Alone in the Wild: Technology Detox

Hi, all! This entry is a little different from others that I've done. The following is a copy of my camping/ technology detox journal from my Psychology of Addiction class. Anything in parenthesis has been added while preparing this for the blog. The rest is what I wrote throughout this three day journey. Enjoy :)

Day 1: hour 1

            The tent is put up and the air mattresses are kind of pumped up. So far I’m not hating life, but I’m so over the sweat. EW. I think I’ll be fine with the technology restriction. It’s the caffeine withdrawal I’m worried about. We’ll see.

Day 1: hour 2.5

            There. Are. Bugs. EVERYWHERE! Screw technology. I HATE CAMPING! I should get extra credit for effort.

Quote: “How do you keep two rats from fighting?

-        Couples counseling

Day 1: hour 5

            We found a beach!

            Just kidding. Still in the woods.

Day 2: hour 17

            I just woke up to the sound of an annoying bird and Kate’s voice. There are two reasons I wanted my phone this morning. 1) I have no idea what time it is. I just tried to read my watch without my glasses, so who knows. 2) I had a dream last night that I really want to tell a friend about. Other than those two reasons…oh no…just kidding. It’s my baby sister’s 18^th birthday today. I feel horrible for missing it. But! I’ll make up for it by SLAVING AWAY for her graduation party. Okay, it’ll be a good day. Time for me to go to the bathroom.

Day 2: time unknown

            I’m hot. I’m sweaty. I need a shower. Those are the only things I’m thinking about right now. Honestly, I’ve only really wanted my phone to take pictures. You know, pictures of us hiking. Pictures of us breaking the law. Pictures when Megan jumped over a seat in the van because someone found a tick on her face. This really isn’t so bad, though. Usually we’d still be in class around this time, so I’m okay without the technology. Ask me again later, though.

Tick count: 6….just kidding. 7

Day 2: hour 24

            Showers! Oh my gosh, I feel so much better. I’m not sure what I’ll do with all of this free time. Although, listening to Bre snore is very entertaining. I guess I can reflect on my life. Or nah… It’s not that I need my technology to survive. I’m just really bored. We’ll see how tomorrow goes when we’re back at school.

Day 2: hour 27ish

            I have a headache. This would be caffeine withdrawal, ladies and gentlemen. Honestly, today hasn’t been too bad. We just don’t have much to do. It’s too hot to play in the sun. It’s too hot to take a nap. So, we’ve just been sitting and talking all day. It’s nice to share stories. As far as technology goes, it really sucks not knowing what time it is.

            Recurring conversation:

-        “What time is it?”

-        “Oh, probably 3.”

-        *checks watch*

-        “Nope, only 1.”

So, basically I need to learn to follow the sun. We only have 17 hours left, but I’m still ready for some A/C and a shower that stays on longer than 15 seconds at a time. Also, I’ve used enough deet for my CHILDREN to never need to use any.

Tick count: 8ish….9

Things to do when I return:

-        Shower

-        Laundry

-         Smile at the air conditioning

-        Eat

-        Nap

-        Twiddle my thumbs because I have nothing else to do

-        Color a picture

-        Lay different ways on my bed to get a new perspective

-        Drink something full of caffeine

-        Roll around on the floor

-        Rearrange my closet

-        Send smoke signals for communication

-        Use actual silverware like normal people

-        Don’t sweat

Day 2: hour 30

            Well, I didn’t realize I was sunburnt until I just saw my face. Oops, oh well.

            There are so many things I could sit and think about. This could be why I have a headache. I’m still avoiding certain things. Oh life.

            That burnt marshmallow was lovely.

            Hmmmm….I’m starting to learn that these are my kind of people. It’s nice bonding and having a legitimate conversation about psychology. Nice.

Day 3: hour 42

            We broke camp so quickly and finally left. Honestly, I’m super impressed with my tent engineering ability.

            Okay, so to wrap up the trip;

            The tick count ended at 14. Between ones people found, picked off of someone else or screamed and ran from, that’s what I came up with

            A raccoon ate our bagels and muffins that were for breakfast. He used his baby hands to open a tote under the table. Joke is on him though because the cream cheese was locked in the cooler.

            To be completely honest, this was the best camping experience I’ve had. I’m still never going to do it again, but it served as a learning experience and I appreciate that.

