Must be a generational thing (?)

[FCD]

Came across this article about people paying thousands of dollars per night to stay at hotels where they have zero access to their phones and other digital devices.  Their phones and computers are actually confiscated, in many cases, from them when they check in and are not given back to them until they check out.  The rooms also have all technology removed, like TV's and other things.  In their place are things like board games and other things to force people to deal with reality.

Link to article - Digital Detox

Now, I don't know about you, but not touching my phone while on vacation is not something I need to pay extra for.  Nor do I need to have someone take my phone away.  Nope, when I go on vacation I don't touch the gawd-damned thing.  I'd freaking leave it in my truck and not even take it with me if I could get away with it.  And, the only reason I don't do just that is because I do use it to get to, and from, my destination with the least amount of hassle.  Otherwise, that bitch is "OFF"!

The wife and I went on a cruise up into northern Canada (Newfoundland) last year.  It was around 9 days long.  For the most part we were out of cellphone range anyway (per my wife's blabbermouth sister).  I'd stuck my phone in my suitcase and didn't even look at it until about day #9 coming back into port.  When I did look at it I had a message from one of my employees (well, about five messages actually).  The last message was from one of my junior engineers, and she says, in big capital letters (like that will reach me sooner!  LOL!)..."I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET A HOLD OF YOU FOR DAYS!  I KNOW YOU'RE ON VACATION, BUT HOW CAN YOU NOT BE CHECKING YOUR PHONE????  I'D GO CRAZY!!  OR, ARE YOU JUST IGNORING ME????"  I must admit, I got a good laugh out of this one!  My first reaction was to call her, wait for her to pick up, and then toss my phone overboard so she'd hear it going... bloop, glug, glug, glug,...as it sank to the bottom.  The only reason I didn't is because then I'd have to actually go and pay for another one of these gawd forsaken devices again!  What made me chuckle is, she's one of those people who is constantly in touch with her daughter and/or son on FB, Insta, TikTok and numerous other social media.  Her phone is like a permanent appendage to her person.  Even after we got back, for about a week, she kept commenting about how amazed she was I just didn't look at my phone...and I didn't.

So, I wouldn't need to spend an extra thousand dollars a night just to 'detox' from my phone.  I'm pretty much the exact opposite of that, but maybe it's a generational thing.  I dunno.  I just find it sort of interesting.  But I guess some people have just grown up in that world and it's all they know; it's been that way their entire lives, so being without is a huge hardship (unbearable for some).  Much earlier in my career I was forced to wear a pager as part of my job.  I called it my "electronic leash".  This is right when cellular phones first came out and were still carried around in a small suitcase.  The 'brick' phones were for the rich and famous. 

I've long said that cell phones are the scourge of mankind; the rudest device ever invented.  If cellular phones went away tomorrow, I'd be a happy man.  The most important call I've ever gotten on a cell phone was one telling me someone had died.  And it went downhill from there!  I must admit though; as I get older it is kind of reassuring to have a way to contact someone if something negative happens.  But I thought it was funny in the article where one place said they'd gone from advertising that they "Have WiFi" in the rooms, to now saying  "We DON'T have WiFi in our rooms".  What a sign of the times.

[Michigan Swampbuck]

I must be pretty unpopular, even with the robo-calls. I get very few calls, and my phone will often drain the battery before I even look at it.

I take it in my truck, just in case it breaks down and I need a tow. Even then, I leave it off to conserve the battery and only use it if necessary. Otherwise, I never carry it on my person and leave it in my home office almost all the time.

If I were to go on a long hike or a bike or a quad ride, I would bring it in case. Otherwise, I never even think about my phone unless I have important business and I need to monitor it.

I'm old school, when all you had was landlines, and while out of the house, a payphone was your only contact outside of using someone else's landline.

[Nugget]

My granddaughter just turned 19 last month so I'mgetting an up-close look at the new world. She always has her earbuds in, but has taken to leaving one out when she's here so she can enjoy the conversation between hubby and me by 'ear droppig'- her childhood terrm for eaves dropping.

If I ask my hubby a question and he says 'I don't know...' she'll rattle off the answer in a nanosecond. In a strange way I envy her talent for knowing how to get answers instantly. 

I remember when I was raising seahorses in the 90's and a strange 'something' appeared that sure looked like jellyfish. The pet store had no idea what it was and I was frantic for answers because they appeared to be singing my little seahorses.

Without the internet, I hit the library and lugged home 20+ books looking for answers. I finally found out they were a type of polyp that hitched a ride on a crab's shell. If only I'd had access to the internet and someone as savvy as my granddaughter back then!

I'm resigned to the fact that the internet and its advancments aren't going away (at least not until the power grid collapses) so I'm trying to look at the silver lining and enjoy what positives there are. The future will take care of itself, and perhaps this isn't a cross for the old folks to bear.