Facebook

For my Facebook analysis I looked at the homepage of one of my roommates: Cole.  First of all the profile picture is that of an iguana.  My first assumption is that this must be his pet or perhaps he took a picture of it at maybe a zoo.  It is a very unique profile picture to have.  This picture definitely stands out and would catch anyone’s eye that is scrolling through the web page.  Right at the top of the page displays the information that he studies at Champlain College meaning he is located in Burlington, Vermont.  After looking through my roommate’s photos it is easy to see that he knows how to have a good time.  There are many pictures of him and his family on vacation.  This gives a sense that he enjoys spending time with his family.  His sister and parents are looking forward to parents’ weekend so they can see and spend time with Cole.  In case anyone needs to contact him for any reason his email is visible and only a click away.  Under activities and interests he has a picture of him sleeping.  Maybe he could be very lazy or he is just trying to be funny.  He is from Milford, New Jersey and it looks like his friends are excited to see him when he goes back home.  Cole’s relationship status is single which lets females know that he might be ready to meet them and get to know them.  My roommate’s Facebook allows other viewers to have a chance to communicate with him and see his basic information such as his birth date and where he lives.  After going through my friend’s page and knowing him since high school, his page does give a pretty good idea of what Cole is all about.           

24 Hours Without Technology

Going twenty-four hours without technology sounded really difficult at first, but in the end it wasn’t as awful as I’d thought.

I started at around 9:30pm last night and was able to finish a book—for fun—and get to bed before midnight because I couldn’t procrastinate on my iPhone. I had to check my Champlain e-mail a few times for information on a project and I had to work Wednesday afternoon for a few hours and it required a computer, but other than that I was able to ignore the impulse to use technology.

As a society we have a literal addiction to technology. It was amazing to me how many people I saw with their faces hidden behind a computer screen, many on Facebook and a few doing something productive. Many people on campus own iPhones or Androids and spend much of their free time scrolling through the various apps both phones have to offer.

For many, the idea of functioning without an iPhone handy at all times is scary and impossible. It says a lot about our society today—that we are the first generation that will be unable to hold a conversation with someone we’ve just met, because we never learned how to converse with an actual person. Texting and Facebook do not require the common courtesies of everyday interaction, so when kids break grammatical rule online, they assume they have the same rights in an actual conversation. I admit that I am guilty of sitting with a group of people and staring at my phone, but I also know that I’ll be able to handle a conversation with someone if I have to, because my parents and family were strict about technology and cell phones—everything had a time and a place.

There are plenty of studies that detail all the terrible things technology is doing to the world, and while I agree that some of those things are true, it isn’t all bad. The hardest part for me was being unable to contact my friends and family when I wanted to share something with them—and it surprised me how much there was to share in such a short period of time. Twenty-four hours without technology isn’t asking a lot, and I discovered that I sort of enjoy the free time. It was relaxing to read a book just because I could, and it’s an art that, for me, always seems to be lost between e-mail and Facebook.

I’m sure you can guess this, but I’ve always been a pretty solitary person, content to spend a day on my own. This assignment was tough mostly because I was told I couldn’t do something, and of course human nature dictated that because I couldn’t use technology, it was all I wanted to use. But once I focused my attention on something else, it was easy to forget about, and it’s something I’d like to try and do to a greater extent in the future, just take a break from it all now and then. It was almost fun.

Social Networking

When I was given the task to go 24 hours without social networking (cell phone, facebook, e-mail, etc.) I didn’t think it was going to be too difficult. It wasn’t awful going without social networking but it defiantly was a challenge. I will admit that I did not go the full 24 hours and when my brother called on the phone I picked up and after that, since I had already broken the rule I figured I could go on facebook again and all of that. After I thought about it though I actually enjoyed not having all of the social networking. It was nice to have just a day to myself and not having talk to everyone back home. The day to myself gave me time to think about what I wanted for a day, I went and played soccer, went to the gym, and just did some homework. This day to myself really gave me time to just think about myself and think about how I liked it at this college. It was good to have a self-reflection day and understand that social networking is not everything.

