Technology and Me

As much as I hate technology, there is no way I could live without it. I rely on technology for everything, but I rarely ever realize I am doing it. I always have my phone and I google whatever answers I don't know. I call my mom and my sister at least three times a day each. Even if I don't have anything to say, I will call them just to say hi. I take for granted having a phone that will connect me to everything I want. I could not imagine growing up in a time without such advanced technology.

My first phone, the orange enV

I got my first phone the Christmas of seventh grade, an orange Verizon enV. I was the last of my friends to have one. I was always jealous of my friends, they could call and text each other every hour of every day. To get in contact with me they had to call my house phone and hope that I picked up. It was lame that I didn't have a phone for so long, but looking back on it now I really didn't need a phone.

My phone in 7th grade allowed me to get in on all the drama, gossip about people, and have my mom call me at 11:00 and ask me when I was coming home. When I would lose my phone or forget it at home, it was like the end of the world. I was attached to my phone, just because I finally had one. There was no reason I needed to be in contact with people all the time like I was.

As I got older, I became more and more dependent on my phone. Social media became more and more occurring, and it was right at the tips of my fingers. My freshman year of high school, when I first got a Facebook (again I was the last of my friends), I had the ability to scroll through my newsfeed and keep up with my 'friends'. When Twitter and Instagram came out years later, I too got one. I am always the last to get with with the social media, but I just as addicted as everyone else.

I wish I never got involved with social media. It is like one of those things that once you start, you can't stop. I would save so much time if I wasn't so obsessed with my phone and keeping up with social media. I think knowing that I am so reliant on my phone has helped me not be as reliant (if that makes sense). I make an effort to leave my phone in my room if I go to one of my friends room just so I don't use it all the time. I love using airplane mode on my phone. It does not allow texts, emails, or calls to come through, but you don't turn your phone off so you can still check the time. My phone goes on airplane mode when I workout, when I am studying, or when I am sleeping. Airplane mode allows me to lose contact from the world, even if its only for 20 minutes.

One great thing that I love about technology is the ability to stay connected. My cousins and I have a group chat, which all 20 of us write in just to let each other know what is going on. Most of the time we talk about stupid stuff (like yesterday we talked about what we were all being for halloween). It is nice to be able to talk to my cousins so easily. I could not imagine writing letters to them, and waiting for them to respond days later.

Even though I say I hate technology, I couldn't live without it. I don't know how people went to college without technology. I could not imagine writing papers by hand or looking up information in a book. If I was at college without technology, I would be so homesick. Technology is a double-edged sword.