After putting this post off for a few days, I figured that I better go ahead and let you guys know how my e-media fast went. NOT GOOD! Let me just start by saying that I spent all week trying to pick out a day that I would be able to “unplug” myself from the world. I decided that Friday was my best option because I knew that I wouldn’t be home and that would allow me to not be tempted by the TV, computer, telephone and so forth. I was wrong. I found this out very early in the day. My first mistake was telling everyone but my husband that I was doing this. Well, he called me first thing Friday morning. As I glared down at my phone, I figured I would just answer really quickly, tell him that I wasn’t ignoring him, and explain to him my challenge. He agreed not to call back and to just text my daughter if he needed me. He did just that for the rest of the day.
I depend heavily on my phone. I have an iPhone 4, so it is basically a portable computer. I didn’t realize how hard this would be. I failed at this task miserably. I actually started my day off pretty good. We left the house around 9:00 and I assigned my daughter, Alyssa, to be the one to keep up with my phone. It was very hard for me to part with it, but she didn’t mind one bit! I couldn’t imagine why. Every time I received a text, I would have to tell her what my response was and she would send it. I didn’t really like doing this because I felt like she knew too much of my business. She didn’t mind that too much either. As the day went on, I began to feel a little agitated. I wanted to check my email, look at the weather, text, tweet, check-in, and scan Facebook. These are things that I do all throughout the day. I felt like I was in the dark. I was simply lost.
It was about 3:00 when I finally caved. I couldn’t take it anymore! I had to have my phone! I didn’t mind not being on the computer; it was my phone that I so needed. I didn’t check-in anywhere or tweet. I did check my email, text and peruse Facebook. What I have come to realize is that in this day and time, we depend so much on our devices and connecting with the outside world. Curiosity is ultimately what got to me. I needed to know what was going on in the world. Being disconnected is not a good feeling at all. The old saying is true; ignorance is bliss. One year ago I would not have even realized what I was missing. The thing is I know what is out there. I knew what I was missing, and I missed it terribly.
This was truly an eye-opening experience for me. As an educator, I will be mindful of the temptations that my students will face when they are in the classroom and aren’t able to use their device. I am hopeful that this will change one day. I’ll have to be sure that they have access to the laptops and SMARTboard so that they will not be neglected of their media needs. It’s inevitable that we need to use every piece of technology given to us to feed our students’ appetite to know what is going on in the world. We need to provide them the opportunity to explore. That is our job. With so many ways to communicate, it is important to remember that my students will want to continue that. Now, I’m not saying that they will have a chance to Facebook or tweet, but to have that connection with the outside world; news, weather, blogs and other sites, is important to remember. Technology is vital. We have become so dependent on it. It is a way of life now. There’s no turning back.
Fascinating. You gave it even though you had a secretary. But not one in whom you had complete confidence to handle all your information! That is interesting also.
ReplyDeleteAll 5 other fasters so far have said the assignment was really difficult. Four (Amy Wilborn, Heath Morris, Bobbi Jo Nelson, and Alana Escobio) made it. One didn't (Ouida McDaniel). They all said it was much harder than they anticipated. The telephone was the most difficult for four. Heath said not being able to e-bay. I guess I'll call your stumbling bloc the iPhone4 all purpose device.
A delightful read. Better luck next time. My effort will be when we take a cruise. That will help, but I will still have to work very hard at it and may not succeed.