A Day Without Technology
By : Zoe McVay
Just the Beginning
I knew that a day without technology was going to be a struggle for me from the start. Honestly, I was not completely successful. I chose to do my day without technology on Friday. Every Friday I make my way back to Asheville, NC to work. My drive back was slightly miserable considering I had to make the trip in complete silence since I could not listen to any music.
I can't escape it!
Once I made it to work I hit another obstacle. The restaurant that I work at relies on an operating system to send orders to the kitchen. I had never really thought about how much technology is required in running a business. Every time I have to run a credit card, using the internet is required for the transaction.
Frustrations
The most frustrating thing I faced was not being able to use my phone. I never really realized how much I rely on having a phone on me for constant communication. I found myself getting annoyed and frustrated not being able to connect with my friends and family. In a way I felt isolated and alone. It made me feel a little uneasy that without my phone by my side I felt a little more empty. In reality I should only feel this way when I am not with other people.
The Withdrawal
I never really thought that I was addicted to social media, but I definitely felt the withdrawal! My fingers with itching to scroll through my Instagram, twitter, and Facebook feed. I never really post much, but I love to see what is going on in other peoples lives. It is pretty addicting and I have experienced moments where I felt like I just couldn't put down my phone because I wanted to see what was coming up "next". I thought about what was going on on social media quite often this day. After I finished my day at work all I wanted to do was lay back and scroll through everything I had "missed" during my day. Surprisingly I was able to refrain! Instead I came home and spent time playing with my dog before we went to bed. It was nice living in reality and dedicating my time to doing something that really matters. Playing with her took my mind of off social media and still allowed me to relax after a long day at work.
Technology in the Classroom
To be honest, if it were not for me spending most of my day at work I probably would have caved and used my phone. Work was a great distraction for me. I thought about how if I were to have done this on a school day I probably would not have made it. Even though I care about school and enjoy going, class sometimes drags on and I turn to my phone for entertainment when my mind starts to wonder. As a future teacher this makes me worry that my students will turn to their devices whenever the lesson starts to drag on. It is hard work to think of countless ways to capture students full attention. I think that technology can be very helpful in the classroom, but it can also steer students away from the lessons they need to be learning. I wonder if in the future classrooms will be almost 100% emerged in the technology world just to keep students interested.
Reflection
Overall I think that this activity was beneficial to me because it made me aware of how much technology impacts the world today. Prior to my day without technology I did not realize how dependent I am on my phone and social media. I think that technology does have a lot of great things to offer in the classroom, but I think that it can also be a distraction from the real world.