Personally, I am preparing to ditch my cell phone. We are building our home and this place we are to move, does not have reliable internet, nor cell service, sooooooo, we may not have a choice in the matter, but I am feeling better about the prospect. Enjoyable article. BTW, I hate the fact, the cloud owns MY pictures, I took. I will be going back to my Canon very soon!
I think the clincher (if people only knew) is the mental health rebound from ditching your cellphone and other wireless exposures. Anxiety and depression are off the charts - an unprecendented number of people rely on pharmaceutical (and other) drugs to handle their emotional/mental distress and dysfunction. Kathleen Burke wrote about her miraculous physical and mental recovery on Arthur Firstenberg's substack https://arthurfirstenberg.substack.com/p/ditchingmycellphone. It's part of the reason people won't go back to cellphones once they have become free of them.
"Outside..." Ah! F'n hilarious. Thanks Jonathan. We'll need to start a comic strip embracing digital freedom - like Twain said if you tell people the truth, you better make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
LOL that was hilarious!! My kids are homeschooled, no smart phone (not even my 16 year old), loads of life skills, can confirm you can find them and many other homeschooled kids 'outside' :D
I take the cell when I go out only when trekking (turned off) and for biz meetings, where usually most participants are communication- or time-management deficient. It has always been so, initially because the thing was too heavy and clumsy. Nowadays, why would you need a phone when you are in your own location and among people whom you know?
The cell destroyed our skill to arrange time, meetings and trips all in one package. It has also elevated false excuses to take over the power over ourselves and over respect for others, essentially weakening “I do what I say” and “I promised so I deliver” to the point where trust is no longer possible. The ability to cancel meetings last minute (without paying for entangling others at a whim) just because something else captured our attention has destroyed the ability to prioritize the components of life.
This impact operates on so many levels. We leak time from our continuously depleting limited lifetime battery, and for what? To talk about unimportant things with random people who couldn’t care less? It’s a real-life “A Thousand Words” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0763831/) manifested in everyone’s garden.
if you turn your cell phone off for 24 hours starting with a full charge, how much of your charge will be left? You should look so you can see if your phone is not perhaps lying about being "off".
I've heard that if you put a turned on phone in a faraday bag it will burn power rapidly as it "tries" to find a connection. So powering off does at least accomplish something (even if it isn't perfect security).
That's a good point- the cage keeps thinks more electrically-neutral, so would make sense that battery would be preserved. Thank you , as always John, for your precious feedback here.
Here is my trick. I do have a cell phone. I use it occasionally. But it is a cell phone, not a local broadcasting station, and it is usable only for calling and texting, no MMS, photos, and so on, no apps. You know, full Nokia style. I charge it roughly every two weeks or so on idle or every 10 days when used for more than texting.
Research battery types, versions and manufacturers, huge differences there.
That’s funny. You are being recorded in every shop, office, private company, street corner, 25 thousands per day. Live, with image, proxemics, gait, behavior, activities, associates, the complete package. But you worry about a phone?
The phone cannot track YOUR movements, it can only report its own movements (unless you talk to it and take selfies to confirm your identity).
are you saying that a sim card can still be read even with the battery really disconnected? I wouldn't be surprised, but do you know this for a fact (if that's what you're saying)?
As John Galt mentioned in another comment. Our banks and businesses are pushing hard (forcing) two factor authentication so it's becoming really hard to function without a cell phone.
Of course you can do like me and only use it for those "essential" functions like receiving a "code".
"Living on the edge" is still a fun adventure. Read a map, write down (or memorize) directions, forget GPS!
Absolutely- the "cutting" edge of technology can make us bleed, might as well use the knife of our brain to cut through the BS, and write things down on a map. My wife and I love them - makes roadtrips feel authentic, right?
Absolutely! Watch the road, watch the landmarks, don't be watching your phone / GPS! Road trips are more enjoyable when you are engaged with where you are going.
But, since chronic wireless exposure causes disorientation (in humans and some if not all animals) most people can no longer navigate without GPS - just another way They have addicted everyone to their "tech". You may have noticed this especially in those under age 40. For me, even a 5 or 10 minute blast from something like a DECT phone (very strong 5.8 GHz pulsed radiation) will destroy my ability to orient, let alone navigate for a half hour or so. Otherwise, i navigate just fine with my brain, landmarks and paper maps. About 2FA, you are right, they are trying to force it - my reply is "send me an email" or call me on my landline phone (i don't have a cellphone). If they won't comply, i go elsewhere.
