I'm teaching summer school. I work about an hour away from home. I realized about 20 min into my commute that I'd left my cell phone at home. I'm naked!! Just kidding - but it's pathetic how weird I feel without it.
The good news is that my husband is at his office today which is only a 10 min drive from my work, so he'll bring me my phone later
How about you? Does leaving the house without your cell influence your day (or mood) at all?
I have never forgotten my phone at home, but I forget it in my classroom pretty regularly. I always realize it when I get in the vehicle because I always check to see if my mom needs me to stop by on my way home. It makes me grumpy when I forget it because I hate that flight of steps to my classroom.
I'm sure I don't talk and surely don't text even 5% of the average person, yet I don't like the feeling of forgetting to bring mine either, but I won't die or anything without it.
It makes me anxious. I feel like it's going to be that one time something happens with one of the kids and I can't be reached.
Yes, me too. However, the biggest time something went wrong I was able to get to my husband even though he had his phone off. I’m surprised I had this bright idea.. but I called the location of where he was. I called the office. I had to google it after 911 was called, but I was stuck in the car and badly hurt so I couldn't get out, without being cut out.
The man who answered the phone (his boss at the time) asked me if it could wait, he should be done with his client soon!?? I had just told him I had been in a terrible car accident and was being taken to the hospital. NO! YOUR KIDDING ME RIGHT!! I was being cut out of the car for goodness sakes! He went and got my husband and my husband left immediately. I was shocked how quickly my DH was able to cross the city during rush hour.
At first I'm like, "OH NO", but then I give myself a reality check. I lived for over 30 years without a cell phone, and I made it just fine. I figure one day won't kill me.
I use it to surf the night during lunch or text during breaks, but I survive. The worst is when I leave it at work because we did away with our landline years ago, so I feel disconnected from everyone. Fortunately it’s only happened during the week- not sure what I would do if it happened over the weekend or extended break!
I forgot it at home one day this spring. It had been raining and my road was terribly muddy. 2 miles through the mud and I realised I didn't have my phone. I turned around to track through it again. 10 min late to work. But I had duty and 2 of our 4 team were out that day.
I heard something on the radio a couple of years ago about how a super high percentage of people surveyed said they would turn around and go get their phone if they realized they left it, even if it meant being late for work.
I wouldn't go that far, but I wouldn't like it. My teammates and I are spread all throughout the building (rather than having rooms next to each other), so we often communicate through texts. I'd be afraid I was missing something important!
I do notice that having a smartphone has increased my reliance on it. I resisted the smartphone thing for awhile and my first couple of years of teaching, I had a "dumb phone." I frequently left it at home without realizing; sometimes until I got home for the day!
I remember one time, I got home on a Friday after going to happy hour with my coworkers around 7 PM. I had a text from a friend who worked in another school asking if I wanted to go to happy hour with her that night; she'd sent it that morning. I texted back and apologized and told her I left my phone at home and just saw her message. She got mad; she didn't believe me because she thought there was no way someone would go to work all day and happy hour without their phone .