By SARA WALLACH
News Editor
Apparently, I rely on technology for everything.
I can’t even wake up in the morning without it. It’s true – my cell phone is my alarm clock.
I went without technology for two days. This may not seem like a substantial amount of time, but no technology meant no cell phone, no computer, no iPod and no television. Granted, all these items can be considered luxuries, but I admit it, I love ‘em.
Before going to sleep the night before the challenge began, I had to dig around my closet for an alarm clock. It was coated in a layer of dust. I plugged it in, set my alarm and drifted to sleep.
I was jarred awake by loud, grating static because, being the intelligent person that I am, I didn’t tune the radio to any station in particular.
As the morning progressed, I already began to see limitations.
I couldn’t check the New York Times online like I typically do before school. I would have to wait until I got to school to find out what was happening in Egypt. In the car on the way there, I had this inexplicable urge to listen to the song “Runaway” by Del Shannon. My iPod was off-limits, so I had to settle for radio 104.3 which, don’t get me wrong, is a great station. But it doesn’t play any Del Shannon, and I think the morning DJs are incredibly annoying.
The only classes I had problems with at school were Advanced Journalism and Advanced Studio Production. In Advanced Journalism, one of the main focuses is online media. While my class used the Internet to find their news, I scanned some newspapers. In Advanced Studio Production, we were starting profiles about our classmates. I couldn’t type a summary of my interview, so I handwrote the whole story.
After school, I took a nap for three hours. I knew that without the distractions of the Internet or my phone, I could get all my homework done in half an hour. And I did. Then, because frankly I didn’t have anything better to do, I went back to sleep.
I remembered to tune the radio that night, so instead of the static jolting me into consciousness the next day, it was an AutoZone commercial. Get in the zone, AutoZone.
That day was my sister’s 13th birthday. I knew she was going to be mad at me because I didn’t wish her “Happy Birthday” on Facebook, but I did it the old-fashioned way and bombarded her with hugs as she brushed her teeth. She was happy to see me go off to school.
At school, I faced problems in those same two classes again. For Advanced Studio Production, I had to script my classmate’s portfolio short-film by hand. In Advanced Journalism, Mulshine wanted us to start our blogs, and I told her I wanted to do research for mine. She told me to “walk to the library.”
That, I told her, was impossible. I live in Millstone; the closest library is half an hour away in Manalapan. And, shocker, their database is all computerized. My parents tell me all the time about how they had to do all their researching at libraries with little index cards and whatnot. But I don’t live in Brooklyn. It’s not realistic. Plus, it was my sister’s birthday. I had to get a birthday gift and head home.
I went to the mall after school to do just that. Walking around without my cell phone, I felt naked. I realized that, without my phone to alert me, I have no sense of time whatsoever. My cell phone is my watch.
At home, I promptly completed my homework and celebrated my sister’s birthday with my family. Soon after, I had to leave the room because they wanted to watch American Idol. And so, I read and slept.
During my time technology-less, I realized how important technology is to me. In this day and age, it is unrealistic to wish for simpler days. Why go to the library and look through two books when you can find 20 articles online?
There is so much information right at our fingertips, and the world moves quickly. Things are constantly being updated, changed and improved. Because the world moves fast, so do our lives.
What I missed most about not using technology was the ability for constant communication. I have friends that I don’t see every day and sometimes, even with the ones I do, there isn’t a chance to talk. I rely on Facebook, e-mail or texting to stay connected and up-to-date.
And so, I will not participate in this experiment again. I will put my alarm clock back in the closet so it can continue collecting dust like the good little alarm clock that it is.