I Gave Up My Blackberry: Lesson Learned From My German Friends

What I'm going to share here is already a rotten issue cause it happened nearly month ago (rotten, isn't it?). Okay, not actual.

Today, I met 2 new friends from Germany. Actually, I met them before in their country 3 months ago but we didn't really get along since they were my friend's flatmates and i only came to visit them once. Just now, I took them both to a play in Taman Budaya Jogjakarta (Jogjakarta Cultural Park). Before it got started, they told me in wonder that some people they saw in the street including the cheapjacks (Pedagang Kaki Lima or PKL) had smartphones or even tablets. They were saying this because they had seen many audiences in the cinema shined by the screen light of their smartphones or tablets. Since i didn't really know a better quick answer, I just said something like "yeah, it's common in here". A friend of mine, Indonesian, seated next to me responded it's because smartphones in Indonesia are quite cheap. I didn't really agree, so did my German friends. I corrected my Indonesian friend by saying 'for some people'. My German friend continued, he said he looked for Iphone because he thought it's gonna be cheaper than in his country but it's evidently not really. The price distance was not that far. Before we continued the talk, the play started on.

What we just short discussed, reminded me of my blackberry. I used to have BB (blackberry simply said). Actually it was a quite long consideration of buying that a year ago. At first, I should admit that i really wanna know how does it feel to having BB of my own. So I bought one, the very cheap type (or the cheapest?), but with my own money which made me proud enough because I felt not easy to ask my parents as my promise to myself of buying some private stuff by my own. Later on, I realized that work tradition in Indonesia at some level makes the workers use smartphones, any kinds, as long as they have BBM (balckberry messager or whatsApp, or line, or else you name it for chatting and group discussion on behalf of the work purpose (or gossiping as well). Especially for my work that I've been doing. I'm one of the promotion staffs of one book publisher in Jogja, and I have to keep the people updated about the products or events we have thru social media (facebook & twitter which most Indonesian people familiar of). So, I think I'm not exaggerating if I say I need at least one smartphone because I have to be tweeting or facebooking like any time any where based on the shift hours been shared. I and other promotion staffs always discussed through whatsapp. But it no longer happens. I mean, I don't have BB anymore. I'm still working in that office tho.

As I bought it by my own consideration and bucks, I gave it up also still by my own. It's because what I learned back in Germany. I met some cool people there and conversed with them some random things. From the talks and from my observations, many of the Germans (not saying all, just the ones I encountered with) can still have a happy and enjoyable life without getting attached to sophisticated phones. The most important, they're very thoughtful, independent, and....they travel a lot, the thing I'm fond of. I'm not talking about the connection between not having smartphones and having a happy life. All I'm saying is they still alive without those stuff. That's what I learned the most. That's what I'm trying to do. That's what made me give up my BB.

Again, I should admit somehow I still want to take it back, especially in my condition now that I'm still working in that very industry and I've been always missing some discussions from whatsapp. But then, nobody else will whisper me back but myself if I have to try to loose it. Besides, I will resign by the end of this month. Yeeeeeeeeyyyyy (oohhhh... I gotta say I feel so released even I'm not taking off yet, but it's close).

Another reason, I feel annoyed having 2 phones. It is  a yes that many Indonesians have more than one single phone. In my case, I have two because my old phone that I'm still using now (the regular and cheap Nokia) is the 'main' one, and the BB WAS most for BBM-ing and work whatsapp-ing. In others case, I'm afraid I don't know. Just ask them.

I'm not sure weather in the future times I have android or IPhone or else, I don't want to be a coward. Nevertheless, at the moment, honestly, I feel pretty much better because I can do other things instead of checking the recent updates or keeping my eyes on the red sign for new notifications either from BBM, whatsapp, or social media. I feel more released.

In life, there are things that have to be loosed, or at least to be used to for then we know what is it like to be tied up.