It was supposed to be a simple iPhone update. Little did I know that the attempted update would turn into a complete iPhone breakdown. That’s not the kind of curve ball you want thrown your way when you’re living on four hours of sleep a night and the most junk food you’ve eaten all semester. When my cell phone wouldn’t even turn on, I knew that this was an iPhone emergency.

I tried everything to fix it myself, but nothing seemed to work. After chatting with the friendly folks at Apple support, I was disappointed to discover that not even the supervisor knew how to fix my cell phone malfunction. I accepted that fact that my phone was officially broken. At first, I panicked. I rely on my phone so heavily for communication, social media access, and Internet access, and I wasn’t sure when I would be able to get it fixed. After all, it was the beginning of finals week. How would I survive?

Amazingly, I came to realize that not having a cell phone for a few days could actually be really liberating. Studying for my finals was so much easier because I didn’t have the constant distraction of GroupMe notifications or the temptation to check social media every minute. I was able to be so much more productive, and I felt more prepared than ever for exams that I had that week. Not only was I able to study better, but I was also allowed to interact more with people because I had no cell phone to hide behind. There was no point in brining my broken phone everywhere I went, and it was nice not to have something attached to my hand all of the time.

It dawned on me just how much I use my cell phone every day, and to tell you the truth, that scared me. I had become so dependent on this device for mostly useless information, and I realized that I needed to free myself from this cell phone bondage, or at least, loosen those chains a little.

Reliance on technology and addiction to social media is becoming a serious problem for teens and young adults. According to a study conducted at Baylor University in 2014, female college students spend an average of TEN hours on their cell phones each day. Male students spend an average of eight hours. This insane amount of time that we spend on our cell phones infringes upon our academic performance and limits our face-to-face interaction with other people. The study further stated that about sixty percent of interviewed college students would consider themselves addicted to their cell phone, and some added that they become anxious when their cell phone is out of sight.

Technology is an amazing thing, but we can abuse it. Ultimately, it’s our academic success and friendships that pay the price. We’re paying less attention to the people and places around us and focusing all of our attention on the digital world inside our devices.

I’ll admit, I probably spend hours on my cell phone each day, and I usually carry it in my hand as I walk to class. This year I want to break that habit. Unless I’m expecting an important message from someone, I store my phone in my backpack and focus on saying hello to people I know and appreciating the beautiful campus around me as I walk to class. I’ve also had fewer, “Woah! I almost ran into that person or pole!” moments since making that change. In addition, I’m no longer going to set my cell phone on the table at restaurants, allowing me to focus on the conversation with the people around me, which is probably way more interesting than that Facebook recipe video anyway.

By becoming more aware of our reliance on our cell phones, we can take simple steps toward becoming less dependent upon the devices. At first, we may feel like we traveled back in time to 1980, but I think it’ll be much more beneficial for us in the end.