5 Stages of Losing Your Smartphone

While smartphones are wonderful and exciting devices that can do a little bti of everything they are, unfortunately, also rather fragile. All it takes is a bit of liquid, a moment of clumsiness or absentmindedness and the phone is broken, lost or damaged. I think  everyone has probably lost or broken a smartphone at least once, and you’ve probably gone through all of the stages of losing a smartphone in one way or another. But, to help cope with the loss of your beloved device, here is an outline of what to expect when your phone takes a tumble: Stage 1: Denial and Isolation

This is the first stage of losing your smartphone, where you deny the fact that your device is lost, broken or just plain gone. Surely it isn’t really gone, you think. Just look once more under the sofa. Try turning it on one more time. Maybe THIS TIME, it will magically work. You might start to feel isolated from others without your device. I can’t go out… I don’t have my phone.

Stage 2: Anger

Why didn’t you put it back in your pocket, safe and sound? How did it manage to get knocked off the counter top? If it hadn’t been raining, nothing bad would have happened. You might become angry seeing other people using their devices, because you don’t have one. Yours is broken or defective, and you deserve one just as much as they do. How dare they pull out their devices so casually!?

Stage 3: Bargaining

This stage often goes hand-in-hand with denial. If the phone will just turn on, you’ll go and buy the most expensive waterproof case you can find. You swear you’ll never let anyone else touch your phone. EVER. If the universe will help you find the phone right now, you’ll get one of those remote ringers so you never lose it again. You might even begin to bargain with friends to use their devices to curb the isolation.

Stage 4: Depression

Normally the depression stage is the shortest. During this stage you might feel like you are incapable of functioning without your phone. How will you keep in contact with people? Well, you won’t. What if you need directions? You’ll have to use a paper map. You find yourself reaching for a nonexistent or nonfunctioning device out of habit, which only furthers the sadness. Fortunately, this stage is often over quickly for most people.

Stage 5: Acceptance

You know your phone is gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it. It was a good device while it lasted, but now you begin to accept that there’s nothing to be done. Many times, excitement about the acquisition of a new device will quickly follow acceptance. Your old device may have been nice, but the new device will be even better.

Once you reach this stage, you’ve cycled through all the different reactions, and you can now enjoy your new device without any backward glances. After all, that old device was probably pretty old anyway, right?

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