I love my phone. I use it for capturing endless moments, an outlet for my voice, for posting and sharing my memories. However, it can be consuming, and oftentimes, overwhelming. For instance, I will occasionally get that feeling of major FOMO: “fear of missing out.” So, when I see people going out to these extravagant places, I tend to get a hint of jealousy. That is the whole reason for me writing this article. It is a holiday weekend, and all of my friends went away on vacation, while I was stuck at home doing homework. So, I decided to challenge myself. This challenge called for one weekend, and no phone. The rules included: I could still use my phone to text my family and friends, but no passive scrolling, no posting, no reposting.Â
I will not lie, this challenge was hard. It has become such an imprinted habit to passively scroll any living chance I get. However, I realized I was able to have a much more productive weekend, and I was able to connect more with my environment and be more “in the moment.” For instance, on Saturday midday, my mother and I took a short trip to a farm and hand picked our own bucket of flowers. These flowers were beautiful; they were of all different variations, and the field was something out of a Disney movie. I knew that if I had not left my phone in the car, I would have definitely been more focused on making that Instagram-worthy picture instead of focusing on the moment and which flowers I wanted to bring home.Â
That realization that I was able to get more out of an insignificant event by simply not using my phone was what sat with me that entire day. I learned that, personally, there are so many joys in life that can be sucked up out of their goodness by being too focused on our devices than the actual joy. We can miss out on all the valuable and precious moments life has to offer.Â
I do acknowledge, however, why people take photos of everything and anything. I acknowledge why people post it. I believe there is another beauty in saving that moment; we are able to look back on that moment with real evidence to look back on that memory. We share these memories so others can live through it with us. I personally believe that posting these things not only gives us an outlet, but also a sense of community, because we are able to share our life in a way we would not be able to without the help of posting features on social media. Others are able to share their love for something, they are able to interact.Â
However, I agree just as equally that there is something so raw in having that moment to ourselves. To be able to think, I loved the assortment of the reds, pinks, and purple flowers I picked with my mother in mid October. That moment wasn’t drowned by others interacting with it. It was a memory that just my mother and I shared. That made it all the more special.Â
I encourage others to do this same challenge. Pick a day. A weekend. Really any point in time, and try your best (key word try, because I certainly did try) to go without your phone. That means, not passive scrolling. No posting. No capturing of moments. Just do it. Then ask yourself: how connected did you feel with your environment? And were you able to experience more out of what you were doing that day?Â
Life is filled with beauty. Allow our eyes to be the only lens that captures life’s precious moments just once.Â