Some experiments ain’t worth trying

HUMANS BEINGS are creatures of habit. We all have our routines, even if we might not actually realise them until someone points them out to us.

It would take some psychological digging to find out why exactly we do the things we do, and more precisely, the order in which we do them.

But once it becomes normal and natural to us, that’s just how we live.

The problem is, though, always doing things that specific way can lead to boredom – painful, distressing, mind-numbing boredom.

So every now and then, humans try to change things up a bit. Things can border from the minor step outside the comfort zone to the downright plunge into the world of taboo.

You know when your grandparents (not mine) decided to go to a nude beach? Or when your father (not mine) decided to take up skydiving? Yea, I’m talking about stuff like that.

Well, I’ve tried a few changes over the last few years, to various degrees of success. I changed the hairstyle (sporting more of a mohawk), tried some different dress colours (the Joker from the ‘Batman’ franchise would be proud) and I try to get out more (still working on that, though).

NO SMARTPHONE

But recently I decided to try changing something else. Yours truly decided to go without a smartphone for a while.

I envisioned going like a month or maybe even two. I lasted a grand total of two weeks.

Now, while I won’t say they were the longest couple of weeks of my life, they weren’t much fun.

For the record, the top spot in terms of the longest two weeks of my existence is reserved for any of the two-week periods leading up to summer holidays when I was in high school.

But mi nah tell nuh lie, when you’ve become so used to the way you do something, it’s hard to go back to anything else.

And I know I’ve talked about going to an existence that would kind of resemble something from the Stone Age.

But I can safely say that having tried the ‘archaic way’, it really doesn’t work for me. Being without modern technology, at least in the form of a smartphone, is a pain in that part of the anatomy that rhymes with ‘class’, and there should be ZERO discomfort around there.

First off, I felt really disconnected from the world. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s not recommended, considering my profession.

Furthermore, it’s so much easier for persons to get in contact with you. ‘Regular’ voice calls are so boring, it’s all about messaging apps these days.

Social media can be a pain, but when used properly, it can also be an asset. Like any tool, a smartphone is only as useful as the user punching the keys.

So I’ll keep trying new things, but rest assured that whole no smartphone thing is not going to be one of them.

“Running away was easy; not knowing what to do next was the hard part.” – Glenda Millard, A Small Free Kiss in the Dark