• by travis , September 12, 2008

My parents are in the process of moving houses right now and after fighting with the phone company for weeks to keep the same phone number, they finally recently lost the battle and were forced to take a new number for their landline.

While I’m sad to learn that they no longer have the familiar seven-digit number that I grew up with, I’m even more sad to learn that I have a new number to remember.

There are only about four phone numbers that I can accurately recall off the top of my head and the rest are stored in my trusty cell phone. As sad as this is, I know I’m not alone in this. A few days ago I asked a friend for their phone number and he actually had to look it up in his cell phone – he couldn’t even recall his own number off the top of his head!

This has gotten me thinking: what would I do if one day my cell phone ceased to work? Aside from utterly panicking, I’m really not sure what I would do… maybe cry?

Now I’m not one of those people who are addicted to their cell phone, (in fact, as I look at my call history now, I see that today I made four phone calls and sent two text messages – a very modest amount for a 21-year-old college student) but I would be lost without this piece of technology.

For me, the cell phone is way more than just a device for making phone calls; it stores my daily schedule, provides me instantaneous access to the web no matter where I am, and stores all of my contacts. Being without it, for me, is like being stranded on a deserted island – cut off from the world.

I may sound dramatic, but the next time you leave your cell phone at home while you run to the store or leave it in your car while you go to class, I guarantee you will think about this post and realize how like me you are. It’s a scary world out there without a cell phone.