I was sitting on the Airporter shuttle last week, watching the traffic. Since I was sitting on a high bus I could look down into people's cars as they passed by. Believe it or not, it was difficult to find someone NOT on their phone. This was in Seattle, a place notorious for terrible traffic, yet there they were navigating in that snarl of cars, looking down at their phones. The real kicker for me though was the Amazon semi truck driver with the phone on his steering wheel, scrolling as he drove by my bus.
Last week I couldn't use my bank card online, (We sent a code to your 'device') I can this week.
Can't have a Telegram account.
The only Canadian computer company left won't do business with me without a cell number.
Everyone and their dog, including substack, promises you a better experience using their 'app'. Get our app! There is rarely any reason that special app can't be a web page.
You may end up sleeping outside behind a factory in Quebec.
Thoughtful and Important .. thank you, Fortunately I have been on a disciplined program for several years now.. focused on Wise use of All machines. My cell phone and computer are kept my special servants.. turn them off unless I have a specific task.. The Real Natural World is where I spend most of my time.. a place where a Depth of Silence and Space are found.. It's top priority with me every day.. When visiting suburbia I Try to pry my grand children away from the Virtual and stay healthy and in one piece by getting it on in mother nature.. this has proven to be no small task.. Appreciate the tips that you share..
Thank you so much Curt for your thoughts. Seems like you could teach us a few things. Sounds like your grand children are blessed to have you - getting them out in nature must be the only tried and true way to "convince" them eh? It's hard otherwise, as the tech is so addictive, no?
Thank you for that compliment, Roman.. Yes sir, the Techno-virtual rubbish is highly addictive.. So As a grandparent you can only do so much, I Took my children out into nature most weekends. And I wrongly thought that they would keep those priorities straight... Conceptually they understand Natures importance.. Yet the actual translation of the strength of their understanding into time spent there isn't really much... So I do what I can and allow them to learn at their own pace...
At this juncture it's not just their lives that are at stake. It's the future of humanity's..
It's wonderful that you understand this and have re-prioritized your life...
Keep going brother! We're going to win this battle with Big Brother...
it's easy (once you know how) to connect ten of your neighbors to one fiber optic and set up a firewall and reduce the internet expenses by 90%. Probably 2 months savings would pay for all of the equipment required which would likely last 10 years. after you can give the option of a vpn (also reducing the price of VPN service by 90%) or a direct connection or a local network all independent of each other. Put a good crimp on the watchers, save a lot of money. groups of 10 could connect with each other. If the people don't need to download and upload giant stuff you could easily put 50 people on one connection. with u.s. prices on an internet connection, that starts to be significant. If anybody reading this wants to make the effort, I'll be happy to teach you what you'll need to know and that just for the pleasure of taking money and surveillance out of the hands of the psychopaths. It would also be a good thing to start re-learning how to have a relationship with the neighbors.
Hi Dea! Wow...you are quite a wordsmith yourself. Thank you so much for your kind words. I love tabboule, pronouncing it is hard enough...the longer google exists, the more I respect our elders for their long-term memory cloud storage.
It warms my heart to know that this article has inspired you to go full landline. If you do, let me know - I have more tips on that.
I agree with Roman. If the battery is removed, it definitely will remove the capability of the phone to be read. Recently, for some reason, my battery was dead within an hour of being unplugged. it happened over a 4 day course. It's back to taking a charge for a day. Know that big brother, (RCMP, call them what you will) is watching your every move, every transaction, monitoring your whereabouts even when your location data is turned off. I know why I was being surveilled, but I'd rather not put it in print. I really look forward to the day, I'm not tied (or hang man's noosed) to my phone.
Thanks so much James! Appreciate your support. Have to start somewhere...doesn't always make life easier, but more enjoyable. Do you see yourself/ or ppl in your neck of the woods considering / embracing this as a potential trend?
There’s no way in hell this trend will ever catch on in Hong Kong and China. They’re seriously addicted to every imaginable 5G device you can think of. I only use 4G devices sparingly and wear glasses that block the blue light that’s emitted from the screens.
Thank you, I love both the article (humor!) and the comments, - the informed and thoughtful community is a small slice of sanity.
Data, video, and streaming has driven up the demand for more towers. Taking small actions to be more conscious of the explosion in (cultivated) demand is calming and centering, in itself, because of the inherent integrity in not causing harm.
In addition, reading on a small screen (cellphone) is destroying eyesight, which is one reason why China banned cellphones in schools, in addition to concern about addiction. Russia recently followed suit. The race against China for 5G???? absurd
I have started mapping my own routes to places. I hate attempting to follow Google directions. It took me years to develop a good sense of direction but now it's not so bad! Big fan of maps too.
