of logistical panic. Luckily I was with a relative who was able to contact my partner, who was able to hack my email from Germany (long story) and find my boarding pass. So I knew I would come back again. And then I borrowed money from various sources. So I knew I would be fine in that regard. But I still didn’t have a phone because – did I mention? – 72 hours. That would be the longest I’d go without this little light box in at least a decade. And as anyone who’s ever lost a phone knows, the feeling was a bit like quitting smoking because I had no idea what to do with my hands. I found myself absentmindedly pressing the blank screen just to feel something.

I don’t need to tell you how much time we all spend on our phones, but here’s a rough idea: Current statistics show that people check their phones an average of 58 times a day and spend about four hours and 37 minutes a day doing so scroll (which equates to about one day per week). I feel like there was a point in time—maybe in the early 2010s, just as iPhones were becoming ubiquitous—when everyone was panicking about smartphone use. But in recent years, discussions about technology addiction have subsided somewhat. Not because it’s no longer worrying – it is – but because it’s too late. Ten year olds have iPhones now. They are our constant companions. Attempting to comprehensively or really effectively curb smartphone use would be tantamount to banning alcohol: impossible.

But whatever, back to Zagreb. With the logistics of my return sorted out, I tried to relax and enjoy this new world without a phone. It was obviously uncomfortable. Every time I was left alone, which was usually the time I would look at my phone, I would instead just stare dazedly into space. When I saw something I liked, I couldn’t take a photo of it, so I had to use my brain to remember it. I had no idea what was going on in the news or if anyone was trying to contact me, which felt like a phantom itch. Before I went to sleep, where I would normally have swiped through TikTok, I just had to close my eyes and mentally scroll through my own memories. I couldn’t listen to podcasts, so I just sat there and thought.

However, on the second day I actually started to get used to it. It’s amazing how quickly my body adapts, and soon I had accepted the fact that I had to find new forms of entertainment, like reading or going to museums or munching on a huge plate of dim sum and really enjoying the taste. Although I would like to say that this was the part where I really discovered myself and learned to live a more mindful life, I can’t say that was the case. I really missed having a phone. But it was reassuring to know that I could at least function on a brain-body level without being constantly tethered to a device.