William Major took away his students' smartphones as an extra credit assignment:
As part of the experiment, I always ask my students to write about being left in the technological cold. I want to know about their expectations, reservations, and day-to-day experience of disconnection. Give me the good and the bad.
Do you consciously unplug from the digital world? Would you benefit from being forced to do so? Is this just a gimmick like pretending to live in the past, or are we really "addicted" to our gadgets and instantaneous feedback?
I love Facebook and Twitter, but I hate it as well. Both are time-eating monsters, and even with piles of essays littering my desk, I still stupidly Creep on Facebook and post nonsense on my Twitter. As much as I stay on the computer, however, I can only benefit if it is taken away from me. I could focus on more important stuff; reading, writing, homework, being social, all the things that networking takes away.
ReplyDeleteMy phone isn't much of a big deal, I don't get called that often. My Twitter responses are slim, and most of my Facebook feedback is poke after poke after poke. If I were to disable even just my Facebook account, I would have more time to do more things. I don't believe it is a "gimmick", it is a healthy choice. People are becoming far to addicted to the technology of the world. As the Internet gets faster, people expect more and more from it. We want fast answers and nothing less than lightspeed connections.
I have many gadgets that plug me into the digital world: my cell phone, laptop, iTouch, and Facebook account. I do find ways to get away from the digital world. Since I have a prepaid cell phone plan, I find it expensive to constantly call and text using my cell phone. I either contact people using my house phone, by e-mail, or in person to save from using all my minutes. I don't constantly check my cell phone, although it is convenient to have one in case of an emergency or to contact people immediately. I feel that I would benefit from being unplugged from the digital world, most especially Facebook. Facebook takes up a great amount of my time; I would get my homework done earlier if I didn't regularly check my Facebook account. If people were forced to unplug from the digital world, it could be compared to living in the past. We are fortunate to have these resources now. However, being unplugged from the digital world would enable us to be in contact with the actual world. The thing is, most of the actual world has to be contacted through the digital world.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't unplug from the digital world. However, I am not obsessed with the digital world. I don't believe I would benefit from being forced to be disconnected because in reality, technology is a part of everyone's lives and that's not going to change. As long as your whole life isn't about technology, I think it's fine if you never fully "unplug". I think people who are addicted to their technology may benefit from unplugging for a couple of hours or something similar to that if it was impacting their relationships with people but for people who don't overuse technology, I don't think this would be beneficial. Perhaps people are addicted to technology, but technology isn't going away anytime soon. If anything's it's going to keep growing. I think technology will be a part of everyone's lives from here on out.
ReplyDeleteI have unplugged from the world, and I now consciously do it every day. This summer I worked at a camp up in the Adirondacks, a place where you can't get much reception. I had limited access to many things such as facebook and could not communicate with my friends and family as frequently. I now unplug consciously because i like to get to bed at a certain times especially when I have an early morning the next day. This summer was my first time I was forced to be closed off from the world but I was totally ok with that. Many people are really addicted to their gadgets I once was in high school. I left my phone at home one day and I had a panic attack all day. At some point people will get bored with the technology they have and they will eventually stop using everything. I believe that at present time it is addicting but in the future it'll fade away like everything else.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if this generation has really been ruined by the amount of technology. People are unable to break away from the digital world, and much of our excess time is spent doing things on our computers and phones. Although I do feel that technology may be taking over our everyday lives, I have not found myself to actually “unplug”. I take a step back and think about even one full day without going on my phone or using the computer and I automatically dismiss the idea. Much of my world revolves around trying to stay in contact with my family and friends, and using my computer and phone is the only way in which that can actually happen. I would really like to be able to put away facebook for a day and not send a single text, but I ask myself if it really worth it. My phone is basically like a third arm for me, and it goes everywhere that I go. I would like to be able to stay away from the computer and facebook for a few days and see what that would bring for me. That has been a goal I have been considering for quite some time already. I believe that it is very unrealistic to get rid of all of the technology in our lives. It is like pretending to live in the past, because these advancements make our society what it is today. I do believe that people are addicted to technology and need to come to terms with what their priorities are. The future generations are only going to suffer by the ignorance that we will be teaching them with regards to technology. Advances in technology are inevitable, but that doesn’t mean that we all human beings need to spend all of our time devoted to these developments.
ReplyDeleteI think we all need to maintain a balance between reality and technology in the time that we are in. I don’t disagree that technology is a positive thing but I do worry that people value it too much. I think that there are times when technology does need to be set aside. For example, I can’t stand talking to someone and not having their attention because they are texting or surfing the web on their phone. I am concerned that people are placing too much value on technology and convincing themselves that they need it to be happy. People think that they need to know what everyone is doing, what major news is spreading among their circle, and they need to respond to all of it, but I don’t understand why they feel that way. Personally, I could never live like that. I think a balance between reality and technology is needed. Technology is great to connect with others through facebook and texting. However, technology can stop people from truly connecting face to face as the obsessed cannot put down their phones to have a conversation with a friend face to face without interruptions. I do check facebook and I text but I could go days without either. I think many people would benefit from being disconnected because they would realize how important it is to value face to face interactions. If I didn’t have my phone my only concern would be how would I make plans to set up those face to face interactions. I do find that people having the ability to contact me at any time can be annoying. There are times when I do leave my phone out of sight for hours, sometimes even entire weekends when I go up North to the Adirondacks. I am happy to get away from the noise as long as I’m in good company.