Thanks Grace for chiming in! Amazing how once that direction and sense of one's location sets in, it's permanent, vs google maps which is temporary. Did you stop using google b/c it was annoying, or were you also trying to avoid the cell phone due to privacy, health reasons?
Ive found that Google will create a route that's fastest at that time - which means it rarely prompts you to retrace your steps, which I think helps develop directional skills. I found that annoying.
I am guessing the use of a cell phone for business purposes made your current life possible through the accrual of resources to enable you to stop using a cell phone?
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have an internet based company you receive monies from and paid subscribers on this platform as well? People who pay you and use your services on their cell phones? And if they threw their cell phones away would it or would it not hurt your bottom line?
So...how can anyone who has used technology to purchase a technologically free lifestyle advocate for discontinuing the use of said technologies?
1- No, my current life is made possible by also working p/t on a farm, and growing my own food. I quit my last job b/c I grew a conscience, and started from scratch.
I don't make much money.
2- People don't have to use a cell phone to use substack. Most of my readers use desktop. Did you not know that Substack is available on desktop?
What are some ways you can limit your use of a cell phone, if you're interested in doing so?
Personally, I am preparing to ditch my cell phone. We are building our home and this place we are to move, does not have reliable internet, nor cell service, sooooooo, we may not have a choice in the matter, but I am feeling better about the prospect. Enjoyable article. BTW, I hate the fact, the cloud owns MY pictures, I took. I will be going back to my Canon very soon!
freedom!
I think the clincher (if people only knew) is the mental health rebound from ditching your cellphone and other wireless exposures. Anxiety and depression are off the charts - an unprecendented number of people rely on pharmaceutical (and other) drugs to handle their emotional/mental distress and dysfunction. Kathleen Burke wrote about her miraculous physical and mental recovery on Arthur Firstenberg's substack https://arthurfirstenberg.substack.com/p/ditchingmycellphone. It's part of the reason people won't go back to cellphones once they have become free of them.
As I was reading this this video starting at the 1:10 mark came to mind...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y88h2gRkoXw&t=85s
Great post!!!
"Outside..." Ah! F'n hilarious. Thanks Jonathan. We'll need to start a comic strip embracing digital freedom - like Twain said if you tell people the truth, you better make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
You welcome lol.
Definitely.
LOL that was hilarious!! My kids are homeschooled, no smart phone (not even my 16 year old), loads of life skills, can confirm you can find them and many other homeschooled kids 'outside' :D
I'm glad you like it.
Awesome. Raising them right!!!
It all boils down to the question:
Do you own a cell phone?
Or does your cell phone owns you?
Well said. You're either the warden or the prisoner of your own cell, eh?
Or you become a prison for others :-)
I take the cell when I go out only when trekking (turned off) and for biz meetings, where usually most participants are communication- or time-management deficient. It has always been so, initially because the thing was too heavy and clumsy. Nowadays, why would you need a phone when you are in your own location and among people whom you know?
The cell destroyed our skill to arrange time, meetings and trips all in one package. It has also elevated false excuses to take over the power over ourselves and over respect for others, essentially weakening “I do what I say” and “I promised so I deliver” to the point where trust is no longer possible. The ability to cancel meetings last minute (without paying for entangling others at a whim) just because something else captured our attention has destroyed the ability to prioritize the components of life.
This impact operates on so many levels. We leak time from our continuously depleting limited lifetime battery, and for what? To talk about unimportant things with random people who couldn’t care less? It’s a real-life “A Thousand Words” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0763831/) manifested in everyone’s garden.
if you turn your cell phone off for 24 hours starting with a full charge, how much of your charge will be left? You should look so you can see if your phone is not perhaps lying about being "off".
When I travel, my cell phone is off and inside a faraday bag. When I turn it back on, it's always shown 100% charge.
sounds like it might really be off, but it'd probably be at 100% even if it was signaling your position with a certain frequency.
Thus the value of a faraday bag.
I've heard that if you put a turned on phone in a faraday bag it will burn power rapidly as it "tries" to find a connection. So powering off does at least accomplish something (even if it isn't perfect security).
That's a good point- the cage keeps thinks more electrically-neutral, so would make sense that battery would be preserved. Thank you , as always John, for your precious feedback here.
Here is my trick. I do have a cell phone. I use it occasionally. But it is a cell phone, not a local broadcasting station, and it is usable only for calling and texting, no MMS, photos, and so on, no apps. You know, full Nokia style. I charge it roughly every two weeks or so on idle or every 10 days when used for more than texting.
