In today’s world, technology is something our lives revolve around. We depend on our cell phones to keep in contact with each other and to stay occupied. Though technology can be extremely beneficial, there are many downsides that come with it. The average teenager spends over 7 hours on their cell phone in a day. I am very guilty of this, usually spending around 45-50 hours a week on my phone. This past Sunday, I tried to “survive” without my cellphone or any other devices for the day. I think a technology free day is good for me even though it was a struggle not being able to distract myself with technology. I kept track of when and why I picked up my cell phone so that I could tell you exactly how my day went.
Sunday morning, I slept until around 10:00 am, this was great way to pass the time in the morning so that I would not feel the need to go on my phone. A common habit for people is to check their cellphones right away in the morning and this was something I struggled with. I made the choice to use my phone to Bluetooth to a speaker so I could listen to music while taking a shower. While I am technically not scrolling through my phone, I am still depending on technology to be able to do this, so it counts as screen time.
Snapchat is almost always my most used app. Over half of my screen time is spent on this media every day. I spend around 20-25 hours a week on Snapchat alone. So, by habit, I checked my snaps a couple times throughout the day. Though it is my most used app, I spend quite a few hours on other social medias such as Instagram, VSCO and TikTok. I use TikTok to occupy myself whenever I am bored, so it is usually ranked my second most used app. It is easy to start scrolling on any of these social medias and loose track of time. I can plan on spending less than 10 minutes on my phone but end up scrolling on social media for hours. This shows how easy it is to get lost in your screen
Sunday afternoon, I spent a decent amount of time in a vehicle where I used my phone to Bluetooth to my car. Again, playing music isn’t necessarily being on my phone but I am still relying on the technology. I do not make a lot of phone calls on my cellphone but on Sunday, I called a restaurant to put in an order to go. This is one way that having access to a phone is beneficial. Before I went to sleep for the night, I checked my social media one last time. Setting an alarm is also something I rely on my phone a lot for. Without this tool, I would not wake up on time and I do not own a real alarm clock like people used to. From staying in touch with friends and family, to being able to wake up on time in the morning, I depend on my cellphone for a lot. I would 100% make the argument that my life revolves around technology, and I don’t know what I would do without it.
Food For Thought Questions:
How do you think your life would be if you didn’t have access to your cellphone all day?
Do you think technology has more of a negative or positive impact on society?
If you were told to go more than a day without technology, do you think you could manage it
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