A few weeks ago for my composition 2 class we were told to write a blog post about spending an entire day without a piece of technology and then compare our day and thoughts to an essay written by Wendell Berry.
Since I'm not that hooked to my computer or Facebook, I decided to go an entire day without my iPhone. At first it felt really strange, like I was constantly forgetting something. After I got over this it was kind of relaxing to not feel my phone vibrate every so often from text messages, e-mails, or phone calls. I felt mischevious, like I could go anywhere or do anything and no one would know where I was. This feeling didn't last long though. I soon realized that I had forgotten to tell anyone that I wouldn't have my phone that day. My mom thought I had died and my friends were all frustrated with not being able to get ahold of me to make plans for meals, to study, or to just hangout throughout the day. I also found myself having nothing to do when I was bored. I have an iPhone, so when I'm just hanging around my room or something with nothing to do I'll play a game. That wasn't an option on this day however.
After reading Berry's essay I somewhat agree with his first reason on not buying a computer, to stay connected to nature. As a girl I am somewhat a romantist and I love the idea of exchanging letters instead of a phone call, e-mail or text. They seem like they would be so much more intimate. They'd be like a present that you looked forward to. And I also agree that not owning technology would definitely be a lot cheaper than owning it. But there's so many things that technology connects us to. I just think that we should learn to not be dependent on technology.
It's a scary thought to me that people can become so dependent on technology. I just remember watching Digital Nation and being amazed by the folks who were talking about how in love they were with World of Warcraft. Some of them had never even met people that they considered their "best friends." I guess I just don't understand using the internet to meet people. To me, the internet is used to stay in touch with friends using things like e-mail and websites like Facebook.
It's also weird to think that just a few years ago when you bought a cell phone it was used to simply make phone calls. Now when you buy a phone it's hard to believe that people even use it to call others. There's millions of games and other apps to do just about anything you want it to.
With all that in mind, I'd say that Wendell Berry had the right idea with trying not to get wrapped up in technology. Being born into a technology-driven world I can't really say that I could live happily without technology because having it is what I'm used to. It's a nice thought though, to just be able to reconnect with nature. I just hope that our world doesn't take technology too far. I'd prefer for us to be controlling it, instead of technology controlling us.
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