Over the Weekend- Disconnection

As it was Halloween weekend, I found it impossible to spend the entire weekend without a cell phone. I tried my best to use other forms of communication when possible, but when I was at freakfest or in other crowded places I had to make a few texts or calls. I sent a total of 12 texts this weekend (2 to each of my parents included) and made five phone calls (2 of which are from freakfest). I also think I used the pay phone option (a friends phone) to send two additional texts and calls. I think this is a pretty good result when asking a 19 year old to lose his cell phone for the weekend. I thought the toughest part of this assignment was the feeling of being unaware what was going on with my friends and where everyone was. When I woke up Sat/Sun morning I couldn’t just check the “groupme” or text a friend asking what they were doing. I had to go knock on all my friends’ doors to find out what they were up to. Since I live in a house with all my closest friends I never had to make any big trips to meet up with my friends. However, walking up four flights of stairs to knock on someone’s door that actually happens to be elsewhere is no fun regardless. Another main struggle with this assignment is the disconnection to all my social media sites. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat etc were all gone the entire weekend. Since I have never being a huge television watcher, social media is a large part of my time-wasting entertainment. I found myself looking for things to do more often then when I have my cell phone. Therefore, I ended up spending more time conversing and watching television then I did with a cell phone. It was nice to take a break and have more conversations with my friends but sometimes when I found myself watching excessive TV, I thought it kind of defeated the purpose of the assignment. Nonetheless, it was an interesting experience that made me realize the dependency us teens have on our cell phones.

Disconnecting Myself

Going into this weekend I was well aware that I would not be able to last without using my phone or computer. The assignment was to start at 5pm on Friday, and I basically lasted until 7pm because it has been planned for over a month that I would take my two nephews trick or treating on Halloween and I needed a way that I could meet up with my brother in the town that they lived in. Even though I had to use my phone almost instantly after the assignment began to make connections with my family, I still spent the entire weekend trying not to use it as much as I would normally. This included not surfing around on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I very much limited my activity on Snapchat. I think this is was the most difficult for me (Snapchat) because it is the way I communicate the most with my friends, and especially with it being Halloween weekend, so many people were snapping funny and cool pictures of costumes and what not. On Saturday, I used schoolwork as a distraction to try and stay off of my phone. I did some homework for other classes during the day and even started an end-of-the-semester paper due in December that I normally wouldn't have if I wasn't trying to stay off of my phone/computer. I'm not going to lie though, I definitely used my phone during the nights Friday and Saturday to meet up with friends and people that were all out and about downtown for Halloween/Freakfest. Yet, overall, I am pretty proud of myself for how much I limited my phone usage. This assignment really did make me realize how dependent I am on technology and my phone to carry out everyday functions. It's interesting to think about how often I use my phone for things without really realizing it. Trying not to use my phone, I think the thing that bothered me the most was how often I was searching for the time of day. Not using my phone, I had to find clocks in houses on the microwave or stove tops rather than just reaching in my pocket and knowing instantly. I also realized that not many college student houses don't have a regular clock anywhere, which I never thought about before, which I found pretty comical. Overall, I am not afraid to say I am a dependent on my phone, but I do think it's a good idea to stand back and be aware of your usage and how dependent you actually are.

Offline Assignment- Connor Klosterman

Not being a heavy multimedia user I did not think this challenge was going to be overly difficult.  I thought before it started that I should maybe delete all of the social media apps off of my phone so as to have no easy access to any of it.  I decided though I wanted to have more of a challenge and see if I would be able to avoid using the apps with them sitting right in front of me on my phone and I thus decided to leave them right where they were.  There were some instances where just out of pure habit I almost went on them but caught myself right before breaking the rules.  It has become so natural these days to just go on the sites and see what everyone is up to.  The hardest part, I found, was trying to avoid using them when there was a lull in whatever I was doing.  Whenever I am bored, a quick solution to my problem is just to hop on the social media sites and see what others have posted.  Because of the ban on social media this weekend, I was not able to solve my problem in such a way.  Instead, even if I was in a big group of people, I feel the lack of social media gave me more time to myself.  I was not preoccupied with what is happening elsewhere but was more concerned with what was happening right in front of me and what I was personally doing.  Also, especially when I was alone, I was able to let my mind wander instead of let my eyes wander.  I was not looking at a screen having my eyes glaze over what was happening beyond where I was but was able to just think about anything and everything.  I felt like I had more time to myself, even if I didn’t have any more physical alone time than I typically would have.  As cheesy as it may sound, the lack of social media this weekend allowed me to have more personal time. 

            After coming out of “the dark” from this weekend, I realized I don’t value social media as much as I thought I did.  The nonessential forms of social media, like Facebook and Snapchat, were not as exciting as I thought they were going to be when I came back.  I scrolled through to see if there was anything that I had missed from the weekend and a lot of it was information that I didn’t find important at all.  A lot of people I wanted to hear stories from I had either talked to in person or I had texted/called them; there was nothing left for me to want to find out still on the web.  It made me look at social media as being very impersonal.  Going without the online sites was not too challenging but if the rules were modified to include no texting, I am pretty confident I would not be able to go through the weekend with such ease.  This homework really opened up my eyes to what I “need” and “do not need” when it comes to electronic communication.       

