Digital Day Project
Makenna Krahn
Rise and Shine
Morning Routine
Proceeding to get ready for eleven o’clock church service I am already texting my friends telling them my plans for the day. I know as soon as I get home I need to start filling out college applications and doing homework. Being a senior this year is more stressful than I thought it would be. It is much different than any previous year as being an underclassman because you not only have the responsibilities of doing homework but now you have three plus college applications to fill out and complete before fall break. I use a considerably larger amount of technology now than I did a year or two ago. I think this all has to do with getting ready to go into the real world and start college. We use computers much more as seniors, always submitting homework and projects. Technology is a big distraction for me, especially when you have to be on your computer everyday emailing teachers and doing research. I don't think it has really impacted my grades, although it does make me procrastinate until the night before an assignment is due.
Procrastination
After getting home from church I start laundry and get my things ready for the school week. I begin the process of college applications and homework at about two o'clock. Knowing that the rest of my Sunday is going to consist of this I tend to procrastinate for a good hour or two. Continuously checking my phone, hoping I get a text message or some kind of notification, yet I never do so I do everything but start my homework. I get caught up, focusing on twitter or Instagram completely forgetting the fact that I have a good four hours of homework ahead of me now that it is going on three o’clock. Finally I decide that I need to be doing something, I begin with a college application online. Noticing that I need a resume for letters of recommendation, I get on my phone and email teachers to see their availability and if they would be willing to write me a general letter of recommendation. After their email confirming they can write, I attach my resume and email them my general background information. Two hours later, my college applications are done and sent in to the universities and that is now one less thing that I have to accomplish.
Hours of Homework
Now that I have college applications done, I begin the long process of homework. Starting with the classes that I have tomorrow, I begin all the bookwork and writing. After a few hours of sitting at the table doing nothing but reading from a book and answering questions I leave the house for a break and go tanning or run to the bank and cash my checks from work. Getting my mind off of things I can relax and get my tan on while thinking about what I have to accomplish when I get home. After being out for an hour I check my phone to see that someone unfollwed me on twitter. Confused at the fact why they did this I go through and see if I tweeted about them nonchalantly. Confirming that I did not talk about them on twitter I’m lost on why they would unfollow me. Taking a few steps back, I realize how unimportant it is, and that I have much better things to be doing than stressing over someone I don’t even know. In the article, “Unfriending Facebook,” they talk about how social websites like Facebook are becoming less and less popular. Looking back at MySpace it did the same thing that Facebook is doing now, going downhill and having fewer users. This makes me wonder what social media programs will be up when I have kids and their using the web.
Taking Over
After logging every time I get on my phone it makes me think the web really is taking over our lives. I ask myself, “What happened to the days when I was outside all day and never even thought about my phone or my Twitter notifications?” According to “Is the Web Driving Us Mad?” Tony states that we not only use the web a lot but we really don’t have an option a lot of the time. Just like me going online to find the pre-calculus answer key, I don’t have another way to look at the key and check my answers. In fact if you don’t have a laptop and are in a school where a lot of assignments are relied upon technology you are at a huge disadvantage. I personally have no problem with the amount of technology we use; I actually think we need to get rid of our text books now that all of our seniors carry around a laptop. I cannot really think what my life would be like if I didn’t have the technology I use today.
Adding Work
Once in a while I will have to work on a Sunday, pushing everything back even more than usual. Even at the AJAA fields we will use technology. We check into work using a time clock, all the food machines are ran by electricity and I being the cashier use the cash register to help customers with their orders. Technology is everywhere we go these days, whether it is driving to school, texting on your phone, or using your laptop for a project. In the world we live in today it has become a vital part of one’s everyday life. For me, it’s something that I am using 80 percent of the time in my daily routine.
Time Taken
If I sit and think about all of the time that I have given up for being on my phone or watching TV, it would probably be disappointing for me to realize. Especially us as teens, we give up so much of our time to electronic devices like our phones. I know for me, my phone is my biggest issue. I have had countless times where I will be on my phone at dinner rather than sitting and enjoying the time spent with my family. It’s definitely not easy to admit that I am in a way, addicted to my phone, but the truth sometimes hurts. I have lost a lot of time with my family by being on my phone when family is present. To say the least, I regret this and am really trying to change the way I use technology. Taking advantage of all the technology I use is very easy, so instead I am trying to use them only as my recourses.
Taking a Step Back
If I were to take a step back and look at what half of my texts, tweets, posts, and statuses, are about I would probably think twice. Talking to a lot of people at one time tends to be my situation. The bad part about talking to so many people is that not everyone gets along. Text messages create a very easy way to talk to someone who is not face to face with you. Therefore, a lot of my text messages during school or on my way home are either about someone else or what somebody said. I would not consider one-hundred percent of my conversations to be like this because a lot of the time I am asking about someone else’s day or making big plans for a friend’s birthday. So as I sit at home and gossip to all my friends, I think to myself, “Is this text worth sending or is it tearing someone else down?”
Being Tracked?
My phone goes with me everywhere, whether it is in the other room or across the country to a third world country where nobody speaks English. Thinking about the possibility that someone could be tracking me or watching me through my phone is rather disturbing. With the amount of personal information that our phone has, one could be in a lot of danger if a stranger got ahold of that information. I am always leaving my phone set somewhere, making it easy for someone to take and access all of my information. In the lecture room Mrs. Young brought up the question, “Are we being tracked?” This really got my attention making me wonder if someone actually has that capability. For example my iPhone has a tracker on it where someone can see exactly where I am even if my phone is turned off. This makes me quiet skeptical about the information I put out on websites like Facebook or even twitter. I plan to go and make my profiles less personal so nobody can come in contact with me unless they previously had my contact.
Changes
If I were to start making changes to the amount of technology I use and how I use it there would be a few things. First I would start by not texting at dinner or when my family is all over visiting from other states. Family isn’t always there visiting from California but the person on the other end of the phone is still going to be there when I come back to my phone. There are things that aren’t irreplaceable such as family where a phone is. Too much of my time has been taken away because I didn’t see the importance of setting my phone down and visiting with my family. Second I would watch more of what I post on Twitter and Facebook, rather than putting anyone down, lift them up instead. I was always taught to love even your enemy’s. Lastly I would change the way I do my school work. Instead of making a text come first, rather do my homework and save the texts and gossip for later.
Conclusion
Looking back on all of it, technology has really gotten in the way of the silent time that everyone needs. I never get silent time. Maybe if I turned my phone off or put it in the other room I wouldn’t be tempted to look at it. Everyone needs some time where there is nothing to think about, going outside and just lying in the yard or maybe going to the park. Silent time is a moment when you have nothing to think about and you just take a breath and relax, taking in all of the joys of life. I think I need to make more silent time for myself, no music, no phone, no TV, but rather to just sit in silence and relax, enjoying the fact you have absolutely nothing to think about. Silence allows you to focus on yourself, not exterior actions. Silence gives rest and brings balance.