After looking online for the weekend homework, I thought I would give it a chance. But when the clock stroke 5 p.m. on Friday evening, I admitted defeat just a few hours later. This activity was much more difficult than I had expected it to be.
I think the most difficult part about being disconnected for the weekend was the fact that I couldn't communicate with my friends via text. With it being Halloween weekend, I found myself using my phone to text my friends to coordinate meeting places and times. I also found myself checking the Internet for quick facts/questions, whether it be bands playing at Freak Fest, or questions that came up in conversation
What was also difficult for me to give up was social media. I mostly use social media to stay in touch with friends and family. I enjoy being able to see what they are up to at my own leisure and convenience. I also received many notifications throughout the weekend, letting me know which posts/pictures I had been tagged in on Facebook. It was difficult to ignore those notifications and not look at the various Halloween pictures. I also like the fact that our FIG group is able to chat on Facebook about assignments and questions; I felt isolated and a bit anxious not being able to have the easy access and convenience of the group chats on Facebook.
Overall, I thought this assignment was most difficult because we rely so much on technology now-a-days. I very much disliked being disconnected, and the awful anxiety about missing important news. Lets just say I am very thankful that I did not grow up in the early 1990's.
The anxiety and isolation really hits home for me. Sometimes I wonder if one by one we could stop using the internet, and then we all stop together ultimately...But then I think about the first people who start it and I realize its something we can never give up because of how popularized it has become in our society, and how it has been incorporated basically into every aspect of our lives. Just writing this gives me anxiety about not being near my phone.
ReplyDeleteHey Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it's convenient to have my phone on me at all times, with so much information available to my pocket. It definitely would have been easier to have my phone with me and look up things like the Freakfest band schedule, when the next bus comes, the weather, etc.