After the Challenge

The Tech-Free challenge was more tedious than I had anticipated. This was mostly because I discovered that battery powered clocks are a portable technology, and therefore I was forbidden to look at them during the challenge. Not being able to use clocks did "drastically alter” my lifestyle, which I did not expect would happen with this assignment. I did not think that I would be pushing myself as much as I did, mostly because not using clocks was nearly impossible. I also went to our restaurant right before the end of the challenge, and had to sit staring at my food for 20 or so minutes until 6:00 P.M (when the time for the challenge was up), just in case not eating at restaurants was one of the rules of level four. I suffered more than I needed to in the challenge and obsessed over it like I do everything else. This is what made the challenge more difficult than I expected. Other than that, I faced most of the challenges that I knew I would face during the Tech-Free time, like constantly forgetting that I could not use my E-mail. My dependency on technology for homework was an issue like I predicted, one example being that I had to go without calculators on my math homework, and multiply fractions using only paper and pencil. I also wanted to E-mail my chemistry teacher because I believed I had found a major flaw in my lab. I restrained myself, however, and E-mailed her after the challenge. I was surprised in general at how much I assumed I could get from the internet or from another person through E-mail. I was so dependent on the idea of the computer being able to answer all my questions. Because of my deficiency in cooking skills, I also anticipated the problems I had in making lunch on Saturday. For a while I ate nothing at all, but then I problem-solved (with help from my mom) to heat up pasta on the stove.

At least for the first night of the tech-free challenge, I felt generally unhappy. I was more absorbed in my work than I would be if I were using technology. This was an adverse effect because I thought that disconnecting from technology might disconnect me from school, or even relax me, like when I am vacationing in Maine. Apparently the technology is not so much the problem. During those tech-free hours, I was not as happy as I usually am partially because I did not have that small outlet of receiving E-mail or slumping in front of the television as a way to let go of everything for even a few minutes. This could also have been because I was so stressed over doing the challenge “right,” and therefore quite obsessed with the idea of not using technology. I also did not have the clock to monitor how much time I spent on everything. These feelings were something I did not expect, and they made me realize that I rely on technology for a release more than I had suspected. I also realized that it is hard to experiment with not using technology on a school assignment since it makes the experiment itself quite stressful.

I wish I had thought to ask whether we were able to use clocks before the challenge. Once the challenge had already begun, I could not exactly E-mail my teacher to ask her that question, and it was very obnoxious to complete homework not knowing how much time I spent on each assignment. Other than that, there is not much that I think I should have thought about. I would not have wanted everything to be perfectly planned out, because the authenticity of this experiment would be lost. For instance, it was an effective choice not to have completed my math homework or all my chemistry homework before the challenge, because it showed me the problems I would face in not using the calculator.

My life would become quite different if I continued this challenge for a week or a month. There is no great effect if I do not check my E-mail for 24 hours; I can always read E-mails later in the weekend. If I stopped having this kind of connection for a long time, however, I would have to stop my asking of questions over E-mail to my teachers. Perhaps this would force me to become more independent, and more often accept that coming into school without the right answer will not completely ruin everything. More likely I would ask a lot more questions in school and be certain that I understand every part of the assignment before I got home. Going without technology for a longer period of time would also mean that when I want to get in touch with someone I do not know, I would have to call them, rather than using the E-mail address from their website. I am so used to slipping off an E-mail, safe in the knowledge that I have made an effort to contact someone and further my work, but leaving it up to them to respond. It is much more comfortable for me than having to construct a conversation with a stranger. My use of books would also increase if I had to go without technology for a long time, since there would not be a way to access information using the computer. I would likely use people more as resources as well, talking to my parents and depending more on their answers than before. As far as food, I would probably need to learn to prepare food more easily since there would be no microwave to heat up last night’s dinner. It could also mean my parents would not preserve as many leftovers, because it would be more tedious to heat them up, and they could go to waste.

I learned from the challenge how dependent on technology I really am, and this mostly relates to E-mail or Internet. Checking E-mail has become a physical need, and I automatically think of the computer when I want to get to answers. These are reasons why I am in front of the computer so much, just in case I need to check on a fact, do some research, or see what Mr. Neal has posted on his homework website. I think of E-mail as actually doing homework because people could E-mail me for junior internships or about colleges. I am addicted to the way that technology helps me work more efficiently, and ensure the correctness of the work that I do. In contrast to this, I also learned that my dependency on technology is a way for me to relax in some circumstances. When that tiny bit of relaxation (mostly receiving E-mail) is taken away for 24 hours, it does affect me. The need to go online or to E-mail people is certainly upsetting, and it is starting to make me feel like a machine, however, taking technology away did not impose any kind of peace on my life or make me any less stressed about my work.

From the way I felt during the challenge, I wonder if this challenge was really a fair test of how lack of technology affects me. Because there was homework to do, and no technology to relieve me from it, I was stuck doing work for most of the challenge. Maybe in order to really observe what it would be like to live without technology, I would have to do away with homework, too. Otherwise, my homework seems to block everything I could have gained from the peacefulness of not having technology.