On what I thought would be the longest day of my life, I incredibly found relaxation. Twenty-four hours without a cell-phone or internet proved to be calming and rejuvenating.
Turning my phone off on the morning of homecoming was gratifying and not at all as traumatic as I originally thought it would be. A chronic cell-phone killer, I enjoyed the freedom of being without it and the peacefulness of not having to worry about dropping or breaking my phone.
Anyone who knows me, knows I am glued to my phone. And when I say glued, I mean my phone literally does not leave my hand. This is problematic for two major reasons, one being that the more I hold my phone the more I drop it and risk breaking it. And two, I cut out my interaction with people around me because I am so involved with whatever it is I am doing on my phone. These twenty-four hours without a phone was not only relaxing, but eye-opening because I realized how much I rely on my phone and electronics in general. During conversation, I noticed each time there was a break in dialogue, I reached for my phone. I realized it was sort of like a nervous tick and a safety net for myself. In turn, I found when I could not open my cell-phone I instead had to carry on conversation. The high-light of my day ended up being my inability to hide behind my cell-phone, as it made me much more social and involved.
The hardest part of my media-free day was not being able to communicate with my friends and family who were not with me. After the game, we all separated and once I returned home with my roommates, they all decided to go to bed instead of going out. With no way to communicate with my other friends, I too, had to call it a night.
Being media-free for 24 hours was a nice break but it above all else made me aware of the extreme dependency I place on my electronics and showed me how much human interaction I cut out by hiding behind my phone.