Research battery types, versions and manufacturers, huge differences there.
so perhaps it's doing no more than tracking your every movement.
That’s funny. You are being recorded in every shop, office, private company, street corner, 25 thousands per day. Live, with image, proxemics, gait, behavior, activities, associates, the complete package. But you worry about a phone?
The phone cannot track YOUR movements, it can only report its own movements (unless you talk to it and take selfies to confirm your identity).
When you turn your phone off, it still is being communicated with. Not sure about the faraday cage.
are you saying that a sim card can still be read even with the battery really disconnected? I wouldn't be surprised, but do you know this for a fact (if that's what you're saying)?
I think it depends on the model.
Very true - the mic is always on.
As John Galt mentioned in another comment. Our banks and businesses are pushing hard (forcing) two factor authentication so it's becoming really hard to function without a cell phone.
Of course you can do like me and only use it for those "essential" functions like receiving a "code".
"Living on the edge" is still a fun adventure. Read a map, write down (or memorize) directions, forget GPS!
Absolutely- the "cutting" edge of technology can make us bleed, might as well use the knife of our brain to cut through the BS, and write things down on a map. My wife and I love them - makes roadtrips feel authentic, right?
Absolutely! Watch the road, watch the landmarks, don't be watching your phone / GPS! Road trips are more enjoyable when you are engaged with where you are going.
But, since chronic wireless exposure causes disorientation (in humans and some if not all animals) most people can no longer navigate without GPS - just another way They have addicted everyone to their "tech". You may have noticed this especially in those under age 40. For me, even a 5 or 10 minute blast from something like a DECT phone (very strong 5.8 GHz pulsed radiation) will destroy my ability to orient, let alone navigate for a half hour or so. Otherwise, i navigate just fine with my brain, landmarks and paper maps. About 2FA, you are right, they are trying to force it - my reply is "send me an email" or call me on my landline phone (i don't have a cellphone). If they won't comply, i go elsewhere.
I was sitting on the Airporter shuttle last week, watching the traffic. Since I was sitting on a high bus I could look down into people's cars as they passed by. Believe it or not, it was difficult to find someone NOT on their phone. This was in Seattle, a place notorious for terrible traffic, yet there they were navigating in that snarl of cars, looking down at their phones. The real kicker for me though was the Amazon semi truck driver with the phone on his steering wheel, scrolling as he drove by my bus.
Last week I couldn't use my bank card online, (We sent a code to your 'device') I can this week.
Can't have a Telegram account.
The only Canadian computer company left won't do business with me without a cell number.
Everyone and their dog, including substack, promises you a better experience using their 'app'. Get our app! There is rarely any reason that special app can't be a web page.
You may end up sleeping outside behind a factory in Quebec.
I hear you John...well the meek shall inherit the Earth (but first they must sleep outside of factories).
I feel bad for those dogs, what did they ever do?
Maybe they'll bite their owners's hands off...wonder if the owner of the phone will notice or just phantom-text.
If we got rid of smart phones the world would be a much simpler place.
Thoughtful and Important .. thank you, Fortunately I have been on a disciplined program for several years now.. focused on Wise use of All machines. My cell phone and computer are kept my special servants.. turn them off unless I have a specific task.. The Real Natural World is where I spend most of my time.. a place where a Depth of Silence and Space are found.. It's top priority with me every day.. When visiting suburbia I Try to pry my grand children away from the Virtual and stay healthy and in one piece by getting it on in mother nature.. this has proven to be no small task.. Appreciate the tips that you share..
Good stuff! keep them coming..
Thank you so much Curt for your thoughts. Seems like you could teach us a few things. Sounds like your grand children are blessed to have you - getting them out in nature must be the only tried and true way to "convince" them eh? It's hard otherwise, as the tech is so addictive, no?
Thank you for that compliment, Roman.. Yes sir, the Techno-virtual rubbish is highly addictive.. So As a grandparent you can only do so much, I Took my children out into nature most weekends. And I wrongly thought that they would keep those priorities straight... Conceptually they understand Natures importance.. Yet the actual translation of the strength of their understanding into time spent there isn't really much... So I do what I can and allow them to learn at their own pace...
At this juncture it's not just their lives that are at stake. It's the future of humanity's..
It's wonderful that you understand this and have re-prioritized your life...
