Opening Statement
My experience with this assignment can be described as tedious. Throughout the 48 hours in which I conducted this experiment I was forced to constantly interrupt the flow of my day to complete a log of my phone use. During this time, I was under a lot of stress due to multiple exams which is why the results speak for themselves. The results are listed in the next section.
Quantitative Results
Total Interactions: 18
Total Time Spent: 192 minutes or 3 hours and 12 minutes
Total Textual Interactions and Time: 2 for 10 minutes
Total Social Interactions and Time: 8 for 67 minutes
Total for Both Interactions and Time: 8 for 125 Minutes
Total of Each Activity:
- Twitter – 1/18 or 5%
- Social Media – 1/18 or 5%
- Facebook – 5/18 or 27%
- Text – 7/18 or 38%
- Vine – 1/18 or 5%
- Fantasy Football – 1/18 or 5%
- GroupMe – 2/18 or 11%
- Ordering Food – 1/18 or 5%
- Snapchat – 5/18 or 27%
The Activities Interrupted
- Hanging Out with Friends – 7/18
- Class – 4/18
- Studying – 2/18
- Driving – 1/18
- Television – 1/18
- Sleep – 1/18
- Lunch – 1/18
- Homework – 1/18
My Experience
The idea of logging my phone usage appeared bizarre when I first was introduced to the assignment. I did not understand the purpose of taking the time out of my day to log how, why and how much I was using my phone. The fact that I had to force myself to log this information in a notepad made it that much harder for me. As I would constantly forget that I was on my phone for a certain amount of time, or the fact that I was using my phone all together. However, I quickly overcame that and made sure every use was logged. Logging the activities interrupted was probably the best part about this assignment, because it showed me what my phone can distract me from. Although, the constraints of the assignment made things a little more difficult. I was challenged to communicate through paper to explain my cell phone usage. To make things even more difficult I needed to use the same two writing utensils to keep my log. The rules of this assignment forced me to engage with my log more than I would have if I kept it under my own terms. Being forced to use the same notepad and pen challenged me, forcing me to carry it around everywhere I go.
Looking back at my phone usage during this period, I saw that my sporadic phone logs accurately describe my phone usage. Even though I was using my phone much less than I usually do, as a result of studying for midterms, I can clearly see that I don’t pick my phone up many times. Instead, however, when I do pick up my phone it will be in my hands and in use for a good amount of time. Knowing this, one can say I am on my phone for to many minutes during the day. More importantly, I would like to note that I did not in any way force myself not to use my phone as a form of copout. However, due to external reasons I was unable to use my phone for long periods of time
. In order to address the amount of time I was on my phone, I can only say that I address my phone needs all at the same time. That means, from the time I pick my phone up to the time I put it down, I have achieved multiple tasks. These range from Social Media, to text, to even googling something on Safari. My vast experience with my phone and understanding of every feature allows me to perform these tasks in a timely fashion. Even though I still use my phone a lot more than I should, I still get things done faster due to my experience with the phone. One might even say I am digitally literate.
In closing, this assignment has taught me a lot about how I use my phone. It didn’
t take long to figure out that I am addicted to my phone. I use my cell phone for extended periods of time each day, and it takes away from other interactions taking place around me. Constant cell phone usage has been detrimental to my life. As a result I have become dependent on such things as texting or viewing social media. My vast usage has also effected how I act in public settings. When I am bored, alone or even having fun with friends, you can find me constantly checking my phone. This bad habit has had a negative impact on my life because now I always look to check my phone, no matter the situation. Cell phone usage can now be considered a staple in my everyday life.