On Tuesday, July 1, I woke up around 9:30 looking for my phone. I started to wonder if I had lost it and then I remembered that it was in my parents’ drawer due to my project. After I had showered and dressed, I moved on to work on summer math homework/summer reading homework. I felt way more focused because I wasn’t checking for alerts on social media or watching television. After working on those assignments up until about noon, I started working on a 350 piece puzzle that I had bought the other day. At first, I thought it would be very boring, but I actually ended up enjoying working on it throughout the day. Towards the evening a group of friends and I went to my school’s field to play soccer. While there, I kept thinking I had lost my phone as I repeatedly patted my shorts pocket. Before going to bed I read and actually finished the puzzle that night. It felt really accomplishing that I had finished this beautiful scene and I was excited to start a new one soon.
On Wednesday, my friend Nick and I decided to build our own bow and arrow out of PVC pipe. We went to Home Depot to get the necessary supplies, which was pretty cheap and went back to his house to start construction. In the car I told him I couldn’t listen to music and this is when I realized that my project was affecting others. This wasn’t a bad thing though. We were on the last step of attaching the rope to the other end of the bow, but it would not stay put no matter how much tape we used. Even though we didn’t fix it, we were very proud of ourselves because we had spent a good 2 hours trying to make it, even after failing on the first attempt. Later that night I went home and played some board games (Life and Scrabble) with my family. I couldn’t remember the last time we had sat down and played a board game. It was actually a lot of fun being together and having that bonding time. I plan on getting my family to do this more often. No technology was required.
On Thursday, I spent most of my day at the turf playing more soccer since I was missing the world cup. I was tempted to watch the match ups for the day, but I figured that I could just hear from a friend or learn about it later. After I came back home and did more summer assignments, I began my new puzzle. There were 500 pieces and I knew it would take me more time. I was ready for the challenge and I was eager to get started. This felt like the shortest day, probably because I was pretty tired after spending more than half of my day playing outside.
On the 4th of July, my cousins came and visited for the afternoon. It was a handful because I had to watch them and they are all under the age of 10. It was a long, hot day and I wanted to just relax and watch TV on the couch for a few hours. When they had first gotten to my house, I noticed right away that they were on their tablets playing games and messing with their different apps. They were so consumed that I had to convince them to go outside and have some real fun. We played some basketball and I taught them some other games. I also let them work on a smaller puzzle which they found pretty interesting. I realized if I had kids in the future, I would not want them to be in love with electronic technology like my cousins. That night the fireworks seemed to go on a lot longer than in previous years as I watched them from my neighborhood. It was fun to watch without the annoying text ringtone from someone’s phone.
July 5 was my last day of my detox and I think I could go an extra few more days. I went to a family reunion about 30 minutes away from my house. I brought Nick again because he didn’t have anything to do that day. I got to see all of my family that I haven’t seen in awhile and I had a pretty fun time. I noticed that many of my cousins were on their phones for most of the time and not interacting much. This is where I realized what technology has the potential to do. It was as if they were slaves to their phones, unable to put them down whenever they wanted, if they wanted. After the reunion, I went back to Nick’s house and we fished for the rest of the afternoon. I hadn’t been fishing for a long time and it was very relaxing. I then went back home and finished the other puzzle with some help. Again, when it was finished I felt that over-joyous feeling of accomplishment again.
Having no access to technology was a very different experience that I think everyone who is involved on social network or any current technology device. My project had an effect on everyone that was around me and I think my relationships improved due to this detox. I found myself to be more productive and I even slept better. Again it was a great experience and I think I’m going to try and incorporate one or two days into my weeks where I don’t use any technology. When it was over I felt like my technology usage was going to be shortened. I was right. I no longer checked my phone every hour for twitter updates or snapchats. Some of my friends said that the project sounded really easy, but when I encourage any of them to try it they somehow manage to find an excuse for not doing it. Before this project, I wouldn’t call myself addicted to social networking and technology, but if I was starting to get tempted to watch TV, it makes me wonder how would a teen who uses more technology than me act during a detox. I asked my sister to go at least a day without her phone and she gave me a look as if I were joking.
I am going to make a trailer for my video once I get a few more clips and I will probably release it sometime in the next 2 or 3 months. Stay tuned if you want to see the trailer and for updates on my progress on the documentary.
Today, I was welcomed to 
Tech Detox 