One New Yorker Becomes "Cellibate" for 60 Days

At the stroke of midnight on January 1st, New York comedian Amy Borkowsky began her cellibacy project, a temporary resolution that she explains is "not about giving up sex. I’m giving up something much harder than that.” She's casting aside her cell phone, after questioning how much her dependency on it has affected her quality of life.

She also notes that the so-called communication device often keeps her from truly communicating, citing the familiar scenario of sitting at a restaurant table with her friend while they’re both on the phone the entire time. “Something’s wrong,” she insists, “when you answer your call waiting and hear, ‘Hi, Amy. Were you gonna finish those fries?”

This is more of an experiment than a lifestyle change. She has been equally concerned with medical studies linking cell phone usage to cancer, hearing loss and memory impairment, calling them "this generation’s cigarettes." For 60 days she's quitting cold turkey, explaining on her survival guide on her site: "For particularly urgent situations during her sixty-day cellibacy, Amy will allow herself half a roll of quarters — exactly twenty quarters — to use for payphone calls because, as the self-described cell phone addict explains, 'If cell phones are my addiction, I figure payphones will be my methadone.'”

She'll be documenting her experience on her blog, observing on the 1st: "Woke up today and realized that I’m not only losing a phone. I’m losing a watch." She also told The Daily News that "I spend a lot of time on my own. I'm picturing myself sitting at Starbucks - where I'd normally be on my cell phone - and I'll have to talk to strangers. Who knows where that will lead?" How much do you rely on your phone?

Photo via HarrisJ's Flickr.