Cell phones. Computers. Facebook. Text messaging. Being connected at all times is what this generation is all about.
According to the Digitalbuzz blog, 57 percent of people talk to people more online than they do in real life and 48 percent of young adults say they find out about news through Facebook.
Last weekend, I decided to bravely abandon my iPhone, laptop, television, and even my radio as an experiment to test how reliant I’ve become to my electronics. Before cutting out technology cold turkey, I let my closest friends, family and employer know what I was doing.
Being a part of this generation, I decided to pretend what it was like to not rely on technology for a weekend. I wanted to remember what it felt like being the only kid without a cell phone. I wanted to actually do homework the old-fashioned way, by hand, instead of unnecessarily typing it and getting distracted by Facebook.
Day One: Friday
In a normal routine, on my way to work I usually plug my auxiliary cord into my iPhone and play music through Pandora, but this time I caught myself frantically searching for my phone before realizing I hid it in my house. Then I remembered that I couldn’t turn the radio on, so it was just my thoughts and I, riding alone to work.
On my lunch break, instead of sitting in my car listening to the Giants game, I caught up on my celebrity gossip by reading a magazine. This counted as one of the most boring lunch breaks, ever.
After my shift, I drove home, in silence, and waited for my friends to come over like we had previously planned. They didn’t. I was left home alone with my dog, reading the “Hunger Games.” Surprisingly, it was a great Friday night.
Day Two: Saturday
I worked from 7 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and later went directly to my friend’s house to make sure I wasn’t spending the rest of my day in silence. We ended up sitting in her room trying to think of things to do that didn’t involve TV, the computer or my phone. That was a bust. She checked her Facebook in front of me, and was constantly texting, so I went home. I started to write some of this article, and read some more of the “Hunger Games.”
I also preceded to get some chores done: laundry, dishes, car and room cleaning. Some things I probably wouldn’t have done if not for leaving my friend’s house for this experiment. The experiment hindered our normal activities of Facebook, movies and texting.
I ended up finishing the “Hunger Games,” (Team Peetah, by the way) and went to sleep in a spotlessly clean room, which hasn’t happened in months.
Day Three: Sunday
This day was the easiest. Even though I knew I was getting my electronics back Monday, I almost didn’t want them back. I had gotten so much more done the previous two days than with them. I felt as if I had done a cleanse. The technology toxins had disappeared and I didn’t feel the need to check Facebook compulsively and text God-knows-who. This day, I did some more spring cleaning, ate lunch with my mom, and then went to the beach. I wanted to go some place where not having cell reception was common; where people go to escape the computer and TV, to just relax.
After I gave myself back the rights to my electronics, I didn’t go straight for Facebook or my text messages. I let my phone sit there, turned off, to see how long I could go without turning it on. I lasted about three hours until I realized I was allowed to turn it on and make plans. I didn’t have many Facebook notifications, (mostly event invites which no one really cares about) and this didn’t bother me. I was entertained by how many text messages I had received. Some person even thought I was mad because I wasn’t returning texts or phone calls.
With technology steadily improving and increasing in our lives, it will be even harder to be without electronics. Yet, I strongly encourage trying this, at least for a weekend. Of course there are exceptions to using your phone in emergencies, but I feel relieved knowing that if one day my technology was cut off, I’d survive.
