Most of us over age 50 have watched in fascination as a younger person, deprived of his or her mobile device, begins to tremble and shake. Thankfully, "lost phone syndrome," also known as nomophobia ("no mobile phobia"), does not last long. A person quickly recovers, and the students at our Catholic schools here in San Francisco, who have to surrender their cellphones each morning at the school office, have adapted quite well to a phoneless school day.
I lost my phone the day after Thanksgiving, before I could reply to the dozens of texts from friends wishing me a happy holiday. Today is my birthday, and for all of you who may be texting good wishes on the anniversary of my mother’s great labor, I’m sorry that I cannot respond. My phone is somewhere in the great beyond, and I’m awaiting a replacement.
God took my phone from me, no doubt, to detach me from my screen addiction, even if only for a week or so. But the occasion also prompted my liberation from Verizon wireless, into which I’ve been putting $85 a month for the last ten years. I’m finally declaring my freedom from Big Cell and going with a smaller company. I’ve already switched to Charity Mobile, which provides the same data, talk, and text for a third of what Verizon charges. Charity uses the same cell tower network as Verizon, so why does Verizon charge so much more? The answer: Verizon spent $4 billion on advertising last year, and this year it will spend $12 billion in “customer investment” worldwide (according to Google’s AI). How accurate that is I do not know, but I do know that I’m paying two thirds less for the same service. When I called Charity Mobile’s helpline I talked with a real person on the third ring, a nice young man who ended our call with “God bless you.” Compare that with Big Cell’s 20-minute wait times and endless artificially-generated voices redirecting you to other artificial voices and various promotions. Then there is Verizon’s heavy financial commitment to transgender and other woke ideologies….
I’m glad I lost my phone, although I wouldn’t want to do it every month. Life has been a little more quiet, at least for a few days, and I’m sorry I cannot respond to the texts and calls of the many kind people who wish me well.
I lost my phone the day after Thanksgiving, before I could reply to the dozens of texts from friends wishing me a happy holiday. Today is my birthday, and for all of you who may be texting good wishes on the anniversary of my mother’s great labor, I’m sorry that I cannot respond. My phone is somewhere in the great beyond, and I’m awaiting a replacement.
God took my phone from me, no doubt, to detach me from my screen addiction, even if only for a week or so. But the occasion also prompted my liberation from Verizon wireless, into which I’ve been putting $85 a month for the last ten years. I’m finally declaring my freedom from Big Cell and going with a smaller company. I’ve already switched to Charity Mobile, which provides the same data, talk, and text for a third of what Verizon charges. Charity uses the same cell tower network as Verizon, so why does Verizon charge so much more? The answer: Verizon spent $4 billion on advertising last year, and this year it will spend $12 billion in “customer investment” worldwide (according to Google’s AI). How accurate that is I do not know, but I do know that I’m paying two thirds less for the same service. When I called Charity Mobile’s helpline I talked with a real person on the third ring, a nice young man who ended our call with “God bless you.” Compare that with Big Cell’s 20-minute wait times and endless artificially-generated voices redirecting you to other artificial voices and various promotions. Then there is Verizon’s heavy financial commitment to transgender and other woke ideologies….
I’m glad I lost my phone, although I wouldn’t want to do it every month. Life has been a little more quiet, at least for a few days, and I’m sorry I cannot respond to the texts and calls of the many kind people who wish me well.
a lovely evening without cell service
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