            As far as being back goes, I can’t go anywhere near my desk, because that’s where I put all of my electronics. I’m staring at a blank television and it’s so quiet. I think the worst part about being back is that all of my roommates are gone. I went from being around 15 people for 3 days to zero. I’m not bored, because I have a lot to do. But, I’m trying to find some way to occupy my brain. Is it lunch time yet?

Day 3: hour 42.5

            Okay, now I’m bored. I’m not meeting anyone for lunch for another half an hour. I can’t text them to move up the time and I’m so hungry! Plus! I keep thinking of these questions that I want to ask Google, but can’t!

            Question 1: Is there DNA in earwax?

            Question 2: Why am I suddenly getting freckles?

            Question 3: How to do Morse code.

            Question 4: How did that stain get on the ceiling?

            Question 5: What does the radar show for today?

Also, I just realized that if I die in here, no one will find me for another two weeks! Great. I also just remembered that I had a dream about the difference between a flat billed hat and a regular cap.

            Hmmmm. I’m interested in hooking myself up to an EEG and seeing how things are working up there right now. I think my brain is starting to panic.

            I’m going to sit, look out the window and take a tally of people I know versus people I don’t. Ready? Go.

People I know: 38

People I don’t: 14

(This went on for an hour and a half)

*This is very “You just witnessed a mugging, John. That’s not normal.” John Nash- A Beautiful Mind. Bonus points for those of you who get the reference.*

Day 3: hour 48

            Lauren’s over and we’re bonding. It’s much easier to not be alone. Laundry is finished too, so that’s great.

            Okay, yes. I’ll admit. I did break. It was probably the worst thing I could have done. I just checked my texts. I didn’t respond! But, all of my apps had notifications.

-        6 emails

-        30 Facebook notifications (thanks, guys)

-        2 Facebook Messenger

-        10 Twitter notifications

-        7 app updates

Now, I just want to check all of my Facebook notifications. But, my phone is back off and in my drawer.

            Lauren and I just sat here and went through ALL of our family recipes. Now I’m hungry again and want cheeseball and Mom’s shrimp dip. Oy.

Day 3: hour 57

            Okay…I broke again. I was alone and bored and it’s too early to sleep! So, I just talked to mom on the phone for an hour and 3 minutes.

            I have, however, successfully avoided all social media and deleted my apps so I’m not tempted

            So….there’s that.

            I’m feeling the sudden technology overdose…which just makes me want caffeine. Gateway drug. What is life?

           

            I just spent time with some people and lost my mind. Humans! What are you?

            Also, here’s a list of things I do normally, but didn’t do while camping:

-        Eat when I’m bored

-        Over snack

-        Each when I should just go to bed

#likenow

Day 4: hour 72

            It’s 3 o’clock! I’m done! This whole journey was extremely eye opening. It is obviously not at all comparable to being in a rehab facility with a major addiction, but I get the point of the assignment.

            Being away with people who were also being restricted was easy. We had something to bond over. We really got what each person was going through. But, going back into the real world and back to regular habits, it’s so difficult to change. I had to avoid my spot on the couch so I wasn’t tempted to watch TV. I couldn’t keep my phone off. Even though I wasn’t texting people, it felt so much better to have it on me. Staying off of social media was so extremely hard when fun things were happening and I wanted to share it with everyone. Going to get food was also hard because everyone was on their phones.

            That’s the interesting thing. You’re at a table with all of your friends, yet you’re still looking down. Every time you look down, every time you’re Facebooking or tweeting about life, you’re actually missing your life. Living in the moment doesn’t mean telling everyone else about it. It means enjoying what’s going on right now. Stepping away from the technology and drama and television. Realizing you’re content and happy right now.

            I was listening to a podcast a while ago and they were talking about who we are without technology. If you were to take away all of your social media and technology, who are you? Are you the person who is going out of their way to impact the lives of others while bettering your own? Are you the person who is waiting to tell the world about everything you did today to receive that small bit of affirmation? It’s interesting to think about.

            I’m not saying that I’m going to go out and throw away all of my electronics and never use any social media again. But, I will start thinking about whether it’s necessary to pull out my phone when my friends are all together or to sit and watch YouTube instead of spending time with people. In the end, do you want to be the guy who had 1,000 Facebook friends or the guy to made a difference in just a few people’s lives? I challenge you all to think about that.

Smile always,

e.