ReplyDeleteIf I was left in the technological cold I really don't know how I would react. I think I could live without facebook and I have gone a while, when I say a while I mean a week, without going on facebook. I think I would be lost wihtout my phone, however. Unfortuantely, these days its the only way to stay in immediate contact with people. Once in a while I do try to take a break from facebook but I've never been more than a day wihtout my phone. Which is honestly sad. I think if I was forced to unplug there would be some benefits but there would also be a negative side. Without constnatly checking facebook or texting I would have more free time to explore other areas of my life. Even to just talk with people. But then theres not being able to connect with people that are far away or just seeing whats going on in someone's life. Personally, I think some people are addicted because I know some of my friends who never logout out of facebook, it's a 24 hour thing for them. But then some people use it just to stay in contact and catch up. I believe that technology is today's society, its what we live with. And if your not part of it then you kind of get lost in the background. It's almost hard to survive without it today. Almsot every job has something to do with the internet and if you don't know those skills you get lost.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I don't need to be connected to everything 24/7. I don't have a Facebook or a Twitter. I don't really see the appeal in them. I do text occasionally, but I enjoy being face to face to someone and having a conversation when I am actually looking at the person. I was out with my friend and the whole entire time we were together, she was texting and not really paying attention to what I was saying, so it made me feel a little hurt. I just felt that she was more interested in hearing what people were saying to her via texts than what I was saying to her in person. The only thing that I would be really upset with is if someone took away my Ipod and my laptop. I am addicted to my music and could not live without it and I use the Internet to see what is happening with my favorite bands and for school research. I don't get how people need to constantly know what is happening on Facebook. I'm a very simple person and miss the more personal parts of communication. I live with my Dad who is very low technology and I guess that I have kinda adapted his beliefs about how ridiculous we have become, but I am more in tune with it than he is.
ReplyDeleteYes, we as a population have become addicted to our gadgets. We can no longer wait to get to a computer to check our Facebook, we have to be able to access it on our phones. A lot of us have messages sent to our phones when friends write on our wall. Recently I was able to upgrade to a new phone. I personally do not want internet or email on my phone. I do not have a good reason to pay for those services. I told the woman at customer service I did not want a smart phone. She told me I had three options. With how many phones Verizon offers, I could only chose three. For being an indecisive person, it made my choice easier, yet it was still frustrating. I did not need a computer, I needed a phone.
ReplyDeleteThere have been times when I seriously considered deleting my facebook. I have done it once before but reactivated it a few months after. I try to unplug from the digital world, but it is not as easy at it sounds. Turning off my phone can be great at the time. But when I turn it back on , I then have to deal with all the messages I missed when it was off. I do not text at dinner, during class, or if I'm spending a lot of time with someone. It's rude. To completely remove yourself from the technological scene would be drastic. Like most things in life, it's good in moderation.
There are time when I feel like it's neccesary to get away from the digital world. Technology, in my opinion, makes people too close to each other. There is always a way to contact them during any part of the day, either through text, facebook, twitter, etc. Because of this I never really get any time to myself, so once in a while I turn off my phone and my computer so I can have a moment of peace. In my opinion, people can benefit from unplugging. It makes you concentrate on what's out there instead of what's in your hand. You also notice more when you're not busy texting everyone in your contacts list. I've seen people who have lost or broken their phone freak out because they can't text anyone. Because of this, I believe that people are addicted to technology.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I feel as though being connected to social networking sites like Facebook not only provides me connections with people I want to keep in contact with, but also with people I'd rather forget about. For instance, my ex will sometimes write on my Facebook friends' 'walls' and I'll see her name and picture pop up on my news feed. This is unsettling to me because I would rather just forget about her. Facebook, in this case, leaves me unable to truly move on from that relationship. This conundrum has often made me afraid of logging on to Facebook and has led me to live for days on end without so much as turning on my computer. In all honesty, I wish I could still live in a world without instantaneous connection and live a low-tech life where people interacted face-to-face instead of through their computers. But the fact of the matter is, I simply cannot live without chatting with the one girl I've always wanted to date who I can only keep in contact on Facebook! My stance on the issue of modern communication technology then is this; it is a necessary evil for which I have mixed feelings. Oftentimes I hate it, but most of the time I'm willing to submit to it out of desperation to keep in contact with relics of my past and to ptomote my art, music and writing to the most amount of people possible in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not consciously unplug from the digital world, I think I would benefit greatly from doing so. I also do believe that people can be addicted to Facebook and other social networking websites. And unfortunately, it is incredibly easy to develop these addictions.
