Electronic Exhaustion

     I have become sick and tired of my cell phone. I have never been a fan of cell phones, but I'm mostly tired of the expectations that others have surrounding cell phones. I have a cell phone so that my family members can reach me, if they need me. I have found that many people have an expectation that because I have a cell phone: I am obligated to answer my cell phone when they call, respond instantly to any text, or just be at their beck and call.
     There have been people who have called my phone and not left a voice mail message, called again within minutes, and when I failed to answer the calls they send multiple text messages. I have a flip phone without a keyboard. I understand that texting may be convenient for some, and I don't mind receiving text messages, but it is the expectation that I will respond immediately. Those are my issues. 
     I have been contemplating going dark for a while. At least for the remainder of the month of November. There are those who tell me that I cannot run my future business without a cell phone. I am currently in school training to become a massage therapist. There is a societal expectation that LMTs will have a cell phone. Can I run a successful business without a cell phone? Can I be a successful LMT without a cell phone?
     What did people do before cell phones? How did businesses operate? I have my own theory. I think that people take advantage of the cell phone. I think people have become increasingly selfish. I think people believe their own time is valuable, but have difficulty in valuing anyone else's time. I believe having the ability to call by cell phone an hour or even 20 minutes before a scheduled appointment takes the caller off the hook for cancelling on someone else's time. 
     I believe that I can run a successful business without a cell phone. I have told myself I have my cell phone so that my girls can reach me if they need me. What did parents do before the cell phone? How were emergencies handled? 
     I desperately want to live in a community, not just in a society where we are becoming ever more anti-social, but pretending the be social.  I believe that for me turning off my cell phone is the first step. Perhaps at the end of the month I will decide that I do in fact need a cell phone. Perhaps at the end of the month I will decide that I never really needed a cell phone. 
      We have contemplated turning off our land line and using a cell phone for that purpose, but really who call our house phone? Survey peoples, political campaigns, and of course bill collectors. I rarely speak to family or friends by way of telephone, actually I rarely speak to family and friends. I want to change that. I want to live more deliberately and with more connection to the people who make my life better. I want to be a better friend. I can do all of that without being tied to my cell phone. Even if I do decide to use my cell phone in place of my house phone, I do not want to have it tied to my hip feeling obligated to answer it. 
     I know the feeling of obligation is my own, and I am choosing to not be part of that. I am also contemplating shutting down my facebook account. I know social media has its place in the current advertising world, and I have met some wonderful people (in person even) because of social media, but I believe social media is really anti-social. That however is a rant for another post.