Abstaining from Technology

For the media fast assignment I choose to abstain from the use of my cell phone. It was not that hard to stop using my cell for a time period due to recent technologies such as the computer. I was still able to contact MUST of the people I’d usually text and call via Facebook, Twitter and Skype. However, my parents and grandparents do not use social networks so for this time period, I was not able to get in touch with them.
The hardest part about abstaining from using my phone was the fact that I could still SEE who was calling or texting my phone but I could not respond or answer the phone. The funny part about this assignment was that every time someone would call, they’d continue to call. I guess after being frustrated at me for not answering the phone, I would get a notification of a voicemail. By the end of the 24 hours I had a total of five voicemails. And all of the voicemails weren’t very nice. One message was from my best friend and she was upset because she saw my tweeting and changing my status on Facebook but I wouldn’t respond to her text or answer the phone. Also when in a relationship, it’s very hard because my boyfriend lives in Chicago and he couldn’t get in touch with me.
The next 24 hours I tried to abstain from my computer to see if I could actually go through with it. I eventually failed while in one of my lectures. Over the years I’ve become more attached to my computer than my telephone. Mainly because there so many opportunities with a computer than the typical cell phone.
I believe that this assignment was very interesting because I would have never opted to abstain from any technology. It was also interesting to see the reaction of others and the anger that resulted from my not responding to a call or text. This just shows how integrated technologies are in my life. I realized that I do have a habit in picking up my phone and randomly calling, texting or playing a game when I’m bored. Instead of reading a book or go visit a friend.