ReplyDeleteI have to confess, I used to be addicted to Facebook. I was constantly online, whether I was talking to someone, looking back at my friends' pictures, or just reading through the news feed. And since I have the iPhone, I would constantly be refreshing the Facebook app even after I logged off of my computer. It took something important to get me to put my phone down and give it a rest. Fortunately, I now only use Facebook to keep in contact with family and friends, and have greatly reduced my time online. My most recent addiction, however, is Tumblr. Tumblr is a micro-blogging website which connects bloggers from all over the world. My favorite part about this site is that the feedback is instantaneous and most blogs are updated far more frequently than Facebook. There is always something interesting to read, look at, or watch on Tumblr. Currently, I have a hard time going one day without logging on, even if it is only to read what's new.
The times where I am forced to unplug from the digital world, such as when my the battery on my phone dies or my laptop needs to be charged, are difficult. But they are probably the times in which I accomplish the most. Unless my phone is dead and my laptop can't be used, it takes me far longer to do homework assignments or papers than it should. I have been trying to get myself to take one day each week and stay off of the computer and the internet on my phone, but it has yet to happen. Part of this is because of the emphasis we place on technology, especially in the college community. Most of the things I need to do for my classes are posted online, such as assignments, the syllabus, quizzes, readings, and discussion boards. My downfall is that once I get online, it is usually hard for me to restrain the urge to check Tumblr or Facebook. And as much as I love being able to log online and see something new every few seconds, I would really love to break free of these habits soon.
Personally I feel that in this age where we have a constant influx of technological advancements taking over the way we communicate and socialize with eachother almost everyday, the idea of abstaining from these platforms for even a brief period of time for me was enticing and we as social beings would benefit from the experience. I also don't feel that the whole process of disconnecting from the technology world should be considered a gimmick because if you look today at the number of facebook users, twitter, bloggers, texters, instant messaging and even "good old" myspace users(yes a lot still exist)the numbers are staggering! Almost half of the world are using these social network platforms as a means of communicating with eachother. The fact is that we are constantly sending these mass media messages at a tremendous rate, and that we are actually addicted wheteher we would like to believe it or not! I actually had an experience with the idea of "unplugging" from the digital world so to speak. Although not by force however, I did conciously decide to practice abstinece from my social networking duties, and tech gadgets for one week to see what it would feel like. I also did it because when I first joined the twitter, and facebook communities I found myself constantly on my pda checking my tweets, status posts, and communicating with people (who I didn't know) all over the world. The instant feedback was addicting and quite a bit of fun but it was hurting my personal relationships at home. At the first thought of disconnection I was a bit apprehensive because of the fear of abandoning my "virtual friends" but the thought of making my family happy was more enticing so I had my mom hide my beloved blackberry, disconnect my internet and I began my technology fast. The first day was boring because I did not have any gadgets to keep me occupied but the days that followed were more easier because I started to have fun communicating and doing things with my family more. I realized after my experience of not using facebook, twitter, texting or the many other ways of constant communication that were taking up most of my time that I actually missed the things in my life that were "real" and had meaning to me. The one thing that mattered the most. My personal relationships!
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is that i had deactivated my facebook two months before joining this class because i saw that it was becoming a problem. I could not go 5 minutes without checking my facebook; to see peoples news feed or other things. Technology has had a huge impact on all of lives by making things easier to do. Who would've thought that we could get to the point where we can turn on our cars through using our phones or computers; that is completely mind boggling.
ReplyDeletePersonally i feel as if i could days without using my phone, or computer, or even the tv. Each summer i visit the Dominican Republic, and over there we barely get constant electricity. I would see myself not being able to charge my phone, or laptop, or even being able to turn on the tv, due to the lack of electricity. I got completely use to the idea of not having to use anything electronic for a while. I would go months without using anything that i find know to be a hassle to let go of.
I hope that in the future everything electronic starts to break or not work anymore just so we could all go back to the simpler days of just having one house phone and not 3 million phones in one house. i guess you can say technology has taken over every aspect of our lives and there isn't much we can do anymore.
I think that in todays world, it is extremely difficult to not be connected somehow on a regular basis. While I feel that all the technology has taken away from personal connections, it also has expanded it. Facebook is truly a catch 22 for myself. I love being able to re-unite with old friends and family, but I feel I let it consume my time with useless information. It almost becomes an addiction and when you are not connected, whether by phone, email, facebook, etc. we feel lost and as if we are missing out on something. I personally have been trying to unplug myself from the digital world more often. While I always have my phone, I do consciously avoid going on facebook on a daily basis. This is not always easy, but it is doable.
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