We talked in class Monday about what we would do if we didn't have our phones while walking back from class. This brings up a really interesting point. I mean, do you say hey to people? Do you zone out and ignore your surroundings? Do you count the seconds until you can get back to your phone? Or do you actually appreciate the break from technology?
It made me think about my NOLS trip during the summer of my sophomore year of high school. I went with a group of kids my age to go backpacking in the Wyoming wilderness for a month with no cell phones, no civilization (and no showers). That was one of the greatest trips of my life, and not once did I miss having a cell phone with me.
Granted, trekking through the Wyoming wilderness is a bit more exciting than our every-day lives, so it was easier to occupy my time with things other than texting.
But the minute we got back to civilization, however, my first priority was to go straight to my phone and start texting. I think that we like the idea of having a break from technology, but really that's all it is: a break. It's like when you go on vacation to the beach, maybe, and it's really fun for about a week or two, but then you kind of get tired of sand being everywhere, and smelling like the ocean all the time, and you just want to go back to your home and be in your own bed.
Our phones are a portal that connect us to others, and while that may be fun to get away from for a while, maybe just to take a little time to ourselves, we always end up coming back to them in the end.
This is a test.
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