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Alex: phone journal

Day 1: Tuesday, October 13th

  • gave up phone/iPad at 10:30am
  • first instinct: tweet about it, and I did via twitter.com instead of the app (since I hadn’t had my phone taken for more than 5 minutes before I did this)
  • between class and lab I had about 2 hours of time to kill, worked on homework instead of looking at my phone which is what typically happens
  • after lab, first thing I did was go into my phone pocket of my backpack looking for my phone, before realizing I actually did not have it
  • this was out of habit; after lab periods I always check my phone as I walk out of the door
  • went back to room and forgot again that I did not have my phone and out of habit looked at my charger next to my bed as if I would be plugging in my phone after class
  • still trying to figure out my alarm situation for tomorrow and the rest of the week @ about 5:00pm
  • I understand now why some people get very annoyed when people pull their phones out while eating meals together
  • I went to dinner in the student center with my suite mates and they know i don’t have my phone or iPad 
  • while eating one of them goes on her phone to check texts and snapchats and send snapchats through the meal
  • it makes sense why that rule is in place in my house: its rude and obnoxious to watch someone text another person while you try to have a conversation with them over a meal
  • even while walking people are looking at their phones
  • I know I do it too, not to be hypocritical
  • when people walk while looking at their phone they don’t even run into one another
  • it’s almost like it is first nature to walk and look down instead of up
  • I run into more people while walking with my head up than I do while texting
  • it has become a part of our generation to multitask with technology, regardless of where we are or what we are doing
  • 10:53—nighttime is hard. I finished all my homework and studying, and now I am laying in bed wanting to send funky snapchats to my best friends and scroll through my social media outlets before bed (my usual routine)
  • I always do my homework out of my room, somewhere else in the dorm or elsewhere on campus and leave my phone and iPad behind to lessen distraction.
  • This works for me and I find it easier to focus this way. However, since I do not have this technology, I thought I would try and do some homework in my room tonight since I would not have to worry about it ringing or buzzing or whatnot; and it was a different feeling.
  • Tonight was the first night I used my desk for homework, and I never thought I would. I hate studying in my room because there is more stuff for me to drift to other than my work, but without my technology, I finished everything in a timely manner.
  • I studied a lot for this test, and I think it was effective. Although I never have my phone with me when I study, knowing I was not trying to get back to it caused me to focus more.
  • Still working on the alarm situation… Gonna try and use the Reminders app on my MacBook and hopefully that works, also gonna have my roommate put her alarm on super loud (we wake up around the same time for class every day) and if that doesn’t work have her wake me up with her
  • Having all Apple products for my technology seems to make this a little easier, as I still have my laptop which can do many of the same things my phone or iPad can, like iMessage, email, and Facebook/Twitter on Safari. 
  • I am a compulsive email checker with my phone in hand always, but without it I forget to look there on my computer. All of my emails from my three different addresses get sent to my phone, iPad, and computer mailbox so it gets redundant seeing all the emails multiple times a day. I tend to not check it on my laptop unless I need to open a link into Safari, or about 1 time per week just so it doesn’t fill up too much.
  • Waking up in the morning should be interesting… I wake up to the same song every day for consistency and it helps get me going. I am interested to see if that affects me in any way for how my days go since that is my little reminder to keep going every day. I also always check my email, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (in that order), and play a few games of Solitaire before getting out of bed to get ready for class (all of the phone stuff is done in about 20 minutes). If I do not have this to wake up to, maybe I will get ready earlier and actually have time to stand in line at The Bean for coffee!