24 hours with out facebook... or any other technology for that matter

this was tough. i never realized how much i use technology to keep from getting bored. i kept finding my self coming back to my computer to check and see if i had any notification on facebook. i was able to stop my self but it was just like this urge, i had to know. i also ran into the problem of leaving my phone on for the first couple hours and one of my friends txted me. at this point i didn't really feel like talking to anyone, but it had been killing me all day to see what they said to me. turns out it was just "hey" but i had no way of knowing that, it could of been the best joke in the world for all i know. i didn't have any real problems with watching tv or movies, those are usually just background noise for me so i didn't really miss them. i decided that i was allowed to use my ipod for music which is something that made yesterday a lot easier for me. with out that i might of caved. also i'm glad i had a book i had been wanting to read, because that actually helped the time go by and turned out to be a lot more enjoyable then facebook. i never actually realized how much time i had if i disconnected from world, well besides the other students i live with, and just sat down a read a book or took a walk. it was really quite relaxing and im glad i did it.

24 Hour Technology

I chose to go 24 hours without technology since it would be to get away from all the technology now a days. I unfortunately could only go 10 hours of the total 24 that we were supposed to do. I really broke down when it came to using my phone. I use my phone all the time to figure out who wants to get food in the cafe and whatnot so it's hard to not use it. Also Facebook was hard to get away from cause i usually check it multiple times a day if I have time. Also I couldn't go without listening to my music on my Ipod because music is such an awesome thing, it calms me down and makes me forget about everything that is going on in life. Living without technology is a great thing to do though, because it really shows you who you are, and it shows you how to have fun the natural way rather than using technology to give you a good time. Something I learned from this experiment is that technology is a great tool to use in order to get things done fast, but I believe that our generation uses technology too much. I mean I see that in our common room, there are people that all they do is sit on the couch all day everyday and play video games. That cannot be too healthy for someone to do. They should go outside and get some fresh Vermont air! My friends and I usually walk down to church street or down to the waterfront at least once a day. That is a great way to get out and get some exercise. Rather than sitting inside playing video games or something. I think that technology is necessary sometimes though, like cell phones are a great thing because you can have conversation with people and such, but it doesn't mean that you have to use it all the time. Just think of how different your life would be without technology. Just put yourself back a hundred years when they didn't have any fancy new gadgets, and think what you would be doing everyday with your friends.

A Pretty Boring 24 Hours

Connor Sullivan


The 24 hours in which I used all of my man power to refrain from using technology (aside from my school email and and alarm clock), proceeded to be more difficult than I thought. I thought it would be a cakewalk to just shut everything off and let it collect dust for a day. I closed the laptop, put the phone in a drawer and turned the TV off. I made it about 3 minutes before saying to myself: "dammit." The first issue was the immediate boredom that ensued. On a normal day I'll go through God knows how many episodes of The Office. Without that option I found myself thinking "OK this sucks, now what?" I quickly solved the problem by eating and taking a hefty nap. The next issue was when I spotted a squirrel eating out of the dumpster. As any intelligent human being would, my initial reaction was to update my facebook status about it. As this was not an option I frantically informed the nearest dorm-mate, who just looked at me and walked away. I don't think he would have liked that status. The final thing that made my day not as fun, was listening to all the little dings from my drawer. With each ding the temptation to check my text messages grew. What if it was important? It could be someone telling me I won the lottery. It could be some girl professing her secret love for me. This took all the strength I could muster to not check these life changing messages. Really though, it was just my friend telling me he ate 5 muffins at the dinning hall. I think the biggest thing I realized from this is how many stupid things I use technology for. Looking back I can't think of one intelligent thing i missed out on that day. It was very difficult to not succumb to the temptation though, especially at 10:30 when there is nothing to do. But through careful placement of naps and food, somehow I managed.

Technology

I do admit that I did decide late so I went for 12 hours rather than 24 hours. I found that it was actually quite easy to do, the only thing that bugged me the most is that I study while watching videos, so it was really hard to concentrate while I was doing homework.

Life without technology is actually kind of nice, you are getting back to your roots. People in history never really had technology until our parents generation. I like getting away from all the distractions of technology. Thats partly why I love Vermont so much! Vermont barley has any cell service because of all the mountains surrounding it, and the internet is not very good. However the atmostphere and the air here is so fresh, theres not pollution. Vermont is the most beautiful state in my opinion because it has no advertising signs no trash on the side of the road. I love seeing all the green grass and the cows the hay bails. Thats why I like getting away from Technology.

Sarah Plisinski