Gradually evolving into one of basic needs

Max Kelling, Contributor, Jakarta

The first time I lost my mobile phone, I thought to myself, "Oh well, it's quite common for a Jakartan to lose a cell phone."

Most of my friends, after all, have lost their cell phones at least once.

I've already prepared myself for the possibility of this scenario. I've written down all the numbers listed in my cell phone. Then, with the remaining credit left on my Visa card, I purchased a new one.

Tough luck, but I've managed to ease the fallout.

But when the incident re-occurred second time, it hit me hard.

First off, I don't have enough credit left for a new phone.

Secondly, there were more than 250 phone numbers stored in my old SIM card.

And lastly, there were also twenty important (and romantic) messages also stored in that lost hand set.

The bottom line is there was a part of me stored there, and it was painful to lose it.

"Those numbers are important! They are my contacts. They are my dates; they are my old friends," complained another victim.

Freelance writer Helly readily admitted that she has already lost three mobile phones. "Of course, I immediately buy a new one every time, because I was working as a freelancer, and I had no phone line in the room that I was renting."

There are thousands of reasons for us to always have a mobile phone. Slowly but surely, mobile telecommunication has evolved into one of our basic needs.

Slowly, we forgetting the old days, too, when such technological developments were merely a futuristic vision of novelists and filmmakers in their fictional work.

We are even forgetting the times when we still knew what a beeper even was. The nights when we could sleep soundly -- without being pestered by a friend requesting accompaniment to a club -- to many, seem like memories of a distant past.

After losing my mobile phone the second time, my friends kept pressuring me to purchase a new one as soon as possible. "It is hard for us to reach you!" they complained.

At first, it unleashed a guilty feeling inside my urban heart. But then, I began to question it.

"If you really need to speak with me, then try your best to reach me. Folks, that's your problem," I added. "We used to reach each other easily enough five years ago, when I did not have a cell phone," I argued.

Trouble persisted when my friends and I agreed to meet in a certain place, such as a mall.

We used to feel more at ease if we had a mobile phone among us, since we could always know the time -- while being able to call each other the minute we stepped inside that mall, and ask that most basic question cell-phone-FAQ: "Where are you?"

But now, my friends and I had to make the directions very clear. "The bookstore in the basement at seven -- I'll leave you if you don't show up till seven-fifteen," I arranged. There, we learned again about the benefits of being punctual.

A week after I lost my cell phone, I suddenly began to enjoy having a quality time for myself.

Work-related phone calls can always be made during business hours from my office.

Personal phone calls, meantime, can also be made from phone stands, whenever I need my friends.

But whenever I want to enjoy my time alone, I can just go anywhere I like without having to inform a single soul. Being detached from the people we know, in some ways, can allow us to connect better with ourselves.

On the tenth day, a new cell phone fell on my lap: It was a gift from my brother, because my over-protective family also feels the need to monitor my daily life. It was a sophisticated tri-band cell phone.

Honestly, I was not excited all that to reactivate my number. I still enjoyed another week of not having a mobile phone in my pocket. That's simply because I wanted to learn once more how to effectively organize my day-to-day activities.

Let's admit it. Mobile telecommunication is supposed to support our mobile activities. But these days, mobile telecommunication has made us become much more detached from the unplugged world than we really should be.

We keep moving from one place to another in no certain order. In one day, it is quite easy for us to change our schedule, postpone a meeting, or arrive late for an appointment, because we rely on this mobile telecommunication system to justify all of these.

Short Message Service (SMS) went one step further. We keep in touch with real people, living in the same city area, through written words. Hallo ... where's that sweet personal touch? First it was a nice cute paper birthday card. Then it evolved into an e-card from the internet. And now, it's "Happy Birthday" through your cell-phone. Both impressive and touching.

The "cell phone free" days have given me the chance to arrange my day-to-day schedule in the right manner. Fixed, effective and efficient. People whom I deal with -- both for business and social life -- has to follow this long-lost discipline.

"Be there right on time -- but don't let me wait for you for more than fifteen minutes," that's my credo.

Today, I'm no longer the junkie who used to pay up to Rp 600,000 per month. The bill has been cut down by half.

No more pointless rambling via cell phone. Call me less friendly but, to be honest, I feel more human now.