Day 2: Wednesday, October 14th

  • 8:00 am—I woke up to my roommate’s first alarm. She sets it for 8:00 and then snoozes until 8:30 which was perfect due to my lacking of an alarm. Each one got gradually louder and last night I asked her to make the 8:30 one the loudest, which she did and I am now wide awake.
  • I tried using the Reminders app. It didn’t work. My computer was on ‘Sleep’ mode since it would not be charging and it would be running all night. Once I clicked out of the sleeping state, the reminder alarm went off SUPER LOUDLY, because I was expecting that to be what woke me up.
  • I checked my email on my computer as I would on my phone just because my computer was on the ground right next to me. However, I do not think I will keep it running all night again, so tomorrow and Friday will have to wait on the email.
  • Very different looking at a computer first thing in the morning as opposed to a phone, but also very similar
  • Different: larger, harder to hold, cannot do a lot of the same things as on my smaller devices
  • Same: very bright lights from the screen displays (computer seems brighter because it is bigger), it is still technology getting more time devoted to than anything else in the morning
  • I was much more focused in lecture today. Typically I use my phone to distract myself from the concepts I do not understand and find difficult, but without it I paid attention the entire 90 minutes. I felt like I needed to distract myself and the only way I could was to take more solid notes.
  • Not missing my iPad as much as my phone
  • A friend told me about an awesome Instagram picture my roommate posted but I obviously cannot look at it so she liked it for me. I do miss being able to see the fun people have through social media.
  • 2:30 in my Discover class: we are always given a 15 minute break about halfway through this class since we have had group presentations every week. As soon as we break, phones and laptops and tablets are immediately unlocked and being used by everyone in the room. It feels off-putting to be sitting there without that and not being able to have a conversation with anyone else because they are consumed with electronic ability. I kind of just sat there twiddling my thumbs for the break because everybody else was occupied with something on a device. On any other given day, that would be me as well. I don’t know how I feel about that.
  • It’s my suite-mate’s birthday today so we wanted to go out to dinner at a nice restaurant she had found. So we get ready, get on the train and walk to the restaurant. Only problem is, her navigation app (Google Maps) was not properly directing us. It was literally one block away and we walked all the way in the opposite direction for a good 20 minutes. The other two girls we were with mapped it on their phones but they, for whatever reason, could not manage to figure out how to share the correct directions. I know if I had my phone and could convey directions using the iPhone maps app I could. I got very frustrated very quickly because without my phone I was useless in this situation. Typically I would’ve been the first one with the directions trying to navigate, but even though I am awful with directions, I still can read them very well on my phone. 
  • The electronic app in this case is helping me learn my way around this new city. With the latest update, I get the CTA trains and buses on the app so I know exactly where to get on and off and on which bus or train line. 
  • We finally got to the restaurant, we get seated, and we order. While waiting for our food, the other three were taking pictures of each other on their phones, snap-chatting, and texting between our conversations. I would have rather had a conversation with them than been using my phone anyways, since I was raised to not bring my phone out at the table while eating (see note above from yesterday). The food comes, and they all take pictures of it to post on Instagram. Nobody is gonna know how good it actually tasted through a social media posting.
  • 9:00—back in my room and my roommate and I had bought a cake for our suite-mate’s birthday. The four of us were in my room, sitting on the floor together, but it was not universally pleasant. Once again, everyone else had their phones and they were keeping constant conversations with others and I kind of just sat there. 
  • Phones are attached to us. It is just a fact of 21st century teenage life.

Day 3: Thursday, October 15th

  • Did not have to worry about an alarm waking me up this morning since class was cancelled.
  • Slept in until about 10:15 which was nice
  • I always roll over and grab my phone as soon as I wake up in the morning, so this morning when I went to grab it I knew it was not there this time, and I got out of bed instead.
  • My plan this morning was to just stay in bed until my lab which is not even until 2:40
  • Netflix has been my phone substitute 
  • Many of the apps on my phone also come on my computer like iMessage
  • Even though I still can text people this way, I have not really done so. It isn’t like I’m gonna walk around campus clutching my 13 inch laptop between my fingers while trying to type with one hand. 
  • Not having instant contact with people has been nice, though. I do not have to worry about missing a call or message and worrying about when I am going to need to talk to someone next.
  • Pretty much nobody back home knows I gave up my phone and iPad for the last few days, so it will be interesting to see if I actually have messages waiting for me when I get them back tomorrow. Do people notice when other people have a lacking of contact, and how do they respond to that? 
  • 1:06—I literally have not had to leave my room since I woke up this morning. Netflix plus my bed is a great combo for lazy mornings. I have not ever even thought about needing to look at my phone, partially because I know it is not there, but also because I have been so preoccupied with something else. The past three days, I have been super engaged in so much other stuff. Of course I miss having my phone, I do not know what teenager would not. However, I do see a flip-side: you can find other things to do if you detox from the little constant gratification a do-anything phone gives you.
  • 2:20—About to leave for lab, trying to remember if I have everything, which I do since my phone isn’t something I need to remember to grab. It is an almost gratifying feeling not having to be responsible for a valuable piece of technology at all times. Sure, I have my computer, but I don’t bring that to class with me or carry it on my person all the time like I would my phone or iPad since they are smaller. Something about not having that kind of responsibility is oddly pleasing.
  • It’s weird how much you notice how much other people text in class once you do not have your own phone. I never knew how blatantly obvious it was until now. You can tell by body language and movements, facial expressions, and a person’s overall involvement and engagement in class. Come on, it was lab. Those are fun! At least pretend like you are enjoying it and pay attention.
  • My mom messaged me tonight asking me if I was counting down until I could get my phone back. The only response I gave, naturally, was the exact hour and minute countdown until I could pick it up from the office. Today was by far the easiest day without it, which is ironic considering it was the day I had the most down-time to look forward to. Usually the days where I have nothing to worry about except laying in bed, my phone never leaves my hand; but today was different. I do not know what it was, but I kind of liked not having to time out what I would be doing throughout my day based on the charge percentage of my phone. 
  • It is Thursday. #TGIT. #GreysDay. #HowToGetAwayWithMurder. #EveryThursdaycallsforlivetweeting. It is a lot harder to live tweet on my laptop than on the app. The split screen function does not work when you want to watch something full screen. Frustrating.
  • It’s the little things, the really important ones that get you.
  • *insert implied sarcasm*
  • 12:08 am (so technically it’s Friday now and I get my stuff back in 8 hours and 52 minutes)
  • About to go to sleep knowing my roommate’s alarm will wake me up again in the morning.
  • I am ready for my usual alarm. Ready for my morning song to wake me up again to get me through my day.
  • I did value this experience without my technology that I hold so closely to me. It opened my eyes to a lot, good and bad. It is clear to me that society has evolved in such a way that we need these devices to function properly.
  • We are not robots.
  • We are humans.