Only scratches the surface.

I'm not sure if there was a discrepancy between classes, but as I read through the previous blogs it seems like some people took the challenge of not using technology for 24 hours. However, the way I approached the assignment was to not use any vehicle of communication for 24 hours. Hence, cell phone, ipod, laptop, xbox online were all out of the picture. I had the preconceived notion that it would not be that easy because I consider myself aware of how much society, myself included, use these means of communication. However, I did not expect how this would affect me on a personal level.

The challenge was going good. I hadn't used any means of communication and I had made it through the middle of my day. Class was out and it was a beautiful autumn afternoon. I made it back in front of my dorm at 1:45, where I then preceded to stay outside playing soccer, smoking cigarettes, hackysacking, mashunga (nerf swords), chatting with people and then more hackysack. It was great to be outside being active for so long. I was bummed when 5:30 rolled around and it was time for me to go to my 3 hour math class. (The thought still sends chills up the back). Regardless, I was still set on the the fact I could go the 24 hours. I had already adopted the mindset of a old-aged hippie, thinking that technology was our downfall and just by playing outside for a few hours I had freed myself. Turns out I was wrong.

T-minus 23 minutes till the end of my math class, my good friend from Champlain calls me. (I had left my phone on me for emergencies). I saw the call and ignored it, determined to abstain from these communication vehicles. Then she calls again. Then once more. At this point I obviously could tell she needed to get a hold of me but I was in class and could not answer the phone. While I sat in class debating if I would break my challenge after class, she texted me, so I decided to cheat just to see the importance of her calls. Turns out, it was very important. She had had a seizure in the school library and was taken to the hospital. She was calling me to tell me what happened and that she was under care but alright. This set me on edge. At this point the challenge was no longer important. I spent the next few hours on the phone texting my friend and others trying to figure out if I should/could go to the hospital. This is when the second event hit me. My good friend from back home texts me. He just asked how I was doing and we were having casual conversation, it helped to calm my nerves. That's when he springs into discussion on how he isn't doing well at community college and he has a horrible feeling of stagnation and failure. At this point this was not the best thing that could have happened but I was determined to be a good friend. I spent a significant amount of time on the phone with him texting back in forth trying to give advice and cheer him up. To what extent I was successful is still unknown to me but for now it is irrelevant. What is important is the gravity of what communication is. The fact that you live inside your own brain and can communicate to yourself seamlessly, somehow distorts the way we view talking with others. Essentially all communication has a vehicle of somesort. It could be verbal or technology based, there always is that link between everyone. This is what was so profound in this assignment. It makes you uncomfortable because you feel like you can't share your message and can receive them, as well.

That is why I failed the challenge because I had too many messages incoming. I can't ascertain if that is a positive or a negative yet. However, the most interesting fact is that as humans we theoretically could live is solitude but there is something that is so tangible about communication and sharing with other people. That lead to my downfall in the assignment. If I cared about me and only me the challenge would have been easy. Instead, I found myself worrying and trying to fix problems that only stemmed from other people. I hope to believe that this comes from a good nature and a decently caring personality. But it would be interesting to find out if there was more at play here. It could possibly be one of the great human mysteries, we have yet to find out. What are the relationships between solitude, communication, technology and human tendencies?

unplugged- brian cutalo

Last friday night I had a very good time going around to a couple parties and such. I had a little too much fun, things got a little hectic, and I somehow lost my backpack throughout the night. In this backpack was my Iphone and wallet among other important items. When I woke up the next morning, I was quite disheveled and realized I had no way to communicate with anyone about anything other than by word of mouth. This was a very relieving feeling. 

This lasted about three days. It was pretty nice not having my parents trying to contact me all day long, bugging me about school and other "parent things." Over the course of these three days I felt liberated but at the same time hindered. I couldn't call a friend to hang out, send a text to my girlfriend letting her know if I'm still alive, or take a cool picture of the lake and mountains on my phone. "O well" I thought. I dealt with it and did a lot of running around and finding people in order to figure things out. Or if I had a question I went to the person and asked them instead of texting them; the way the world should be. I hate emailing so not using it was no issue for me, but I did have to use the infamous webmail and angel for homework assignments. 

For the most part, this did not effect me. I really don't care about not having a phone, but there are obviously downsides to it. When I finally got a phone back, I had way too many texts and missed calls I didn't want to look at. This made me realize how much people depend on things such as cell phone technology and "facebook."

It is always enlightening to detach and worry about only yourself for a while, and just shut off your phone or facebook, which now days are both huge means to people invading others' space.

i despise thinking of titles

24 hours with no social networking, no technological communication--it seems like a simple enough task until you realize how much technology and constant, instant communication is interwoven into most aspects of everyday life.

I successfully went 24 hours without social networking, no facebook, no twitter, no tumblr, no email. It wasn't an easy task. I'd be on the computer doing homework and get bored, suddenly i would click the Facebook button on my browser without even realizing it. These sites are so easy to waste time on, not to mention that they ensure that everyone always has constant and instant access to mostly useless information.

Going without a phone was much more difficult than going without social networking. I kept my phone on me for emergencies and found it so hard to just not respond to the text messages I was receiving. AT one point in the day I went to my dorm and my room's door was left open and my roommate was nowhere to be found. I didn't want to close the door and have her locked out but I had to leave for class and didn't want to leave the door opened. Not being able to just call or text her made things so much more difficult. It made me realize just how much we rely on technology.

While I realized that we could definitely do with more face to face time and less time absorbed in social networking, I am extremely thankful for cell phones. Later on in the day I was at the library doing homework and a girl from one of my classes dropped n the middle of the library and started having a siezure. It was completely unexpected and so scary. Thank goodness everyone had phones and help was able to be gotten almost instantly.

