Living Without a Mobile Phone: An Autoethnography

TL;DR

This autoethnography explores the personal and social impacts of living without a mobile phone over nine years, revealing insights into relationships, work, and security.

Contribution

It provides a detailed qualitative analysis of the effects of voluntary disconnection from mobile phones over an extended period.

Findings

Reduced stress and increased focus during phone-free periods

Altered social and work interactions without mobile connectivity

Insights into security and location independence

Abstract

This paper presents an autoethnography of my experiences living without a mobile phone. What started as an experiment motivated by a personal need to reduce stress, has resulted in two voluntary mobile phone breaks spread over nine years (i.e., 2002-2008 and 2014-2017). Conducting this autoethnography is the means to assess if the lack of having a phone has had any real impact in my life. Based on formative and summative analyses, four meaningful units or themes were identified (i.e., social relationships, everyday work, research career, and location and security), and judged using seven criteria for successful ethnography from existing literature. Furthermore, I discuss factors that allow me to make the choice of not having a mobile phone, as well as the relevance that the lessons gained from not having a mobile phone have on the lives of people who are involuntarily disconnected from communication infrastructures.