My Tragedy

A week ago today, I took a 24 hour "fast" from media, which basically meant not using my phone and laptop or listening to music (Unless it was necessary for schoolwork). However, a week before that I lost my phone on a rollercoaster. And, to be honest, I treated it like a tragedy. So, by the time I got to the "fast" I felt like I had been on one for a week already! I just wanted to share how my week without a phone has impacted me, even a week later.

For the past week I had gone without things I have grown extremely accustomed to. The loss of conveniences I normally wouldn't even think about such as an alarm clock in the morning, the convenience of quick access to the time (especially when traveling to campus to see if I was on time for classes), looking up directions, or having contact with my husband or my family were keenly felt. Although these things were all inconvenient, I woke up and made it to classes on time, I didn’t get lost (mostly because I just didn’t go anywhere new), and I survived not having immediate contact with people rather than face to face contact or Skype calls with my family.

However, there was a part I actually enjoyed about not having a phone: the release from the constant “need” or impulse to be on my phone to check social media or to just be “doing something.” I was honestly surprised by how often I wanted to pull my (non existent) phone out, even if it was just because I had one minute of nothing. One minute. Did I really need to check the same social media feed I had scrolled through 15 minutes ago? No.

Becoming self-aware of this habit I had developed was very enlightening. And it also made me aware of how addicted our society is to not having something to entertain us. So many of us feel like we have to have an immediate back up plan if there is a moment of boredom. What happened to creative daydreaming? To critical thinking? To observations? So many of us have become so absorbed into our phones that we don’t always take the time to enjoy nothing. To enjoy our own thoughts. To enjoy boredom.

By day 3 of no phone, I was becoming annoyed at how often everyone else used their own phones. It wasn’t really a jealousy thing…it was more of a “look up at the world,” “listen to the speaker in church, not Facebook,” or “Hi, I’m here to be with you. Do you want to actually converse with me? Or maybe just look at that picture of a person in Ohio instead. That works too.” I sound a little bitter, but not having a phone to suck my own attention made me realize how little we pay attention to others that are actually around us. Instead we focus our attention on the lives of our friends online. Social media is quite often a great thing, but moderation in all things is a good motto to live by and especially to apply to social media as well.

And now, even though I am once again in possession of a phone, I still think about what I learned from my experience without one. I will admit that I quickly slipped back into my old habits with my phone, but now I try to slow down a bit and enjoy the real world and real people around me. Living without time, without the constant desire to check Facebook, and with actual conversations was freeing. While I am not necessarily in “bondage” I have realized that maybe, just maybe, I am way too attached to some media. And life without quite so much media (specially on the phone) can be just as good and fulfilling as my currently phone filled life, if not more so.

That's it for now, folks.