By Chris Harlow, the Bolt
After severing ties with technology for an entire day, senior Chris Harlow recharges his spirits with his numerous electronic devices. Harlow was assigned a day “off the grid” after neglecting to pay attention to his journalism teacher. Technology is my passion. It is also my addiction. Rather, my incessant need for information is my addiction. Technology just feeds my craving. How did I become aware of this problem? I went “off the grid.” On Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011, I turned off my iPhone, shut down my MacBook Pro and unplugged the TV. I spent an entire day without technology — without the distractions of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, e-mail, text messages and all other modern technological inventions that consume time and attention. I even went so far as to turn off the radio that constantly plays in my room. It’s been months since I’ve sat in my bedroom in complete silence. It was awful. The idea to go “off the grid” came during journalism class one day when I was on my phone instead of listening to the teacher. She asked a question, and I was clueless to provide an answer. It wasn’t my decision to give up technology for a day, but my teacher’s — a consequence for letting my phone and the Internet interfere with real-life communication.
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