Saturday, October 9, 2010

Going Without a Cell Phone for 31 Hours

                In some ways, escaping from my cell phone was quite nice.  I did not have to worry about being rude while getting a text and reading it in the middle of a conversation, nor did feel… forgotten because nobody had sent me a text in _____ hours.  That however, was the only real escape I felt from my phone being turned off for 31 hours.  I felt completely disconnected from the world (both at home across the country, and at UNCSA).  I had no way to really contact a majority of my friends, and I couldn’t text somebody quickly to double check my schedule for the day.  After not using my phone, I realized how reliant I am upon technology.  I realized that if I had to go another 31 hours without my phone, I might die a little inside, and if my computer was snatched away from me as well, I would be in for a real challenge.  Many teenagers in our society have grown quite dependent upon modern technology, not realizing that twenty years ago, the difficulties we see with not having a cell phone for a day, would not have been a big deal.  Past teenagers would not have even known how to text message a friend if you’re in the middle of an awkward situation, and they would not have thought to whip out their phone to text another friend to come and save them from that same situation.  Our generation has grown to be extremely reliant upon modern technology.  For my day without my phone (Tuesday night at eight o’clock to Thursday morning), I did not have my usual luxury of an alarm on my phone waking me up.  Instead, my roommate’s alarm clock did the trick.  Several seconds after waking up, I didn’t check my phone to see if somebody had texted me in the middle of the night.   During the time I had my arts classes on Wednesday though, I didn’t really need my phone.  Yes, I did go and check the dance boards a few extra times to make sure I was going to the right studio (instead of texting someone to double check for me), but really the only inconvenience that was to me was walking a few extra feet.  Night time however, was when things got difficult.  After pointe, I had to set off to dinner without texting to see if some of my friends in a different class were eating as well.  Going to the Humans Vs. Zombies meeting, I had to look around for people to sit by, instead of texting or calling someone to find out where they were.  I couldn’t text my parents, my sister, or friends back at home to see how their day went, and I couldn’t set my alarm to wake myself up the next morning.  Waking up on Thursday morning though, I turned on my phone and found out that I had nine new unread text messages, and yes, several of those were from the same person wondering why I hadn’t responded yet.  For today however, I am back with my dear phone, and very glad to be.

3 comments:

  1. Great summary of the experiment! I like how you started off with the positives such as feeling a relief that you didn't need to text someone back right away. Also, good comparison to years ago when nobody had cell phones. I applaud you for making it through the 31 hours! Good thing my alarm got you up! :) Overall, I found it really easy to read through your summary, great job!
    -Erica

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  2. I liked your approach towards this lab and your blog about it is quite nice. I must admit i would never be able to do this

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  3. I am glad that people still sent you messages while you weren't able to use your cell phone! Something i really didn't think about before was how you had to look for poeple when you went to dinner or the human vs. zombies meeting instead of calling or texting them... not having a cellphone makes you work!

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