Picture this: you are a normal person who uses their phone 24/7. Someone tells you to put it down and enjoy life. You roll your eyes because this is the fifth time this week someone told you about our abhorred obsession with technology today.
Naturally, I had no clue what to do. Should I comply with their wishes and shut off my phone? Or should I live my life the way I want to live it? Well on any other day, I would have chosen the latter. But not today. No, I shut off my phone and told myself I could use it again in 12 hours.
No technology for 12 hours. I can do this!
I decided, in true Generation-X fashion, I would go outside. I must say, the outside world is not too shabby. It was pretty nice because I was able to really explore a place that I hadn't been before. The only problem was that I wanted to take a plethora of pictures for Instagram. But I was not able to do so due to my commitment to investigative journalism.
I originally hypothesized that it would be horrible and that I would be angry and desperately want to turn on my phone. However, that is not really how things went. Instead, I dealt with it. It was the same as if my phone had died and I had to wait a little while to charge it.
I guess I thought it would cause me to come to the revolutionary conclusion that we are so attached to our phones that we know nothing of the real world. I mean, to a certain extent, it made me realize that I do have major dependence on my electronics. But it also made me realize that I still have a vast and overall fulfilling appreciation for everything that that our world has for us to offer.
It became a really nice experience for me because I was not worried about having one of my hands full the whole time. I also was not worried about capturing every single moment on Snapchat. I did not have to worry about anything.
My main problem was the fact that my friends were not a button away anymore. I fully understand the argument that we are so focused on our phones and how everything is a click away. It is a really nice and simple way for us to be connected with our friends all around the world. It is very important for us to have a life outside of our mobile devices too. The best thing we can all do is find our balance between the two. Focus on the real world, while also enjoying the splendor of our digital lives.
To sum it all up, it was a very interesting little social experiment I put myself through. And, to be honest, I would definitely recommend this experience to everyone.
