by Sophia Laurice, age 10
For 24 hours on March 6–7, 2015, families will participate in “The National Day of Unplugging” which means they don’t use any electronic devices for 24 hours. I heard about the National Day of Unplugging and it seemed like such a great idea that I couldn’t wait until the actual day to do it. I have already tried it recently and during my time without electronics I learned that my mom is a very good bowler. Sometimes families and friends spend too much time on their phones and not enough time hanging out together. It’s easy to learn about each other when you’re more focused and less distracted.
The first time I unplugged was when my mom and I went hiking along the cliffs. I told my mom “Phones for photos only!” Since we unplugged we got a lot further and personally I think we had a lot more fun. I realized this was a routine that I could get into. The second time we unplugged was very recently, for my birthday party. We went bowling again, and I asked my mom to not have her phone out the whole time. This time my mom and uncle came with three of my friends. We had a lot of fun and we paid attention to whose turn it was and we were getting strikes because we weren’t wondering yet again if our friends were coming. We were thinking about “am I going to win?” or “is she going to win?” I just had a lot of fun unplugging that time. The most recent time I unplugged, was when my dad came to town and I asked him to put his phone in this thing that is a “cell phone sleeping bag.” It is a little purse thing that you put your cell phone in.
When he put it in there, it was me-and-him time and it was kind of hard for him to put it in there. He was scared he was going to miss a conference call. I told him that if he had a work call, that it was “our time.” And he did it. Even just for an hour. But still, it was our hour. It was no screens. No TVs. Nothing. It was us throwing the football or kicking a soccer ball. I found this easier for us to hang out because he is always on his phone. So, it was nice to see him off of his phone for this hour. And every day after school, from 3 to 4, it would be cell phone sleeping bag time. I found it working. I was a lot happier and we got to spend more time together.
I like that unplugging made us focus on each other and not on whoever is trying to text you or talk through the phone. You get to hang out with the person who you are with. That way you get to enjoy their company.
One of the cons about being on your phone all the time, is you don’t get to spend time and chat and really get to know a person. I think that’s very important, especially when you are out hiking or even maybe going to the mall. To focus on the person that you are with is very important because you might not know the person very well or it might be your friend and it’s important to spend time with them. I guess you can feel left out if you don’t have a phone. If you are with a friend, try and be with your friend. If your parent is on the phone all the time, you can feel left out of the conversation. When you are with one of your parents, if you are watching TV or reading a book or doing your homework, sure they can be on their phone. But not when you are doing activities, like hiking or bowling, where you are spending time together. It’s important to BE with the person because that is what you are trying to do. I think it would be great to try and unplug more!
The National Day of Unplugging is one day a year that encourages people to be mindful of the impact of their use of digital devices throughout the year. Find out more at http://www.nationaldayofunplugging.com/
