As part of Device Theft Awareness Month in August, we challenged several prominent bloggers to go #DigitallyDark for a full day to simulate what it would be like to lose a device.
“I need my phone!”
Taylor Brione Ballard of Pretty Pink Living shares her day without her smartphone in this video. In the video, Taylor shares how not having her phone left her lost, quite literally! She had printed off directions to a church, but got lost and missed the service, with no way to let others know where she was or how to get where she was going. It’s all these little things, like using social media to maps to even checking the time, that add up to these annoyances in losing a phone:
What Feelings Occur When You Lose Your Phone?
After sharing a real life #DigitallyDark story, Perry Finley of College Cures took our challenge and went without his smartphone for a full 24 hours. Now in the post-college “real world” setting with work and social obligations, being without his phone led Perry to experience a range of feelings from being uneasy to guilt:
“I felt extremely uneasy and, even guilty, at the prospect of friends, family, and clients becoming angry or concerned as a result of my unreturned phone calls and text messages.”
Not to mention, as Perry notes, the real feelings of stress and guilt and fear if your data falls into unfamiliar hands as the result of mobile theft.
“I leave my laptop everywhere.”
Lauryn Ash went without her Macbook Air for 24 hours, a device she says goes weeks without ever being turned off. She has purposefully reduced her devices in the past, for study abroad or just to disconnect, so she knew she was up to the task. Her readers, however, shared how they would be a little crazy at the prospect! When her challenge rolled around, by 15 hours she was already itching, trying to rationalize the purchase of another device to fill the gap left by her laptop.
The real insights for Lauryn came from the realization that theft is more common than she thought and it happens when you least expect it.
“Honestly, I leave my laptop everywhere. I lay my head down over it, unplugged, and nap on it after a long day. I cover it with a scarf or a coat to go to the restroom in cafes. I ask the stranger sitting next to me to watch it while I order food.”
Lauryn now realizes that if she is spending 70 hours a week on her computer, she should take the time to protect it.
Install Absolute LoJack to Ease Your Worries
Don’t get left in the dark. Install Absolute LoJack, the only device theft recovery software that comes with Absolute persistent technology (which can survive a reset) and an Investigations Team with a proven record of recovering your devices for you.