Addiction. Distraction. Obsession. Necessity? These are the words that come to mind when I think about the electronic device that seems to consume much of my time. Cell phones have turned from phenomenon to necessity during this so-called “Information Age.”

            Despite the benefits of technological advancements, I can’t deny the anger I feel about how much time I spend in front of screens, particularly that of my Blackberry. When I wake up in the morning, before I go to sleep and plenty of moments in between, I can be caught with it sitting in my hands. The fact that I am a high school junior who feels the need to organize her life with such a complicated, expensive and somewhat “obnoxious” device became too much for me to handle a couple of months ago when I decided to go without my phone for five days. This stint of time may not sound long, but that’s all it takes to realize how difficult it is to function regularly  without a cell phone.

            Over the course of my undertaking, I adjusted to planning all of my activities in advance, mooching rides off of friends and enduring those awkward overpass moments, when a cell phone usually serves as the perfect deflector.

            Before I began the challenge, I alerted some of my friends that in order to reach me they would have to call my home phone, an act which apparently has become frightening and uncomfortable for most high school students. When I turned my cell phone on for the first time in five days, I was greeted by 20 text messages, 20 emails, various missed calls and BBMs (Blackberry messages). While the numbers initially shocked me, I came to realize that they were insignificant in comparison to the number of messages that I send and receive on a regular basis.

            Remarkably, a small percentage of students choose to go without their phones on a daily basis because they aren’t consumed by the craze. Although I occasionally forget my phone at home (both by accident and sometimes by choice), I am honestly not sure if I would be able to cut myself off from my phone altogether. Organization is key to my daily life and I’m not sure how easy it would be for me to simply revert back to a worn leather journal or even an outdated Palm Pilot.

            As much as we deny or accept it, technology is and will remain a part of how we live. Although I wish we didn’t rely on it so heavily, there isn’t much we can do to change the reality. Sometimes, however, it is liberating to turn off the device and simply tune into the patterns of a life without technology. Maybe we should all focus more on our surroundings and unplug once in a while.