How long can you go without checking your phone? Ten minutes? An hour? What if you had no choice? Ever since the first smartphone, technology has been increasing its dominance on our lives. But what happens when you take away the screen for a weekend? It's like a detox.
Technology has very much become an addiction, similar in some ways as to how someone would be addicted to drugs. It becomes an increasing habit until you find your day and whole life revolving around it. Just like how it changes your behavior, when you lose that connection, you have withdrawal. However, technology has become such an integrated facet of our lives that we may not even notice how dependent we are until it's gone. After getting over the dependency and rediscovering those things you used to do, how you see the world and yourself could change.
When you lose that connection, whether voluntarily or not, there's a moment of time where you keep checking out of familiarity. Despite knowing that you have no connection, out of pure instinct, people will take their phones of out their pockets, scroll around their home screen, then put it back. This is indicative of just how dependent the current generation has become on technology, and so once that connection is gone there's a void that soon many people won't know how to fill.
The Pew Research Center says that 92% of teens with a smartphone go online daily and 24% are online constantly. With various different social media apps, such as Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter, there's plenty to do to keep you entertained. There's an app for just about any form of old school media. But have you ever wondered what could be going on in the world around you while your eyes are on the screen?
When you go technology free, the world seems to get a bit brighter. You feel refreshed and content knowing that your day was well spent. Losing my cell service for a weekend gave me time to play cards with my grandma, finish a book I started four months ago, make homemade ice cream and just spend time with family. Honestly, some of the best moments of that weekend was just the mornings spent on a porch, in a rocking chair, drinking tea and solving crosswords. Looking out on the trees and breathing in the fresh air was went I felt as if every issue my phone brought was trivial and I was happy to just stay in those mornings.
So, instead of scrolling through your Twitter feed or posting that picture to Instagram, try pulling out a board game or even just grabbing a deck of cards. Pass stories through time spent with friends and family around a table, not on a Facebook post. Pick up those books you buy, saying you'll read but abandon for a Snapchat story instead. Don't watch a concert through your phone screen, just live in the moment. Put down your phone and take in the world.
