Over the last few weeks I have had to endure every person’s worst nightmare: traveling back in time to the age of no cellphones (*insert ominous music*). Not just iPhones, but all forms of cell phones. This includes not being able to do the necessities like call my family, send a quick text message to make plans with my friends, or check my student email to see if class is cancelled as well as the things that have grown to become necessities. You know, scrolling through Facebook while standing in a long line, using Maps to get just about anywhere, and checking Twitter for the newest social media fad. At first, being disconnected from my phone felt just like that, being disconnected to the rest of the world. As a day or two went by, I realized just how much time I spend staring at my screen rather than the life happening right in front of me. When did keeping up your Snapchat streaks become more important than holding a conversation with someone face to face?

It is amazing to think how one invention could become a worldwide phenomenon and eventually a lifestyle. The hype of a new, and definitely overpriced, iPhone model becomes front page news. An entirely new language consisting of things like “streaks”, “stories”, and words represented through Emoji’s gets created in the blink of an eye. Photographs are taken for the sole reason of social media postings to make it appear as if you are doing something interesting with your life. The list goes on and on. A few days into my desert of communication I found myself not missing my third arm as much as I thought I would. It hit me that the iPhone culture has engrossed so much of the population and become such a part of our everyday lives that we are convinced that a life without our shiny screens and selfie cameras no longer exists.

Growing up constantly surrounded by technology has its blessings. We carry knowledge in the shape of a rectangle right in our back pockets; however, these tablets of information also create a culture of dependence. Though my liberation from my iPhone was one that was chosen for me, I dare you to go a day without your phone. No social media causing you jealousy of the “perfect” lives everyone has or constant photoshoots in attempt to capture the “great times” you are always having. Stray away from the iPhone addiction like I have forcibly had over the last two weeks. You will be surprised how insignificant Snapchat streaks and your frenemy’s posts from back home become. Close your apps and hit your lock button because life is about more than the perfection you portray online and the number of likes you get on a photo.