Wi-Fi. Our world has become completely dependent off of it. We consistently ask for wifi passwords at restaurants, friend’s houses and at school or work. Staying connected to the internet and social media has become part of our culture. We check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day and cannot imagine our lives without them anymore.

Older generations always talk about their lives before this new technology. They read maps to get to new places. They called friends and family on the phone to chat and, of course, they wrote hand-written letters. Life was just simpler. Most millennials today cannot even fathom living life like this.

Generations across the globe have become wifi-dependent as well. While being abroad in Seville, Spain, I have noticed that it is normal for many houses and restaurants to have wifi. My internship boss told me that email and WhatsApp are popular ways to communicate here, and I see many people on their laptops and smartphones as well. It is not to the extent of people in the US, but the dependence still exists.

This past weekend, however, my dependence disappeared. I spent three days in Cádiz, Spain, one of the oldest cities in Europe. Since Cádiz is a traditional city, wifi is limited. The apartment that I stayed at had no wifi, and many of the restaurants we went to did not either. As a result, my friends and I were almost completely cut off from the Internet and our family and friends back home. In addition, I left my phone in our apartment on the second day of our stay, so I was without technology entirely.

I could not take any pictures, play any games on my phone or communicate with anyone. I felt empty while walking around the streets without my phone in my hand or backpack. I am so accustomed to being constantly connected to everything and everyone that I was annoyed. It became frustrating to navigate our way around the city with just maps instead of our phone GPS’s. I could not send snaps of the beautiful scenery to my friends from home, and I could not post any updates to any of my social media accounts.

However, without wifi, I could actually have conversations with my friends. Rid of distractions, everyone could focus all of their attention to the conversation at hand, and no one was caught looking down at their phone screen on their lap. It was refreshing. I have learned so much about this group of friends in just one weekend, and I owe the majority of it to the non-existent wifi.

Being disconnected has its advantages and disadvantages. I enjoy having the ability to talk with people and share my experiences with a click of a button, but not having my phone allowed me to enjoy and appreciate my surroundings even more (since I no longer was focused on taking the perfect insta pic).

I challenge everyone to disconnect for a few hours every day. Leave your phone at home when you go out to dinner. Do not touch your phone while spending time with friends. Simply disconnect and enjoy your surroundings and the people you are with.