It's definitely a good feeling being disconnected from all the distractions of facebook and text messages. As with anything, moderation is key.

I Felt like a Part of Me was Missing... is that Sad?

I knew this exercise would be difficult for me to handle, but not this difficult. I feel like a part of me is missing or that I’m missing out on something important. My phone is attached to me all the time, it’s practically another limb and the past almost 24 hours have proved to be extremely difficult in trying not to use it. However there were times I caved and I had to text people back, whether that was to tell them of the experiment and that I couldn’t text them or letting a classmate know something about what was going on in class.

I did manage to stay off Facebook for quite a long time, not a full 24 hours but still longer than I’ve gone without it in probably years. And saying that out loud is a bit sad to say. It just makes it clear just how dependent I am on the social network. Whether that be, keeping me informed about my friends day to day lives, what’s going on in that class I missed or just entertaining me when I’m bored. Which seems happens all too often. I guarantee that if I didn’t have as much homework as I did last night I would’ve slipped up and signed on just to keep me preoccupied for a while. It doesn’t make it easier that I also have Facebook wherever I go, on my phone. Whenever I have a new message, invite or friend request, it pops up on my phone to let me know it’s there. Right now I have all those symbols appearing on my phone and I’ve been dying to look at them.

What I’m happy about, is knowing that I’m not the only one who has a problem from being away and not using these media outlets. Plenty of other people young and old can’t go a day without them, for multiple reasons. For instance if I had a job or if there was a family emergency going on I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been able to go that long without checking these sources. Then again, I didn’t go a full 24 hours… shows how much self-control I have and just how dependent I am on these 21^st century media outlets. I have a feeling if had to go longer…. I might just go insane, I honestly I don’t think I could adapt to a life without these things anymore. And I have a feeling a lot of other people couldn't either, no matter what they say.

No Technology for 24 Hours

This day in age, everything revolves around electrically charged entertainment. Gone are the good old days where one could sit by the fire with their favorite work of fiction and achieve full fledged satisfaction. In the year 2011, literature is replaced by reality television and the internet. Its funny to think that some odd number of years ago, humans were well occupied performing one simple activity at a time, whether it be reading a book or playing the banjo.. These days there is no "simple" means of entertainment. Everything we do has to be accompanied by some sort of sub-activity. For example, when we open an internet page, we are also often listening to our ipods and may even have the television on in the background. Everything is multitasking.

When I was required to break my technological habbits, I found myself getting bored a lot quicker. Lacking technology meant I was faced with a lot less distractions. It was almost more difficult to focus on one thing at a time without the maddness of multitasking that the internet and other technology provides me with. It sounds crazy, but focus just wasn't something I was used to. It is easier for me to get things done when I am provided with background noise. Being required to go without technology made a lot of things more difficult for me, like completing my homework and keeping in touch with my family and friends. Being without the internet made me feel somewhat disconnected, and in a way, useless. Needless to say, I did not last the full 24 hours, but a mere 19.

A whole 24 hours....sort of.

A whole 24 hours without technology? Piece of cake.  Except, not.  It was more like 20 hours, and it was much more difficult than I anticipated.  It started when I went to bed Tuesday, around 11:00pm, so I could avoid temptation with sleep.  In the very beginning I could tell I had a long day ahead of me when I realized I would have to rely on my roommates alarm the next morning.  Luckily her alarm went off loud enough for me to wake up at 7:30am.  Good thing I didn’t have class until 11:00am.

Usually the first thing I do when I wake up is turn the TV on, and of course watch a few cartoons to start my day off on a good note.  As I reached for the remote I regrettably realized that I had unplugged the TV the night before, knowing I would forget and try to use it.  I then decided to lie in bed and do nothing for as long as possible before I had to go to class.  It worked for about twenty minutes, and at that point the only thing left to do was homework.

When it was finally time to go to class I got there early because I was so anxious to leave my tech-less room.  My first two classes of the day held me off until around 2:00pm.  In statistics I had to use my graphing calculator for most of the class; it was a welcomed loophole.  I then had a break between classes, and the only way to control my impulses was to go to the dining hall, and do more homework until my last class.

Throughout the day it was incredible to see how many people were constantly using gadgets, but I was more surprised at how normal it always was to me, until I was no longer able to participate in the trend.  It seems that almost no one is free from the hold technology has over our lives these days.  Everyone has a phone, or computer, or iPod, or something that connects them to an outside world no matter where they are.  As long as there’s a cell tower, or wireless router nearby, there will be people lost in their own mechanical world.  I have yet to decide where I stand on the subject because there are positives and negatives for both sides.  After going a day without any voluntary use of technology, I am even more on the fence than before.

The end of my day was the hardest; after seeing everyone I passed using some sort of electronic device, I couldn’t take it anymore and around 8:00pm I caved by checking my email on my phone.  It was a worthless and disappointing cave, and after I continued to periodically use or check my phone.  I didn’t make it the whole 24 hours, but it did show me how often I use, and how necessary technology is for me to maintain the life I have been living.  At the same time I realize that this dependence on technology could lead not only to mine, but to the world’s eventual downfall. 

24 hours

Some people might find it hard to go 24 hours without any media usage or communication, but I found it very relieving. It was nice to not have to deal with people constantly texting me or having to check my email. Media is a convenience but it is also a hassle, I have gone without technology before when I was traveling in Greece for 6 weeks. It was nice to be completely unplugged for an extended period of time and almost annoying when I came home and had to get back into reality. A similar thing happened this morning when I turned on my phone and all of these text messages and missed calls popped up. Even my email was overflowing with junk mail. There were times where I was tempted to use my cell phone, if I wanted to get ahold of one of my friends or ask a classmate about a homework assignment. Overall though, I found it to be a relief.