Inventory of my digital technologies:
A). Digital technologies I use regularly would be my Iphone, my laptop, and my Bluetooth headphones. B). I use my cell phone every day, from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. I use it to communicate with my family and friends. I also use it to check my school email. The apps I use on my phone are Snapchat, Instagram, Google, Outlook, Navy Federal, Weather, Running, and Spotify, I use my laptop for homework and for pleasure. I use Canvas, Outlook, Postview, Google, Amazon, Netflix and all Microsoft programs. I use my Bluetooth headphones for working out. I connect them to my phone and use the Spotify app for music. C). The first Iphone was released in 2007. My current version, Iphone 6, was released in 2014. The first Macbook pro was released in 2006. My current version was released in 2011. The first Bluetooth wireless headphones was released in 2008. My current version, Plantronics, was released in 2016.
Timeline:
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/1613778
Unplugged Notes:
- Planned to start unplugged challenge at 4:00pm today (10/2)
- 3:00pm- told everyone important to me that I will talk to them tomorrow afternoon including my boyfriend (who is in Pilot school and we can only talk at certain times)
- 4:00pm- turned my phone off
- 6:30pm- went to dinner without my phone and noticed I kept reaching for my cover to check my phone.
- 7:30pm- Just got back from SRC and have nothing to do. I have no homework tonight which would be a perfect night to watch Greys Anatomy. But no digital technology for me!
- 8:10pm-I’m just sitting at my desk deciding what I should do and what I can do to pass time by.
- 8:20-9:15- Worked on some practice problems for an upcoming test.
- 9:30pm- I decided I am going to head to bed early since I have nothing else to do! Goodnight!
10/3
- 6:45am- My roommate had to wake me up since I didn’t have an alarm to wake myself up
- 7:10am- Just got back from BRC. I usually watch a little bit of Greys Anatomy before I head to breakfast before class, but no digital technology.
- 7:55am-Just got to my first class of the day without my phone. I had to speak to my professor about me not using any digital technology because he had told us to bring our phones or laptops to participate in a review game for our test Thursday. I stayed strong and just took notes with pen and paper.
- 9:15am-Just got out of class and headed to the gym. Just remembered I don’t need to bring my phone or headphones because I can’t listen to music.
- 10:15am- Just got back from the gym. It was so weird and less motivating for me to not have music when I worked out. But I survived.
- 3:20pm-Just got out of classes for the day and I am counting down the minutes until I can use my phone!
- 4:00pm- I made it! It was not as difficult as I thought. The most challenging thing for me was not being able to get ahead on my homework or not checking my emails.
Thoughts about experience:
- It was difficult to unplug, especially here at school.
- I was fine without my phone for the most part, but my laptop was the device I needed the most to access things like, canvas and outlook.
- A few people knew about this challenge beforehand, but there was a few who noticed and asked about it. Their reactions were the same, shocked and all said they wouldn’t be able to do it. My teachers who knew about it were shocked, but impressed and interested.
- This challenge definitely emphasized how much I need digital technology, like my laptop, in order to be successful in school.
Unplugged Essay:
Reconnected
It was another day in the wonderful world of VMI. Today started off just like any day here: your phone wakes you up with that dreadful sound, you go to BRC, and you go to class. Except I was anxious to get the next twenty-four hours over and done with. I told my loved ones, I was digitally disappearing for the next twenty-four hours. My isolation began at four p.m on Monday, October 2. This was the moment I feared the most. My finger struggled to hit the power off button, refusing as if it had a mind of its own. I went down to the rifle range for practice feeling like I had forgotten something. Minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days. I slowly walked back up to barracks realizing how beautiful the colors of the leaves were. I also realized that I have been missing out on what’s been in front of me.
It was finally time for SRC so I grabbed my cover, my gloves and left my phone. At dinner I continuously caught myself reaching for my cover. I told my roommate, “This is going to be the longest twenty-four hours of my life. How can I function without digital technology? What is there to even do?”. She replied, “Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I think you will be able to do it. At least it’s just twenty-four hours!”. After SRC, I took what felt like the longest shower in the history of showers, well maybe not for females. It turns out that only thirty-minutes went by. Of course, tonight was one of the few nights I didn’t have any homework. My roommate asked, “Since you can’t watch Grey’s Anatomy tonight, do you want a book to read?”. I replied, “Absolutely not. I’m going to relax for a little bit and then I’m going to bed”. I decided to be productive, so I worked on some practice problems for an upcoming test I had. Once nine thirty slowly approached, I decided to call it a night.
