No technology, what a trip.

So the question was posed, could actually real life college students go a full 24 hours without using any of their precious technology? While the question seemed sorta silly to some as they asked if this really was a joke while others dreaded the thought of not being able to use their radio, ipods, laptops and other trendy items for the many hours that stretched ahead. So we all seem to laugh at it and go on our merry ways, not really thinking about how things might go down.

While some of us did stick it out for the 24 hours and I am sure a few of us maybe kinda cheated a bit (I wouldn’t blame those who did) and then some of us just gave in and I hate to tell you folks but:

I gave in.

Yep, you heard it right here from the horses mouth. I gave in to the temptation of media yet there are good reasons why I gave in. As my friends, lovingly I will assume, joke that they would text me every 10 mins just to say hi and taunt me with their use of the phone and while my parents joked and gave little support about going a full 24 hours and saying I could not do it (thanks mum and dad, maybe that’s why I failed!) did not make me feel weak in any way about giving in to the media and while they said that they could go the full 24 hours and would enjoy every moment of it, the whole thing did make me notice something.


I believe even if I had tried fully and was as devoted to any media outlet sources and much as they believe I am, I still would have given in. For those who didn’t give in then good luck sister and brothers but for me? I truly believe because media is such an important thing to us and in our lives that many people if presented with this challenge would have given in. Technology has become such a major part of my life and the lives of those in our generation that there is no truly escaping it. I tried to deeply keep myself disconnected from technology including any glimpses of it, any sounds of it, as if we were living in the days and times before all of these things were around. Yet there was no true escape from it, I could not stay at my own home for the son of my boyfriend was coming over and since the house is only one level and I did enjoy how I coined the term, Nathan really is “a child of technology.” While only being 7 some of his favorite hobbies are watching t.v., playing video games, and soon to be the computer as they bought him his own little mock version of a laptop. So I could not stay there so I went over my parents. The only place that did allow escape from the technology of today was my old room in all it’s dark no t.v., no radio, no nothing but boxes glory which left me feeling empty and alone.


Which again made me to think. Without these technologies or the very easy access of picking up my phone I felt completely alone and almost exposed. I worried what events were going on without me or things happening without my knowledge. It was almost frightening to feel like I was alienated from the complete world. This had happen to me before I had happen to misplace my cell phone and felt like a loony person for feel so alone that it was driving me crazy. I can do without the t.v. for I hardly, almost never watch it and while the computer is something I am defiantly in love with would be hard, and music being the biggest strain not to enjoy it is this lack of connection and communication that left the biggest and most terrible taste in my mouth. It was the complete and utter lack of feeling like I was connect to other people and my friends.
That is why I also believe that families were much stronger in those days before the telephone and radio. While needing extra labor force these families seem to be connected by a stronger bound because they only interacted with each other for most of their lives. It’s been proven that human feed off the need for other people which is why humans have formed packs from the very beginning of time. Yet, they had no way to communicate with other packs which cause them to have strong ties to each other and create a deeper bond. I found myself doing this also by trying to be in the kitchen, or as many rooms as I know people would enter without having to hear a t.v. blaring or a radio exposing a lonely heartfelt song.


It made me long to be around them a bit more and hoping they would interact with me to help keep me occupied and happy as the hours went on. But then it became too much. I lasted 5 hours and 30 min and let’s just say that was enough for me.


I’d just likely to also point out as a last thought that while in my car driving home I turned on the radio and did not even notice that I had done so before I had gotten all the way down to my street. It has been such a habit of mine that to turn it on seems only natural. I can only say that I began to chuckle as I turned into the drive way shaking my head every step into the house that was filled with sounds of the movie ‘Cars’ being enjoyed by Nathan in our bedroom.