For this project I decided to give up my phone and my laptop. These two things are essential to me, not only to do homework, but also for my own enjoyment. I watch movies, message friends, and check social media. These things may seem unnecessary, but they have become a part of my day for years now.
Giving up these two electronics was not difficult. I was very excited to have this burden lifted off me. In a way that is what it is. I was happy that my dad would physically take the phone so that I wouldn’t be tempted to get it. At first it was weird not checking social media or my phone since that has become a habit. I don’t even like to check these social media sites, but it has now become a habit. It’s a very weird thing to notice how much you actually use your phone.
I did find myself tempted to look at my phone. Not so much to check social media but to watch a movie or to talk to friends. That what I spend much of my time doing. I talk to friends and that was the worst part. I couldn’t talk to anyone but the people physically around me. That was at the same time the thing I loved the most about this. I noticed how much the people around me also use their phones and not in a productive way. I noticed how much we ignore the people around us for the people that aren’t even present.
What made this experience so unique was that I got to notice how much technology does indeed affect us. There so much time in the day to do many things and learn many things, but we spend so much time “connected” when in reality we are anything but connected. I spent time outside, I cleaned, I read and I finished homework and I still had a full day to go. I had so much time in my hands it is amazing. We limit ourselves to these devices. We let them consume our time.
There were many beneficial things that came from not having these devices.. I noticed I wasn’t as anxious as I usually am. I also wasn’t as sad as I usually feel. I didn’t feel alone. I never would’ve thought that these devices cause these emotions. I felt like I listened to the people around me better. I did things better and carefully because I wasn’t trying to rush and finish to have time to use my phone. Some negatives were that I was not able to talk to my friends or family.
The way I coped was by reading, which I felt I didn’t have time to do before. I have so much time to read. I finished a book, the alchemist, a great book. I also cleaned and cooked. I noticed that I was constantly trying to clean. I feel like that was just me trying to stop temptation.
Thoreau would have been proud, that’s what I would like to think. He would’ve said that we have become very dependent on these devices and that technology is affecting us. He would’ve really liked this project.
I have more insight on my life after this. I can use these devices to help me and be more productive instead of letting them hold me down or take my time away. I had more time to think about how I want to spend my time and what things I would like to invest my time in. Everyone should try living like a transcendentalist. It will help the soul.
After reading Walden I feel my experience to that of Thoreau is similar to how with today’s technological advances we leave traditions behind and forget very helpful skills. I don’t think I would survive on my own out in the wild. I remember camping when I was younger with my family. We would dedicate a weekend to nature and admire it and live with it. Now I can’t remember the last time I went camping with my family. We didn’t have the luxury of having a stove or a store. For a few days we lived like our past ancestors did everyday.
My experience was a very transcendental experience. It might not seem like it since being a true transcendentalist would have meant me being on my own outside and living with nature, but in present time not having a phone or any social media is the equivalent of that. I felt more connected than disconnected, which I technically was. I enjoyed living without the burden that technology sometimes is. I had only myself to talk to sometimes or only my thoughts as companions. Many things distract us from our thoughts and even ourselves. But Emerson was very right when he said, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.’’ We are surrounded by opinions and ads and people trying to get in our head, at the end of the day we need to know where we stand.
This was a worthwhile project because it taught me many things. It showed me how much I can say that I don’t use my phone a lot or social media but I actually do. It shows how much not only I use technology and how is has a negative effect on me but also on the people around me. I hope my classmates genuinely experienced this and learned from it. I would love to hear what they think.
A key piece of advice that I would give a student who will experience this project is to write down or simply notice the behavior of others with their phones or computers. How they use the technology and what they use it for. The most important would be to take advantage of this time and pick up a book because reading is the most important thing in the world. It’s the healthiest and most beneficial hobby that a person could have.