Another early morning here at VMI and I was energized and ready to get the day started. I decided to change up my morning routine since I couldn’t use any digital technology. I went down to Crozet to eat the most delicious breakfast before I went to class. My first class of the day was Air Force ROTC. I had to speak to my instructor informing him I couldn’t participate in the test review because I couldn’t use any digital technology. I decided to go old school and write down every single test review question and answer since I couldn’t take a picture of it. By the end of that class, my hand felt lighter. I couldn’t remember the last time I had to write that much. I was so scared to miss out on important facts that I decided to write down every single thing on the slides. I rushed to my room to get changed and headed to the gym. I didn’t feel as motivated like I usually do because of the kind of music they were playing in the gym. The sound of weights pounding the floor and clanking together made it difficult to tune everything out. Without my music and headphones, I wasn’t in my own little world anymore. As soon as my headphones go in my ears everything else fades away. In those moments I don’t have to talk to anyone or think about the amount of school work I have to do. I just have to focus on the next exercise I have to perform. My headphones create another world, one that I can control and can call my own.
It was finally lunchtime and there were four more hours until I was reconnected to the world. I was so excited for my favorite Tuesday afternoon class, Yoga. The first pose we did as a class was the corpse pose. I laid on my back with my hands by my side and closed my eyes. As we laid on the cool, uncomfortable floor, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. At that moment I just stopped thinking or worrying. All I could hear was the sound of the AC and my heartbeat. Those sounds quickly faded as I drifted away from the VMI world. I felt both calm and at peace. It was as if a weight had been lifted off of me. For once, I was focused on the recovery of my body and mind. I was saturated in the moment. It wasn’t until I got back to my room and saw the clock that I realized the twenty-four hours were almost up. Now I realized I knew I could live and be happy without being glued to my digital technology. For once in a long while, I felt reconnected, but reconnected with myself. I realized I don’t dedicate enough time for myself without any distractions with just my body and mind. I have twenty million things going on every day of every week that I don’t take the time to stop and actually think. To stop and process the way I am feeling and to just decompress. Yoga made me realize how much I am missing out on myself.
Before I knew it I was done for the day. I counted down the minutes until I could contact my family and boyfriend and tell them about my unplugging experience. My mom answered the phone and said, “Hey! You made it through the twenty-four hours! How was it?”. I replied, “It was tough at first, but as time went on I realized I stopped thinking about not having my phone. When I had downtime I was kind of bored and had nothing to do. Yoga class really inspired me. This was definitely something I would recommend for everyone to try at least once”. My mom replied, “I agree. I think it will be beneficial for young people your age to disconnect for a while because everyone is always glued to their phones”. I replied, “This experience has really made me reconsider how much time I spend using digital technology, but my phone especially. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited or relieved to watch Grey’s Anatomy tonight!”. My mom replied, “Just make sure you get your homework done first! I’ll talk to you later”. My isolation sentence quickly came to an end.
The unplugged challenge made it apparent that the feeling of missing out and the feeling of being isolated does exist when you don’t have your phone. However, I realized that the only thing I was missing out on was myself. I rely so heavily on my phone for everything that I get so wrapped up in the digital world. So when I can’t use my phone I waste so much time worrying about not having or using it that I don’t spend my time worrying about things that actually matter like myself. This challenge made me realize that life is less stressful when you are not glued to digital technology. VMI takes so much from us including sleep. I also realized how much sleep I lose because of digital technology. For the future, I am going to monitor my use of digital technology. I decided that every so often I am going to digitally detox. I am going to set aside time scheduled time where I can just turn my phone off and not have to worry about the digital world. I have realized that it is necessary to set aside time for myself. To me, it is important to find a balance with or without digital technology. Unplugging from the digital world made me realize how unplugged I really was from myself and real life. I will continue to do yoga at least twice a week in order to stay connected to myself. Reflecting on my experience, I will strive to become saturated in what life has to offer.