Think about the difference between a want and a need. Think about all the wants we are privileged to. Now think about if all your wants were taken away. How would your life be affected?

This past week, I was offered an opportunity in my class to give up my phone for three days for extra credit. I turned in my phone after class on Wednesday and got it back Friday after class. Now, three days really is not a lot of time, especially since technically I only was phoneless for one full day, but I learned a couple of things when I didn’t have my phone.

I realized how dependent we are on our phones. Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone, but I can’t think of the last time my phone was not glued to my hand. It is crazy to think that my 8-year-old sister has her own iPhone. Having a Phone at the age of 8 has become a norm, and should we be scared of that?

I don’t think this is necessarily something that is ruining our generation and generations to come. I think technology has given us abilities beyond anything we ever thought we could do. The thing I have with technology is as a generation we should establish balance and come to the realization that our phones are not our life. I am definitely guilty of spending hours on my phone, but by not having my phone I felt focused and not as distracted as I know I would have been with a phone sitting next to me.

I think a lot of times, people don’t realize that phones are a privilege. As I walked around without a phone, I wondered what people who have no lifeline to the rest of the world feel like. I can honestly say those who do not have a phone tend to live more in the moment, because they aren’t worried about checking social media or documenting every moment of their life on Snapchat.

Now, just because someone has a phone doesn’t mean they aren’t living, I simply mean that sometimes, there are things we miss because of our phones. Just like there are cons, there are also pros to having cell phones and technology in general. Throughout the time I did not have my phone, it was difficult to do anything, because I needed to make sure I would not need my phone to call for a ride or even to just look something up. I also use my phone for my alarm clock, so not having my phone really affected my whole routine.

I remember using my pink razor back in the early 2000s, and I wonder, how did we come this far, to where our phones are a huge part of our lives? Cell phones used to be more of a want, but at this point, I would consider a phone more of a need because of all the extra things that come with it. It is not a bad thing that this generation lives off of their phones, but what I learned from being phoneless for three days is put down your phone once and a while; you’ll be surprised at all the things you can get done.