Recently, our family went on a cruise in the Caribbean with friends. I opted not to pay for internet or cell phone reception for most of the trip. We did have limited Wi-Fi at times, but it wasn’t good enough to rely on.

This forced us back into a 90s-style of communication. We used the phones in our rooms to call each other and plan where we’d meet up. Our times and locations were vague: “Meet at this part of the ship around this time.” 

And it worked. 

We were on vacation after all. 

I am not ready to give up my phone and love the connection possibilities it offers. But for a few days, it felt good to go back to an era I remember from my childhood. 

Not having instant access to the internet at any given moment has its downsides. One of the biggest for me was not being able to look up the answer to a question at a moment’s notice. 

But the upside is you start to pull out your phone less often. You, in theory at least, focus on the world around you, the people, the realness outside of the digital. 

That’s nice, and I want more of it.