Digital Detox

I spent 8 hours without my phone or the internet one night that I went out with some friends. It didn’t seem to affect me as much as I thought it would and I really had some great conversations. I think that this was a lot easier for me though because the people we were hanging around were my own age and they also were not on their phones all night. I did however notice that once there was a break in conversation, or when I was left by myself for a little while, that I tried to reach for my phone out of habit before realizing that I had left it in my van. This showed me how much I relay on technology to make me feel more comfortable.

I decided to extend my detox into the next day to see how often I was tempted to log on to Facebook and text people while I was at home doing homework and I had a completely different experience. It was a constant battle not to automatically jump to technology whenever I felt bored or overwhelmed by my homework. My children were able to access their accounts and had full use of their phones all day which made it even more difficult not to participate in the online world. I did notice that there was a lot less conversation between the people in my home than there was the night before because everyone’s attention was focused on screens instead of each other. My family also had a very hard time coming to talk with me if they had a question instead of just texting me from wherever they were at the time.

This assignment was very eye opening to me because although I knew that my family used technology very frequently, I hadn't stepped back to see how it had diminished how we communicate with each other. I was also able to recognize how dependent we all are on it to entertain us and make us feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Although I am not sure how to change this antisocial epidemic, I will put more of an effort in to counterbalance it with activities that do not involve technology to try and strengthen our relationships.