revise

Danah  Darweesh    

Richard  Samuelson  

English  1102  

2/11/2016  

What  would  I  do  without  cell  phones  and  social  networks?  

  I  know  that  I  am  part  of  the  generation  that  has  grown  in  a  world  significantly  

dominated  by  the  internet  and  an  enormous  number  of  cell  phones.  Also,  I  use  internet  

mostly  in  social  networks  such  as  Facebook,  Twitter,  Instagram,  and  LinkedIn  among  

others.  I  also  know  that  I  cannot  stay  for  more  than  five  minutes  without  checking  my  cell  

phone.  Furthermore,  my  laptop  is  always  connected  to  the  internet  and  spends  most  of  my  

time  on  it  socializing.  I  also  know  others  who  are  much  used  to  the  internet  and  social  

network  more  than  me.  At  school  I  witness  thousands  of  students  who  spend  much  of  their  

time  texting,  Facebook,  emailing,  twitting,  Instagram,  receiving  phone  calls  from  others.  

Concerning  this,  I  contemplated  to  try  and  go  for  three  days  without  my  cell  phone.  

  One  day  while  rushing  to  class  I  did  wonder  what  we  would  do  without  cell  phones,  

the  internet  and  the  social  networks.  Thus,  I  took  the  time  to  study  people  behavior  at  

different  places  me  being  the  big  part  of  the  study.    I  started  to  think  what  would  I  do  while  

traveling  on  the  train,  while  in  a  cafeteria,  while  at  home  during  my  free  time  and  while  in  

class.  In  that,  what  would  I  do  instead  of  texting,  emailing,  and  Facebook  among  others  

during  these  instances?    

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  I  want  to  know  the  answer  to  this  question  because  I  think  the  society  has  changed.    

I  believe  that  the  society  has  become  less  face  to  face  socially.  I  know  that  I  spend  most  of  

my  time  conversing  with  friends  through  the  social  networks.  However,  I  think  I  am  a  less  

social  person  when  it  comes  to  face  to  face  communication.  It  is  hard  for  me  to  make  new  

friends  along  the  way  or  to  engage  in  a  conversation  with  a  stranger.  For  this,  I  think  I  

would  blame  technology  for  being  part  of  it  has  made  me  be  absorbed  by  the  trend  of  social  

networks  rather  than  the  face  to  face  communication.  Becoming  a  less  social  person  in  face-­‐

to-­‐face  communication  is  not  good.  It  is  because  a  face  to  face  conversation  is  more  

productive  in  many  ways  including  health  benefits.  

  I  decided  to  discover  how  society  mostly  college  students  were  technology  

dependent.  I  thought  of  a  statement  made  by  a  significant  lawyer  one  day  that  today’s  

lawyers  do  not  compare  to  the  old  ones.  Therefore,  hoping  to  become  an  economist  then  I  

realize  that  I  too  would  be  not  as  good  as  those  before  me.  It  is  true  that  I  am  more  

dependent  on  technology.  It  is  because  in  any  case  of  the  study  it  requires  one  to  have  a  

good  ability  to  communicate.  It  is  important  to  identify  that  when  all  factors  all  put  into  

consideration,  I  am  a  poor  communicator.  It  is  because  it  is  hard  for  me  to  make  new  

friends  through  face  to  face  communication.  It  is  unlike  few  decades  ago  where  my  

grandmother  was  in  college.  She  told  me  that  back  then  they  used  to  have  sessions  where  

people  would  meet  to  discuss  various  issues  surrounding  their  life.  The  group  discussions  

were  held  in  a  physical  place  where  each  person  would  give  his  or  her  opinion  concerning  

the  matter.  Nowadays,  we  have  developed  WhatsApp  groups,  Facebook  groups,  and  other  

social  network  groups.  Additionally,  there  are  classroom  walls  where  students  hold  a  

discussion.  However,  this  discussion  cannot  compare  to  face-­‐to-­‐face  discussions.  According  

to  Davison  (176)  the  openness  in  the  face-­‐to-­‐face  discussions  allows  for  the  introduction  of  

the  new  idea  that  may  be  outside  the  topic  being  discussed  and  they  would  be  more  

educating  or  entertaining  and  furthermore  enables  people  to  know  each  other  better.  

  So,  I  decided  that  I  would  go  four  days  without  my  cell  phone.  Thus,  it  meant  going  

without  checking  my  emails,  messages,  Facebook,  Twitter,  hence,  without  the  internet  

altogether.    I  had  duly  noted  that  the  internet  mostly  the  social  network  had  affected  my  life  

in  many  ways.  On  Monday  night  I  turned  my  cell  phone  off  and  unplugged  my  Ethernet  

cord  so  that  even  my  laptop  could  not  be  connected  to  the  internet.  I  was  willing  to  know  

what  my  routine  would  be  without  any  of  these  gadgets.    

  It  was  not  long  before  I  ran  into  my  first  obstacle,  every  morning  I  set  an  alarm  on  

my  phone,  and  I  have  no  other.  At  this  instance,  I  was  required  to  find  another  way  of  

setting  an  alarm  or  getting  up  early  to  go  to  start  my  busy  schedule.  I  went  looking  for  my  

old  watch  to  set  my  alarm  and  hoped  that  it  would  be  loud  enough  to  wake  me  up.  To  be  

honest,  I  did  not  sleep  well  since  I  feared  that  I  would  oversleep  and  late  for  work.  Luckily  it  

did  work  and  my  first  day  without  technology  began.  I  hurried  to  the  bus  station;  however,  

I  could  not  fail  to  notice  the  bare  feeling  without  my  phone.  Seated  in  the  bus,  people  were  

busy  with  their  phone,  no  one  was  talking  to  the  other/  I  was  the  only  odd  one  out,  so  I  

decided  to  great  my  neighbor.  However,  I  found  no  more  word  to  say  to  him  except  for  a  

simple  “hi.”    

