Extra Credit: Disconnect and Reflect

Note: I did not write this submission the same day as I disconnected from the internet and texting, I hope that is okay. I gave up the Internet one day over Thanksgiving break, so I did not need to worry about accessing the Internet for school.

It was a fascinating experience to completely withdraw myself from the online world for a day. Often I find myself mindlessly swiping through apps on my phone to kill time in between doing things. It felt unusual to no longer have that escape from reality, instead I had to find alternatives to pass time. I spent a lot of quality time with my grandparents who were visiting Sweden that day, I enjoyed hours of great conversations with them and the rest of my family, even my dog also got to enjoy a little extra attention than she is used to. As a family, we visited Washington D.C. and explored the National History Musuem, the Washington Monument, and other historical sites. I felt some urges towards the beginning of the day to check social media, texts, etc., however, that ‘itch’ began to get easier to avoid as the day went on. It felt really good to cleanse myself of using technology and really just immersing myself with others and the surrounding areas. This was a liberating experience for me, and I think I will continue to have digital fasts in the future — it was so refreshing.