The truth is that a day without technology is not possible in today’s world.
About a week ago, my phone was stolen and I was without a smartphone for an entire week while I waited for a replacement device. I had never felt so disconnected in my entire life. Before this, I had never realized just how much technology was embedded into and imperative to our everyday lives. Simple things like calling my parents to see how they’re doing, texting my friends to make plans or checking to see which textbooks I needed to buy for a class, were no longer possible for me to do. I truly had no idea how easy I had it with my smartphone.
Today, we don’t appreciate the convenience that mobile devices provide for us. We not only depend on them for productivity-- such as in work or school-- but also socially. Those few minutes sitting in a class before the professor arrives seemed like years because I could only look around the room and stare into space for so long. As I glanced around the room I saw every other student absorbed into their mobile devices-- even those who were sitting beside their friends. We’ve all been guilty of this one time or another; been completely absorbed by our mobile devices. Socially, mobile devices allow us to get ourselves out of situations we deem as ‘awkward’. They rescue us in situations like walking through campus alone during rush hour-- listening to music, talking to a friend on the phone, or scrolling through social media.
Don’t get me wrong, living without a smartphone for an entire week wasn’t all bad. For the first time in forever, I worked out without being plugged into headphones. It was different at first but I found that I paid so much more attention to what was happening around me. I also found that life without a phone, gave me so much more free time. My laptop, which isn’t very portable compared to a smartphone, was my only form of technology so it was almost impossible to be plugged in all day. It was definitely weird not having a phone basically attached to me the entire time but it was also invigorating in a way. At times, for a split second, I even considered not getting a replacement device and living without a phone. But soon realized that it truly was not possible to do college, or even life, without a phone. Last minute e-mails from professors and keeping in touch with friends and family back home make mobile internet access a necessity.
It’s crazy to think how much our world depends on smartphones, or rather how smartphones are basically our world. It’s even crazier to think that a world once existed without the technology of smartphones. Although this experience wasn’t chosen and I honestly probably wouldn’t do it all over again, it was an eye-opening experience. Seeing just how much of our lives are influenced by technology forces me to realize how important it is for us to manage just how much technology we allow into our lives, and to know when we’re allowing technology to captivate too much of our attention.
This isn’t to say that smartphones are bad but it’s nice to look up and enjoy your surroundings once in awhile. Maybe even try to go phone-less for a day, just for fun, and see how it goes.