  At  the  school  things  were  the  same.  It  was  unlike  the  way  I  am  used  to  checking  my  

Facebook,  poking  friends  and  texting  now  I  had  to  stay  a  different  way.  I  could  say  that  the  

day  seemed  very  boring  and  quite.  I  thought  of  going  to  the  library,  and  for  the  first  time  

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since  joining  college,  I  finished  all  my  homework  ahead  of  time.  For  the  first  time,  I  was  

searching  for  things  to  do  to  keep  myself  busy.  I  have  never  gone  to  the  pitch  to  exercise  

and  that  day  I  went  to  the  football  ground.  I  met  few  people  in  the  field  whom  we  engaged  

in  a  game;  this  was  a  unique  feeling  that  I  had  not  experienced  for  a  long  time.  I  know  that  I  

usually  have  no  time  for  news,  but  this  day  I  passed  by  the  television  room  watched  the  

news.  I  did  not  stay  long  not  only  because  I  did  not  want  to  violate  the  code  of  no  internet  

but  because  I  did  not  like  television.    

  It  is  important  to  note  that  I  was  required  to  meet  some  of  the  obligations.  Thus,  

when  I  needed  to  do  research  I  had  to  go  to  the  library.  Additionally,  when  I  wanted  to  

meet  with  a  person,  I  had  to  find  them  instead  of  texting  or  making  a  call.  For  the  first  time  

in  a  long  time,  I  had  to  write  notes  and  letters  to  people  who  I  could  not  find  quickly.    I  

realized  that  these  activities  were  time-­‐consuming;  unlike  the  emailing  and  texting  that  

were  full  of  conveniences  I  associated  technology  to  smooth  and  simple  life  that  was  

subjecting  us  (Szewczak  112).  In  that,  I  realized  that  today’s  technology  played  a  significant  

role  in  communication  even  in  the  case  of  face  to  face,  an  email  or  a  call  had  to  be  involved.  

The  time  I  used  to  fulfill  some  of  these  talks  was  much  long.  Thus,  I  realized  that  businesses  

could  not  wait  for  replies  on  the  bills  and  statements  for  the  day;  hence,  technology  eases  

this  communication.    

  By  the  fourth  day  of  my  experiment,  I  had  adopted  a  new  way  of  life.  Also,  I  had  

developed  a  new  perception  of  people  and  technology.  However,  family  and  friends  were  

annoyed  that  they  could  not  get  me  when  they  tried  to  call.  Even  though  I  was  okay,  the  

people  around  me  were  not  convinced.  It  struck  me  how  impatient  people  were  that  I  could  

not  communicate  with  them  for  only  four  days.    Identifying  that,  the  use  of  phones,  emails  

and  internet  contributes  significantly  to  people  lacking  patience  (Ha  &  Franklin  167).  

Hence,  I  could  associate  technology  to  the  fast  paced  and  demanding  life’s  that  we  live  

today.  As  I  surveyed  some  of  my  peers,  I  saw  that  they  could  not  stay  without  looking  at  

their  cell  phones.  On  questioning  some  of  them,  they  admitted  spending  more  than  an  hour  

on  the  phone  per  day.  The  majority  of  the  students  said  that  they  were  on  the  phone  for  

more  than  six  hours  per  day.  I  also  know  that  at  times  I  concentrate  more  on  my  cell  phone  

than  the  class  work.  

  I  could  say  that  engaging  in  the  study  enabled  me  to  agree  strongly  that  

communication  has  changed  due  to  technology.  For  those  days  I  stayed  without  technology,  

I  had  time  to  visit  people,  and  I  had  face-­‐to-­‐face  conversations.  Therefore,  in  many  ways,  I  

am  of  the  opinion  that,  I  communicated  better  without  technology.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  

part  of  the  generation  that  has  become  so  much  dependent  of  technology.    The  society  has  

become  very  impatient  since  we  want  to  live  a  comfortable  and  convenient  life.  

Furthermore,  the  fact  that  friends  and  relatives  were  angry  with  me  for  turning  away  from  

technology  indicates  that  one  has  to  accept  technology  to  be  accepted  by  the  society  in  

general.  

  In  conclusion,  I  identified  that  the  culture  has  merged  technology  and  

communication.  However,  I  wish  that  I  could  learn  more  about  technology  in  the  classroom.  

I  would  like  to  know  whether  technology  is  assisting  or  hindering  college  students  from  

becoming  more  learned.    Therefore,  identifying  the  extent  to  which  technology  should  be  

adopted  in  the  school  environment.    

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Work  cited  

Davison,  Chris.  Information  Technology  and  Innovation  in  Language  Education.  Hong  Kong:  

Hong  Kong  University  Press,  2005.  Internet  resource.  

Ha,  Louisa,  and  Franklin  N.  A.  Yartey.  "Smartphones  and  Self-­‐Broadcasting  Among  College  

Students  in  an  Age  of  Social  Media."  (2015).  Print.  

Szewczak,  Edward.  Selected  Readings  on  the  Human  Side  of  Information  Technology.  

Hershey,  PA:  Information  Science  Reference,  2009.  Internet  resource.