Disconnecting myself

I hate when my parents say “Erin, no phone at the dinner table” or “why are you always on that thing,” but it’s true, technology plays a prominent role in this day and age. Last week, my phone malfunctioned and I was left carrying around my computer connected to my phone to enable me to use my phone if I wanted.  From this sad state, I only used my phone when necessary, for example, when I had to meet a friend for class or to receive updates about my parents whereabouts when they came to visit. All social media and emails, I found access to on my computer. Now, let’s fast-forward to this week where Greg challenged us to disconnect ourselves from the hyperconnective world. Let’s just say I wasn’t a great competitor. I hate to rely on my phone so much, but as Julia stated in her blog post, it becomes a nervous twitch. When I’m walking home from the library at night, or stuck in an elevator with someone, without even realizing it sometimes, I check my phone. It’s become a terrible habit and a sort of crutch for uncomfortable situations. Instead of facing the environment I’m in, I dissociate and face my phone.  I have even gotten to that point where I keep my headphones in sometimes, without music playing, to notify people around me that I’m not interested in conversation. I’m not saying I’m necessarily trying to be “rude” but it’s a crutch. Also, not responding to a text message/call can be incredibly worrisome. My friend this weekend freaked out Saturday afternoon when her boyfriend didn’t call her after a few hours. She stated that he never forgot to text/call her when he came home from a night of drinking and since he hadn’t for a few long hours after a tailgate she began to worry. Turns out he passed out for hours before the tailgate and didn’t even make it to the game and that was the reason for her instant panic.

Disconnecting Myself-Julia Zureikat

When we were given this assignment, I knew there was absolutely no way I could completely disconnect myself. I am currently emailing recruiters about interviews, receiving updates on my upcoming midterm, and helping my brother with college applications. I also knew I would not be able to give up texting or calling because I went home this past weekend and needed to update my parents along the way. In addition, I rely on my iphone’s GPS to direct me home. Due to all of these factors, I knew there were some things I simply did not have the option of giving up. Therefore, I decided I would deprive myself of the things that were not crucial to my weekend. These things include my Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat account. I’m embarrassed to say it ended up being harder than I thought. The weirdest thing was witnessing the body language habits I have acquired through the constant access of social media and my phone. For example, without even receiving a text or phone call, I would reach for my phone when I was bored. It was like a nervous twitch. This assignment was especially hard since I was home. None of my friends were in town and I desperately wanted to go on Instagram to see what everyone was for Halloween. I also wanted to go on Snapchat to watch snap stories of my friends who were out since I was bored on my couch. I felt twitchy and anxious just sitting with my phone but not being able to check these media apps. I’m sad to say I was only able to give it all up for one full day. This was not a conscious decision, but rather out of my subconscious habit. I went to dinner with my family and ordered a dessert that my best friend and I always get with each other. I obliviously opened up my snapchat and sent it to her. It was only then that I realized I had broken the rules. Once I threw in the towel, I was ravenous. I remained glued to my phone and began to check all of my social media like a mad woman. It was embarrassing. Social media is so prevalent in my daily life that I felt naked without it. I was constantly bored and felt that I had way too much free time. This assignment truly opened my eyes to how often I am on my phone. I never want to have to do that again. I felt like I dropped out off the face of the earth because I was both digitally and physically isolated from my life in Madison.

Without Digital Devices

For this weekend’s assignment I think I unconsciously knew that I would not be able to succeed in abstaining myself from every digital devices and social media, because those are now necessities to me in order to interact with people and even do the assignments for other classes including this class, Information Society. (I cannot even imagine that I use a typewriter to write a paper that is due next Wednesday in this class). However, I want to say that I at least did my best limiting any social networking tools. First, I told my parents who are currently living in South Korea in advance that I would not be available for the weekend because of the assignment to prevent their anxiety. Second, I told my friend that I will come over to her house over the weekend in advance. Lastly, I decided not to watch my favorite TV show and instead read books.

It was not so difficult not keeping in touch with my parents for a couple of days and not to watch TV shows, but giving up contacting with my colleague ended up making me fail to the assignment. On Halloween, I had an arrangement with my friend in her house where is far away from the campus. Since it was first time for me to reach to her house and it was first time for me that I went to her neighborhood, I was lost in the middle of crossroads, just waiting for my friend who was supposed to appear. It was late evening; I was in an unfamiliar environment, so I was terrified. I unbearably took out my cell phone that I prepared just in case and called my friend in order to be aware where she is then. Through this assignment, I realized again that I cannot survive without internet or other digital communication. Once I underwent this convenience, I think it is impossible to give it up.

Online Over the Weekend

As expected, I did not successfully complete this assignment. I did however, become more aware of how much I actually use technology. It was hard for me to even find a time when I wasn’t using either my phone or computer. Whether its for texting, calling, listening to music, or even transportation, I am always on my phone. For starters, texting is necessary in order to make plans or figure out where my friends are, since we don’t all live in the same building. I also need to keep in touch with my parents who are in New York, so I couldn’t be without my phone for too long otherwise they would worry. One app that was hard to give up surprisingly was Uber. I use it very often to get around for places that are too far to walk to, and my cousin was visiting me this weekend so I need to use the app to get to and from the airport. It was interesting for me to truly think about how much I use technology on a daily basis and to come to realize that I really can not survive without it at this point.