Life Without Technology Isn’t So Puzzling

or, My 24 Hours Without Digital Media

Photo of the Introduction of a Book Started During the Detox (Photo Credit: Sydney Yocum)

If this wasn’t a homework assignment, I don’t know if I ever would have seriously attempted a Detox. A “Digital Detox” refers to going an undetermined amount of time (24 hours, in my case) without digital media or technology (outside of, say, electricity and running water and such).

This is all Self-Edited (Photo Credit: Sydney Yocum)

I used my forced free time to take an academic break. Since college had started, I’d been run by my schedule. You could see me glued to my phone so that I’d be sure I wasn’t missing an important meeting or a club excursion. Side note: I did end up missing an important club meeting during my Detox- with a club I was running for an executive board position in, as well- but so it goes (I got the position anyway, so everything worked out for the best).

I planned ahead; I finished all my internet-required homework, set up queues on my important social medias (thousands of people online aren’t generally very patient), and told my mom that yes, I’m safe, and no, you can’t call me later to talk about it- call Katie instead. I brought (and bought) things to keep me occupied that didn’t involve a screen, and I warned my roommate about the impending technological silence that would be required in our room.

Independent Poetry (Photo Credit: Sydney Yocum)

Then, I Detoxed. I caught up on my free reading. I used to read at least ten books a month, and I missed that pace. College hasn’t exactly given me a ton of time to read freely, especially with a schedule as busy as mine has accidentally become. It was actually nice not having to be on such a time constraint. I didn’t have to worry about finishing this by that time, or being at this place before that thing started (it helped that my class that day was canceled, so I literally didn’t have anything I could miss). That being said, I found myself becoming bored with this simplicity; I’m so used to a dozen things trying to grab my attention at once, that for me to focus on a single object was child’s play. I wanted more. I suddenly understood where the author of the article “The Myth of Multitasking” was coming from; people have become so used to their supposed need to multitask, that it actually becomes detrimental to themselves (Christine Rosen). That was pretty accurate for me- my mind kept wandering because I didn’t have anything else to think about or focus on. My mind didn’t feel worked to its limit, and it was restless.

So It Begins (Photo Credit: Left: Katie Wigney, Right: Sydney Yocum)

I cannot even begin to explain how necessary my friends were during this experiment. Katie and Marko refused to leave my side during all of this, and it was in some ways heartwarming how much they were willing to give up for me during this (some more than others- thanks Katie). Katie even started a 2,000-piece puzzle with me!

Marko’s Need for Attention Reaches a New Level (Photo Credit: Sydney Yocum)

At one point, Marko kept trying to show Katie things that he’d found on the Internet. I, being unable to take part in this episode of minuscule-yet-vital bonding, felt incredibly ostracized, as if I was being punished for a crime I didn’t commit in the subconscious hierarchy of friendship. Katie noticed this, and she decided to stand with me in solidarity, telling Marko that, as long as I was Detoxing, so was she. Marko accepted this limitation, and allowed Katie and I to peacefully puzzle the rest of the night away (we finished the puzzle two weeks later, so I guess the Digital Detox rubbed off on us a little bit after all).

Attached at the Hip (Photo Credit: Sydney Yocum)

I don’t know if I’ll ever do this again. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do this again, with the path my life is currently taking. But I’ll definitley remember this episode of limited technology consumption. I’m now aware every time I can hear peoples music when I pass their dorm rooms, or when people are on their phones. I’m much more conscious of the use of digital media around me now, and I have recognized how little I really depend on my cell phone (my laptop, rather, is my general poison of choice). Especially in a city such as San Francisco, there is never a single place were media is not being consumed, so to find a little oasis in one of the most advanced cities in the world is a surprisingly comforting break. Everything’s good in moderation, and technology is not any different.