I have discovered one of the last representatives of an endangered species, ladies and gentlemen. Jean Couvrette, 50, does not have a cell phone. And he never had one.
In a country with an estimated population of 39,292,355, there are nearly 34 million mobile service subscriptions. An adult who does not own a cell phone is a rare bird.
Jean Couvrette, a bit of a postman, a bit of a trade unionist, a bit of an artist, is that rare bird.
I went to high school with Jean, he was the best hockey player of our age, in the neighborhood. Last Sunday, after reading the end of my column where I expressed my astonishment at an extremely rare scene – a woman entering a telephone booth – Jean wrote to me: “I still sometimes use the telephone booths, because I don’t have a cell phone. I never had one, and I never will. Sometimes I feel like the last of the Mohicans…”
There, you understand, my old background as an amateur anthropologist began to fidget. No cell phone? The internet is so intertwined with our lives, and our lives are so intertwined with the internet that I wondered, “But how does he do it? »
I called him (from my cell phone) and Jean answered (on his line plugged into the wall):
“How are you doing, John?
“That’s what everyone who finds out I don’t have a cell asks me, Pat…”
“And what do you say to them?”
— That we’ve lived a long time without cell phones, and that I don’t feel the need for them. I know it saves time. But is it worth it? We no longer have station wagonslife goes so fast…”
In the union, Jean recently became a shop steward. They said to him: “Okay, Jean, you’re going to need a cell phone.
– Are you obligatory?
No, but it would be easier for everyone…
— If it’s compulsory, replied Jean, well, I won’t be a delegate. »
Jean Couvrette is therefore a delegate without a cell phone: “I find that it’s an intrusion into my personal life, to be available at all times for everyone. I’ve always seen it that way. »
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Jean’s trusty corded phone
I pointed out to Jean that our smart phones are still great: they act as GPS, keep emails containing information that is useful to be able to consult at all times and have put an end to the loss of coordinates of our contacts…
Response from the not-always-connected man: “That’s the other thing: I remember all the phone numbers and addresses of all my friends, all the members of my family, by heart. My wife has a cell, and she’s the one asking me what her father’s number is! I’m sure dialing someone’s phone number just by going to your contact list makes your memory get a little lazier every day…”
Yes, it is sometimes referred to as a dinosaur. And sometimes, people wonder if Jean deprives himself of a cell phone for money reasons. Jean himself says that he deprives himself of a source of stress.
When his children were young, the astonishment of those around him often manifested as follows: “But there, Jean, if there is an emergency and the school calls you, what are you going to do? Answer: “I’ll end up taking the message on my voicemail…”
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
“I think it’s an intrusion into my personal life, being available at all times for everyone,” explains Jean.
Jean told me how, in public, he is surrounded by people with their heads down, immersed in their screens. He doesn’t judge, but he finds it second nature to everyone. He is fascinated – and a little irritated, I think – to see us drop everything to grab our phones as soon as a notification appears on our screens…
“Texting sounds like fun. I know that sometimes it’s important, the message that comes in. But very often, it’s not important, the text message. Except that you’re inclined to watch right away, even if it’s not important… Just the ping of the message, it seems like it kindles something in people’s brains. »
Jean’s instinct is scientifically based, I talked about it a few years ago in this column: a notification that “pops” on our mobile phone vibrates parts of our brain that, since the stone age, we help to survive1.
“Do you know anyone who doesn’t have a cell phone, Jean?
– No. I know people who don’t have Facebook, but people who don’t have cellphones, no. I have a friend who didn’t have one and said, “When the payphone calls go from 25 cents to 50 cents, then I’ll get one.” He took one in… In 2014, I think. »
I checked, Jean: telephone booth calls went to 50 cents in… 2007!
“Anyway, you don’t have a cell phone and you’re not more unhappy?
– No.
– What are you doing in the queues?
“Well, I think, I watch the world, I focus on the moment…”
When you die, Jean, they’re going to stuff you and exhibit you in the museum.