Phone free:
I never thought I’d be in a situation regretting all the times I criticized and complained about Twitter, Facebook, and other apps on my phone for being dysfunctional, but after 24-hours of no media I realized how much I need them.
I knew going sans technology/media as a college student would be difficult; so to distance myself from distractions, I opted to stay at my grandparents house. I planned out my entire 24-hours, two (2) hours before starting my media fast with input on my schedule and tips from my family.
I decided I wouldn’t warn anyone since I was staying at my grandmother’s house, a place I knew I could be safe and fully functional without media. To start my media fast I decided to make a vision board for the semester; something that I thought would foster more creativity and prompt less cell-phone usage. I was right.
There was something extremely refreshing and rewarding about using my hands to figure things out, map my thoughts, and to get something done. While making my vision board I was able to debate with myself on what was important to me, rather than having my Twitter or Instagram feed tell me. After my board was done and a huge pile of raggedy magazines had culminated, only two hours had passed. I had a strong urge to take a picture of my board and share it on Snapchat and Instagram but after about 15 minutes of grappling with myself I realized it wasn’t necessary.
From there I walked to the grocery store for my grandma and I started to look at and take in the world around me differently. I talked to people in the neighborhood that I had never spoken to before. During my walk I took in the skyline and admired the architecture around me.
One walk, two meals and three hours of sleep later, I thought everything was going so well and I felt at peace with my media fast; then I cheated. While sorting through my grandad’s old records, I decided to listen to a few with my grandma. I told myself on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the worst, this was only level 3 cheating.
Sitting there listening to all the oldies I realized how much entertainment connects us to people. I had always seen music as a great way to socialize with people but it was cool to do it without sharing a snapchat, tweeting about it, or texting in a group-chat.
Even after a good 12 hours passed I still was having trouble coping. There were times when I found myself missing my phone and coveting the people using all the technology around me. I wanted to know what the hot topics in the news were, what was being said in my group chat, and if I had received any new emails. I had never realized how much my desire to know controlled my actions.
I knew I was quite the inquisitive person but going without media/technology helped me discern what was important information. Throughout the day all I really needed to know was the weather, the time, and the directions to where I was going. Everything else was simply superfluous.
From there on my media fast felt long and grueling. I couldn’t workout without music and even felt weird showering without the background noise of a TV or music. Despite my insecurities, I felt like my temporary sans-phone lifestyle was nothing short of rewarding. Honestly in lecture when we were told going sans-phone would foster creativity I thought it was a load of crap but I realized how much I was forced to think on my own rather than fill my headspace with what’s on Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat. I started to reach out to the people around me without my phone being a barrier. It seems weird but I became more social in that 24 hours without social media.
Back to reality:
I know you all were wondering : Did I post my vision board to social media ? The answer is no…but I did take a picture of it and send it to my family group chat.
Hitting the ground running, I decided to not backtrack and try to catch up with everything I’d missed. That was a mistake. People on Twitter were talking about all sorts of things I had never heard before. I saw a tweet that had mentioned John Lewis’ book sales jumped after Trump attacked him. I didn’t even know that Trump had said anything.
After doing some research on the exchange between Trump and John Lewis, I realized that I really didn’t care. Not just about what was said but about any other the information I had missed. It wasn’t particularly pressing to my life nor did it change anything about my day.
In the day after I ended my media fast, I realized how even though technology can be convenient, it also makes us lazy.The same walk I took to the store the previous day I decided to take Uber To add insult to injury, I didn’t even talk to my Uber driver; I listened to music on my phone.
My phone forced me to disconnect from the world immediately around me and turn to the interconnected social media sites. Throughout the day I barely held a conversation with the people that were right in front of me; my neighbors, family, etc. I would laugh at a joke at my phone rather than joking with people around me.
Ultimately, I realized how pathetic it was that I had to create an entire schedule for my media blackout rather than just exploring the world around me and taking my day one minute at a time. After my 24 hour media blackout, I’ve started to look at my phone as not only a device that kept me connected but a device that barred me from connecting with that which was immediately around me.
No more walks to the store, listening to music with my grandma, or using my hands to make something and sort out my thoughts. Uber, Apple Music, and Instagram had replaced the physical connections i made with the world around me.
Ellice & ASCJ 200 