ISOLDE D. AMANTE:
What will a signal-free Sinulog parade be like? The lack of cellphone service in Saturday’s fluvial and solemn procession did not cause problems, according to initial reports. If anything, the inability to communicate with others by SMS or voice calls highlighted the palpable sense of community among the thousands who joined the solemn procession, who quietly shared tight spaces without jostling or rudeness.
If Saturday’s events are any indication, the Sinulog may not be that much poorer for the lack of cellphone signals. Thousands who turned up for the fluvial and solemn processions did not seem to suffer from the lack of voice, SMS and data connections, according to the initial assessments. If anything, the inability to communicate with others by using a phone highlighted the sense of community among thousands who walked in the solemn procession, managing to share tight spaces without jostling or rudeness.
Security and medical teams will feel the lack of signals the most but have agreed to do without it, using instead handheld radios, in order to add a layer of protection to the Sinulog crowds.
How much the spectators will feel the lack of mobile connections will depend on each person’s age and habits.
For nearly two decades, most of us have come to rely on our phones for many daily activities. How to get to where we want to go, figuring out where to eat, finding out what others thought of the places or experiences we want to sample: the younger people are, the more they rely on a phone or tablet to get that kind of information.
If there will be any fear of missing out—or FOMO, as the experience has come to be known—it will probably be felt more keenly by the young. Those of us who are older have known what it’s like to live without electronic tethers, and for us the adjustment to today’s lack of signals will not be painful. When people have no means to keep updating their social media feeds, they might actually experience today’s celebrations more fully.
Of course, we can live with this lack of connections because we know it will be a temporary absence. We may even find it liberating. At least, for a few hours, we may be reminded of just how self-sufficient we can be, or how refreshing it is to have some silence in the place of competing demands for our attention.
In societies where smartphone dependence is more pronounced, today’s lack of connections would hurt more. A Pew Research Center study in 2015 found out that for most Americans, smartphones have become so much a part of their daily lives that doing without it would cost them dearly. The study found out that more than half of all smartphone owners in the United States used their phone to get information about their health or to do online banking. Nearly half used it to look for information about a job or to find out how to avail themselves of government services. Forty-six percent of the respondents said their phone was something they “couldn’t live without.”
In the 19 or so hours today when cellphone signals are switched off, at least in parts of Metro Cebu, may it feel less like a sacrifice for most of us, and more like a welcome spell of quiet. May it help us appreciate more the bonds that require no mobile signals.