Last Thursday, I was coming home from another busy day of content writing, client’s calling and overall overload… My phone was already on 9% battery when I decided- I am turning this thing off. And not only am I turning it off, I will not charge it tonight, tomorrow, or the day after that… So this is how it was…
Thursday 6:10pm
Thursday 9:20pm
I went to the bathroom. No candy crash for today, read the ingredients on the Shampoo instead…
Thursday 11:45pm
Woke up from a ring. I automatically reached for my phone, when I realized it’s off. The ring had come from another apartment in the building. I never knew they were so loud.
Friday at approx. 3am
Woke up from unexplained reason. Hit the phone to check if I have messages. Phone won’t turn on. Went back to sleep thinking that everything else can wait for the morning.
Friday 8:30am
Decided to login to Facebook from my computer. This whole thing was never about disconnecting from the world or from media, it was about control. The devices we hold in our hands today control us, and not the other way around. I was a bit surprised to see about 12 new inbox messages and about 27 notifications. I was just glad I got to sleep through them… I had a thought in my head that when I’m turning it back on I will remove the Facebook app from my phone.
Friday 9:13am
Heard the news about the terrible terror attack in Paris. I think I cried for a few minutes. I really do believe in the good of people, and I am not a political person at all… But these kind of things just get to me. Went into my traveling groups and friend groups and saw the amazing online support for Paris and people travelling there. That was the first time I uploaded a post at “The Women Team” Facebook page that wasn’t about anything from this website.
Friday 2pm
Watched 3 full episodes on the computer (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, How To Get Away With Murder) and not a single “beep” interrupted me.
Saturday 9am
Made my morning coffee, had a cigarette (Yes, I know I said I will quit smoking), and drank my coffee while writing my thoughts on a piece of paper. The decision was made… My morning coffee & cigarette times will be without my phone, and with a journal.
Saturday 11:20am
Made the most amazing French-toast with fruit salad for breakfast. Don’t even have a single photo to prove it. Felt weird to eat without taking a picture of my food first. But then it felt weird that we got so attached to this whole “Let’s share every F*cking moment with the world” that it’s our instinct to take a picture of what we are about to eat.
Saturday 8:13pm
Recorded a song with my photo booth (On my mac) that was more of a prayer for me than a song. Uploaded it to Facebook. I chose IMAGINE by John Lennon since that’s what I really want. There are good sides to religion, but also bad sides. And the bad felt like it was overweighing the good. (Want to here the song? Click on the image).
Sunday 11am
Turned on my phone after it was shut from Thursday at about 7pm.
The minute I turned it on- it rang. I answered instinctively, not understanding that I am having my morning coffee now, and that is not “phone time” yet.
What I have learned from this experiment…
I have spent all Sunday out, surrounded by people. Phones were ringing constantly. I have grown to hate it when my phone beeps every 2 minutes. I felt like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Gmail are taking over my life.
I think that it’s safe to say that technology is helping us, but also taking over us. I see so many differences in what I know today, what I remember about technology, than the young kids. Those who never used a Walkman or know what a floppy disk is. I remember days when we had actual phones, that we were attached to and had to sit on the sofa in order to talk. I remember when a friend used to shout my name across the neighborhood to call me to come roller-skating with her. Today, it just seems like this over use of technology is killing us, our relationships and is actually limiting the things we do every day.
