Thoughts Before Beginning the Activity
Before beginning the activity I actually felt legitimate and real nervousness. The reason I felt this way was because I knew exactly that I was going to fulfill the stereotype of my age group by proving that I use my phone entirely too much. To be quite honest, I was nervous to admit just exactly how excessively I use my phone. The results, however, were not at all what I expected.
The Cold Hard Numerical Results
Total recorded instances of phone usage: 30
Total time spent on phone: 1 hour, 38 minutes and 30 seconds
Textual interactions: 19
Social interactions: 2
Activities that were both social and textual: 8
Phone calls: 1
Times walking was interrupted to check phone: 4
Times studying was interrupted to check phone: 14
Times no actions were interrupted to check phone: 11
Times eating was interrupted to check phone: 1
Longest single instance of phone usage: 1 hour exactly during a phone call with my mom.
Textual activities include: groupme messenger and default HTC One texting application.
Social activities include: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Vine, YouTube and Yik Yak.
My Reaction to the Results
To be completely honest, I am actually shocked about these results. I was expecting to have a massively longer list of instances in which I picked up my phone. I was expecting to have used my phone for countless hours during the 2 days. I was actually expecting for there only to be a small number of hours each day that I was not using my phone. However I understand exactly why I got these results. I got these kinds of results because during this entire experiment I found myself not wanting to pick up my phone, and as a result I simply didn’t. Every time I thought of picking up my phone I realized that this would further prove the point that “modern teenagers cannot live without their phones” and because of this thought I no longer wanted to pick up my phone. Part of me wanted to prove that I can survive longer without my phone then some might expect of my age and current situation. Even with the consistent fight I had with myself saying “don’t pick up that phone” I still lost that battle for an hour, 38 minutes, and 30 seconds. However in my defense, when one’s mother calls one does not simply tell her that one is trying to prove a point about one’s generation…one just answers the phone politely and says “hi mom” This meme I created on http://memegenerator.net/ pretty accurately describes my situation.
So What Does It All Mean?
What this means is, not only am I completely and utterly addicted to my smartphone but I am also ashamed of it. If I was not ashamed of how frequently I use my smartphone then I would have probably used my phone a lot more than I did in the 2 days and therefore I would have a lot more written down in my phone diary. So yes it’s true I fulfil the stereotype of teenagers and young adults that they use their phones excessively. However is this really a bad thing? The answer is complicated. If one’s phone usage starts to prevent that person from successfully communicating with other human beings, especially in situations where personal communication is absolutely essential, then that becomes an issue. If you cannot even put your phone down for a second to simply acknowledge another person’s existence, then you are being rude. A phone should not inhibit a person’s communication it should improve it. Smartphone’s should be used in a way that allows you to connect personally with your friends and loved ones whether they’re the next house or the next continent away. So as soon as your smartphone starts to prevent you from making those precious connections your phone becomes a liability instead of an asset.
To Conclude
To finish up, I truly believe that this was a very interesting, engaging, and thought provoking assignment. It really opened my eyes to the fact that my phone is essentially a part of me, an extension of one’s self if you will, and that it’s my responsibility to make that a positive or negative truth. What you do with this small, light, and extremely powerful piece of technology is the most important thing about using it. Modern technology is the key to the world, so let that key open doors for you that you’d be proud to open.
-Eric