iPhoneless: The Wedding

This weekend, my wife and I drove to Little Rock for a wedding.

As I mentioned on Twitter last night, the groom is one of my oldest friends. In fact, we met in second grade and have been close ever since. It was a blast seeing him marry an awesome woman.

Being in any wedding is an honor, and it usually means a lot of work before, during and after the ceremony itself. I ran errands, moved cars and packed bags, all while spending time with old and new friends.

Mushy stuff aside, it was the first time I’ve really been at a disadvantage not having a smartphone.

The chapel and hotel were 45 minutes apart from each other, in a city I’ve only visited a handful of times. I had to call and text people whose contact information I was given just the weekend. I wanted to take high-quality photos of all the happenings.

All of these things would have been much easier with an iPhone in my pocket.

Instead, I had to make sure I followed someone in traffic, or ride with a buddy with a smartphone. I had to manually enter contact data, which is a real bummer on my flip phone. I carried my Canon S100 around as much as I could, and probably took fewer photos than I would have otherwise.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Stephen, you put yourself in this position. You can’t really complain about it.

You’re right, and this weekend is a great example as to why I decided to turn off my iPhone. I was able to spend quality time with friends without tweets, emails and iMessages interrupting. However, the lack of modern conveniences was a stress all weekend.

If this weekend has taught me anything about this experiment, it’s that the balance between my iPhone being a distraction and a tool is a fine one, but a goal worth attaining.

It’s a goal I believe I can hit, but man, 10 months sure seems like a long time to go.