I recently got rid of my cell phone. There are a lot of benefits and just about as many negatives. Overall, I think the benefits outweigh the negatives. For context, I&#x27;ve been on-call for the past 7 years since the start of my career, so ditching the phone probably comes from that. fwiw, I have a land line, but that&#x27;s about it.<p>Positives--<p>My instinct is no longer to check my phone when I&#x27;m bored or waiting. It was rough at first, but I can be pretty content just standing in a line with my own thoughts.<p>Nobody can call me at any given time, whenever they want.  Social anxiety has a mental toll on my energy, so not having a phone around gives a significant boost.<p>It&#x27;s easier to accept not knowing something.<p>Plans are planned significantly more concretely.<p>Negatives--<p>&quot;You don&#x27;t have a phone?! What&#x27;s wrong with you?!&quot; -everybody<p>Not having a GPS&#x2F;google makes things hard to find in certain circumstances.<p>There&#x27;s a huge expectation when dealing with any modern service that you&#x27;ll have a cell phone and can be contacted at any time.  For example, it&#x27;s impossible to order an Uber on a laptop.<p>(I realize the article is about smart-&gt;dumb, but the problems are still surprisingly similar)