Keep going brother! We're going to win this battle with Big Brother...
it's easy (once you know how) to connect ten of your neighbors to one fiber optic and set up a firewall and reduce the internet expenses by 90%. Probably 2 months savings would pay for all of the equipment required which would likely last 10 years. after you can give the option of a vpn (also reducing the price of VPN service by 90%) or a direct connection or a local network all independent of each other. Put a good crimp on the watchers, save a lot of money. groups of 10 could connect with each other. If the people don't need to download and upload giant stuff you could easily put 50 people on one connection. with u.s. prices on an internet connection, that starts to be significant. If anybody reading this wants to make the effort, I'll be happy to teach you what you'll need to know and that just for the pleasure of taking money and surveillance out of the hands of the psychopaths. It would also be a good thing to start re-learning how to have a relationship with the neighbors.
i would like to know
Hi BornAlive, do you follow Kyle the Secular Heretic? I'll be interviewing him for our podcast soon, we may shed some light on this topic.
thank you! will check it out.
This whole read is like unplugging from the Matrix with a wink.
Loved how it turns the horror vacui of modern life into a playground of presence.
Remembering tabboule without Google? That’s pure sorcery.
And “let others sit with the discomfort of not knowing”? Now that’s relationship yoga.
Honestly, this piece made me want to go full landline and send my soul a letter. 💙📞📮
Hi Dea! Wow...you are quite a wordsmith yourself. Thank you so much for your kind words. I love tabboule, pronouncing it is hard enough...the longer google exists, the more I respect our elders for their long-term memory cloud storage.
It warms my heart to know that this article has inspired you to go full landline. If you do, let me know - I have more tips on that.
Vacui - the word of the day.
I agree with Roman. If the battery is removed, it definitely will remove the capability of the phone to be read. Recently, for some reason, my battery was dead within an hour of being unplugged. it happened over a 4 day course. It's back to taking a charge for a day. Know that big brother, (RCMP, call them what you will) is watching your every move, every transaction, monitoring your whereabouts even when your location data is turned off. I know why I was being surveilled, but I'd rather not put it in print. I really look forward to the day, I'm not tied (or hang man's noosed) to my phone.
Roman, you are truly a digital rebel. More power to you! 💪👏
Thanks so much James! Appreciate your support. Have to start somewhere...doesn't always make life easier, but more enjoyable. Do you see yourself/ or ppl in your neck of the woods considering / embracing this as a potential trend?
There’s no way in hell this trend will ever catch on in Hong Kong and China. They’re seriously addicted to every imaginable 5G device you can think of. I only use 4G devices sparingly and wear glasses that block the blue light that’s emitted from the screens.
That's a good start. So many forget that light itself is an EMF. Are you in China?
Yes
Thank you, I love both the article (humor!) and the comments, - the informed and thoughtful community is a small slice of sanity.
Data, video, and streaming has driven up the demand for more towers. Taking small actions to be more conscious of the explosion in (cultivated) demand is calming and centering, in itself, because of the inherent integrity in not causing harm.
In addition, reading on a small screen (cellphone) is destroying eyesight, which is one reason why China banned cellphones in schools, in addition to concern about addiction. Russia recently followed suit. The race against China for 5G???? absurd
Thank you Patricia! It's the race against China against 5G in truth, eh?
We can definitely expect myopia to explode everywhere soon.
In the end the towers feed off us - why I believe imploding the system is the way to go through civil digital disobedience.
I have started mapping my own routes to places. I hate attempting to follow Google directions. It took me years to develop a good sense of direction but now it's not so bad! Big fan of maps too.
Thanks Grace for chiming in! Amazing how once that direction and sense of one's location sets in, it's permanent, vs google maps which is temporary. Did you stop using google b/c it was annoying, or were you also trying to avoid the cell phone due to privacy, health reasons?
Ive found that Google will create a route that's fastest at that time - which means it rarely prompts you to retrace your steps, which I think helps develop directional skills. I found that annoying.
I am guessing the use of a cell phone for business purposes made your current life possible through the accrual of resources to enable you to stop using a cell phone?
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have an internet based company you receive monies from and paid subscribers on this platform as well? People who pay you and use your services on their cell phones? And if they threw their cell phones away would it or would it not hurt your bottom line?
So...how can anyone who has used technology to purchase a technologically free lifestyle advocate for discontinuing the use of said technologies?
Hi Pirate. Thank you for your question.
1- No, my current life is made possible by also working p/t on a farm, and growing my own food. I quit my last job b/c I grew a conscience, and started from scratch.
I don't make much money.
2- People don't have to use a cell phone to use substack. Most of my readers use desktop. Did you not know that Substack is available on desktop?
What are some ways you can limit your use of a cell phone, if you're interested in doing so?
3/11/2020: The WHO declared itself as the planet's Primarily Care Physician.
And now refers to itself as simply: WHO