I gave my College Comp II course an option: either write a standard research based response to Stephen Johnson's Everything Bad is Good for You, OR they could choose to surrender their cell phones to me for 24 hours and write about what it was like to be cell free.
All but two chose the latter option.
When I saw several of my students at football practice, they mentioned how they kept checking their pockets for their cell phones only to remember that they had left them under lock and key in my room.
To be fair, I stole this idea from the introduction to Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death.
I didn't expect so many students to jump at the chance to not write a standard research paper . . . especially when it meant giving up their cell phones. But it wasn't even close.
"You mean we don't have to write a paper," one student said. Just to be clear.
"No," I said. "You have to write a paper. You just don't have to use sources. This paper can be a personal essay."
"So what are we supposed to write it on?" Another asked.
"Well, you could chronicle what life is like without your cell phone. You could write about all the things you found difficult about giving up your phone. You could write about something you did instead of text or talk on your phone that you haven't done for years, or at least since you got your phone. You could decide to do some unheard of things . . . read a book, have dinner with your parents at the dinner table, talk on a land line, get outside and walk around and look at the beauty of nature, or actually talk face to face with someone. Then write about what that was like."
And then I watched the cell phones poor in.
(of course, I wanted to have a little additional fun with my kids on Friday - the day they were due to get their phones back, so I talked to our principal and he agreed to pretend sub for my class. You see I've missed quite a few class sessions with ultrasound appointments, staying home with Kenzie, or for football, so often times the students will show up and I'm not there. So I thought it would be funny to pretend to be gone - and make them worry that, with MEA break looming, they wouldn't get their phones back until Monday - or later. I sat in the computer lab adjacent to my room and peaked in from the window in the lab into my room to see their reactions as they spotted Mr. Zutz filling in for me and saw my sub notes on the board. I had a few begin to circle my desk hoping to spot their phones. But I had to walk in and laugh at their nervousness. And some were sweating bullets).
Students definitely thought it was easier said than done.
Here are some observations from their papers, which I'm thoroughly enjoying.
"The first thing I notice while being phone-less was that I had no just gotten rid of an incredibly HUGE distraction in my life. Even throughout the rest of third hour I had caught myself feeling for my phone in my pocket. I literally had nothing better to do than pay full attention in my classes because I had nothing to constantly check. I was completely engaged, as much has I hate to admit it."
"I have never even turned my phone off before . . . As soon as I heard myself say this aloud I knew this was going to be a lot harder 24 hours than I expected."
"It is so foreign trying to read a clock that is not digital. It takes me a full ten seconds to read the time. I really miss just pulling out my phone to check the time . . . What is with this consistent urge for my generation to post random information on Facebook? At the time, posting it seemed like a good idea, but right now reading it again all I can think is why would anyone care?"
"As I walked into College Composition II and didn't see the pones on top of the cabinets, my heart skipped a beat. When I finally got my phone back, I was euphoric."
"I walked to the Public Library during my free block and dropped off a book. While at the library, I went on Facebook to see what was going on and to see the new senior pictures (**^ had finished and updated to my album. Then, I went back to the school and studied in the library until school was out." People still visit the public library. Awesome! Though I have to admit that when I was in college, I was there quite often. But I haven't set foot in the place for ten years or so now.
"It was peaceful to get rid of my phone, and the best thing that happened was watching an entire movie straight through without any distractions . . . We had just received Shutter Island through the mail, and I watched it the night that I didn't have my phone. The movie was amazing and blew my mind, but I didn't have my phone to tell my friends that my mind had been blown. I went to my computer and went on Facebook and messaged them on there instead. I am such a Millennial."
"Giving my phone away that day was a lot easier than I had imagined. Actually, right after class I was driving home singing to the radio when I realized there was a sudden calmness to my life. For the first time since I was sixteen, I was able to just sing and focus on the road. I found myself not having to look down in my pop holder every ten seconds to look for that most important illuminating red light on my Blackberry."
". . . I found myself reaching into my pocket to check any messages; however, there was nothing there to satisfy my boredom. I found myself wondering how to get a hold of anyone at all, and I once had to use the home phone to call my friend. Someone even asked the number of another friend, and I was about to check when I realized just what I had done. For whatever reason, this phone that I have only known for a couple of months had become engrained in my life." Whatever happened to remembering phone numbers? I bet I can tick of ten of my friends from high school and their old home numbers. Now that they are all grown up - and we tend to stay in touch texting or on Facebook - I don't know a single number or address!
"It actually wasn't that dramatic. Well, for some people, it may have been, but I like to think of myself better than those typical millennials who can't function without a phone in their hands. The first thing we did before class even started was turn in our cell phones, obviously, so that Mr. Reynolds could watch us squirm the rest of the hour. I felt kind of empty without my phone. I remember drifting away from discussion, thinking about what to do with no school next week. Shopping in Grand forks sounds fun. I should text (*&^ and see if she wants to . . . oh wait. I can't. Not having one made me want to use it even more."
"I also believe that phones take away from quality family time at nights, especially when it's a central part of a persons' life . . . When I get home, the first thing I do is go to the kitchen and talk to my mom or dad about my day or about something good that happened. I make a concerted effort to show them that I genuinely care about them. I sometimes find myself texting or looking at my phone when my parents are talking to me, and I feel guilty every time I catch myself doing it." A great point. I think I would have been just like this student.
"Since I didn't have my phone, I was forced to go onto my computer at home to check my Facebook. It was actually kind of funny because I had forgotten where the friend's button was on the computer version because I was so used to my mobile version. While I was on the computer I figured I would check my email which I hadn't done in forever since I no longer receive notifications on my phone. I signed into my Hotmail account and bam! I had 350 emails to check."
"The very first thing, and probably the worst thing about not having my phone, was that I never knew what time it was. It sounds really dumb, but there were multiple times where it baffled me that I didn't know the time." That reminds me of being in high school and cruising around with my friends. If none of us had a watch (and the good old Skylark didn't have a digital clock), we had to periodically cruise by the drive through bank to see the time!
It appears most just observed the inconvenience that not having their phones wrought upon their lives. Maybe next time I'll go for over a weekend or a whole week. Then maybe they'd see a real change in their routines or behavior. Maybe I could even shoot for a day totally technology free. How interesting would that be!
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