- Total interactions: 43
- Textual interaction: 9
- Texting: 9
- Social Interactions: 34
- Weather app: 4
- Email: 9
- Calling: 8
- Shuttle app: 6
- Textual interaction: 9
- Total time of interactions (minutes/hours): 344 minutes/ 5 hrs 7 mins
- The Activities that were happening when I used my phone:
- Sleep: 3
- Nothing: 5
- Homework: 7
- Walking: 11
- Watching TV: 6
- Studying: 11
Record EVERYTHING we do on our phone?! Oh brother…
I’m not going to lie, when this assignment was first introduced I thought it was going to be another pointless project that would be a burden; HOWEVER, during, and after, my 48 hours were over my thoughts on the project changed. Was the 2 days of recording every movement I made on my phone weird? Yes. Was it pointless? Not at all. So…this ‘pointless project’ ended up becoming a project that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was determined to stay completely committed to recording everything I was doing, and I was dedicated from start to finish. I even had one of my friends say to me “Tara, what are you doing in the little notebook all the time?” By having to write down what I did on my phone each and every time made me more aware of my interactions. While I am not someone who is ‘addicted’ to their phone I am also not someone who does not use their phone at all. Seeing just how much I used my phone, 43 times in 2 days, opened my eyes and made me realize that I am on my phone more than I might have originally thought. Now, I don’t want to say that this was me cheating the system and finding a way around increasing my interactions and total time on my phone but I did have multiple midterms on the days that I recorded, actually during the whole week of this project. So technically, these results are how much I use my phone between class, studying and taking exams. I don’t think this significantly affected my results on the project but I am sure that their presence was seen. Would I have gone from 43 total interactions to, say, 98 if I did not have such a busy week? No, I wouldn’t have, but I may have gone from 43 to 51 interactions. Not that big of a jump but it is still something for me to take note of.
I would like to think that I use my phone a reasonable amount, and I hope to keep it that way. That does not mean that I am not going to steer clear of my phone unless its to call someone or check the weather but I would like to make sure that I am staying aware of the interactions I have with my phone. Also, I would like to make sure that my phone does not start to consume my life but rather stays as a companion that I know I can rely on when I need to quickly get some information or when I have to absolutely call my mother with a question about how to prepare part of my dinner.
My Eye Opening Experience
As someone who really does not use their phone too often I was, and also was not, surprised by my results. I learned that I do use my phone a relatively normal amount, seeing as my results were very similar to other people in my class. Now, is this normal a high amount of usage or a low amount of usage, I can’t say. What I can say is that 5 hours of phone usage over a 48 hour period is not extremely outrageous, but instead seems sensible to me. Phones give us information almost instantaneously. If we want it we can practically have it within seconds. I do usually use my phone for this purpose, by checking the iPhone news app at least once a day, but I didn’t use my phone for much informative purposes, other than checking the weather, during my recording time. I did have exams the whole week of the assignment so I didn’t even look at the news app because I didn’t see a need to nor did I want to be reading any information other than my study materials. I did find that I was on the social media sites Instagram and Tumblr for a few minutes more than I usually would be, simply because they were an easy study break that wouldn’t be too time consuming or distracting. Just a quick look through my feed and I was back to studying. Hey! You can only study chemical formulas for so long before your eyes go crossed and your brain starts to physically hurt. I was mostly checking my e-mails, texting and calling someone during the 48 hours, something that did not surprise my at all. One phone call per night is dedicated to my mom and the other calls I made were to deal with an issue in my apartment. Texts were sent to mainly my sister and my friends and e-mails are something that I check often because I have been receiving so many lately. So, the number that corresponded with these activities did not shock me but instead helped me see just how many times I use my phone for these interactions. For my experience, my total interaction count was not comprised of mostly social media interactions but instead interactions that required me to speak to other people, both verbally and non-verbally, and interact with them on a technological platform.
You love your phone?
This assignment has helped me to see that technology is something that we have grown up with as another daily part of our lives. We don’t really know of a time where there wasn’t a piece of technology in our life. By having to take a step back and use *gasp* an actual pen and notebook (ludicrous, I know) I was able to fully realize my relationship with my phone. I do carry my phone around with my always but I am not on it most of the time that I have it. I carry it mostly for a sense of security, knowing that I could contact someone if I was in a serious situation. While at school I basically never touch my phone, other than to answer the occasional text message for my mom or a friend. When I am home, I use my phone to make that nightly call to my mom and then a few times in between that to catch up on the news, weather and my emails, and sometimes my social media accounts. I do enjoy knowing that I can always check my phone and be up to date on the latest happenings in the world, my school community and my personal and social life quickly but I do not feel that it is something I have to be checking up on for a majority of my time each day. I like to think that I have a healthy relationship with my phone and that I use it for practical reasons. I also like to think that I am someone who is an active part of the technological culture that our world has adopted.
I love my phone and I am not ashamed to say it. I don’t love it because it allows me to be in constant contact with my friends and lets me see everything about them, from their new car to what they had for lunch and what they thought about last night’s episode of How to Get Away with Murder. I love my phone because it brings the larger world, which I cannot reach myself, right to me. I can be a part of so much more than I ever thought I could. I can read news about what’s happening in Australia, watch a video recapping the presidential debate, look up a question I have while I am on the bus… all with one device. Who wouldn’t love something that can do that for you?
I love my phone because, as I have realized through this project, it helps me expand my reach on the world. Why do you love your phone?