Having to write down every time I used my phone caused me to use my phone less than I normally would. Over the 48-hour period, I used my phone 23 times. This totaled to 141 minutes, or two and a half hours.
I did not check my phone every five minutes, as I normally would have, but only every few hours or when I was not doing anything else. This helped me to stay more focused on whatever I was doing at the time. For example, I was more motivated to do all of my homework without being distracted by my phone. I also did not use my phone when I was hanging out with my friends. Since I did not want to write down my phone usage, I put my phone down on the other side of the room and was able to appreciate the time I was spending with my friends rather than focus on any distractions, such as social media or talking to other people, that my phone normally provides. I feel that this really helped me to enjoy the time I spent with my friends much more than I normally do because I could be fully present in the conversations and activities that were taking place. I learned that as a user of communication technologies, I mainly use my phone to keep up with my friends and family, through texting; and what they are up to, through social media outlets like Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. I also learned that I am not as attached to my phone as I thought it was. In the beginning of the assignment, I would pick up my phone a lot out of habit and then realize that I didn’t want to write down the interaction and put it right back down. But as the assignment went on, I found it easy to put my phone down and not look at for up to hours at a time. My phone is definitely my favorite form of technology because of its convenience compared to other technologies. During the assignment I had the iphone 5, but since then I have upgraded to the iPhone 6s. Since getting my new phone, I have found that I enjoy spending time on it more than I did when I had the iPhone 5. The 6s has a bigger screen, a better camera, is faster, and has upgrades, such as the peak and pop feature. This has made me realize how much people value the latest technology and how by just having a few upgrades (that I honestly did not need) I have come to enjoy my experience on my phone more and have become more attached to it. Even though I have noticed that I use my new phone more, I still do not feel completely attached to it. Further, though I mainly use my phone to stay connected with other people, I have discovered that I feel more connected with people when I spend time with them in person and do not use my phone.
Total times: 23 (141 minutes/2.5 hours)
15 texts- 78 minutes(65%)
- 2 phone calls- 10 minutes (.08%)
- 9 social media- 54 minutes(39%)
- 1 photo- 5 minutes (.04%)
