I tried to go 24 hours without my smartphone

We live in a world of technology. As college students, we’re on our laptops every single day doing schoolwork and browsing Facebook.

We waste our free time watching Netflix, and can you imagine not being able to order pizza online at 3am?

But out of all these wonderful innovations, our most beloved technological devices are definitely our smartphones.

Whether you’re team iPhone or team Android, it’s pretty much a guarantee you have your phone on you at all times. We are constantly texting, tweeting, blogging, calling or FaceTiming, to the point where cell phones have become a significant part of every aspect of our lives.

Of course, we don’t need cell phones. People went without them for the entirety of human history up until our lifetimes, and only in the past 10 years have they become such a necessity.

But for us, the college kids who’ve used phones for years, how difficult would it be to go without them for an entire day? Pretty easy, you think?

The Tab wanted to find out.

Starting Friday morning at midnight, I put down my cell phone and tried not to use it for the next 24 hours.

Here’s a day in the life of a college girl without the use of her smartphone.

9.15am

I had to use my phone as my alarm clock, because I realized I had no other option. It’s clearly going well so far. When I turned off the alarm, I noticed two texts from my boyfriend, neither of which I could open. Sorry babe.

9:20am

I usually listen to music while I get ready for class, but without the use of my phone, I was forced to get ready in silence. Putting on makeup is just not the same without Beyoncé telling you you’re flawless.

9:50am

Walking to class without headphones in is a bizarre experience. I don’t remember the last time I actually heard the buzz of class change, instead of one of my Pandora stations. Weird.

11:00am

After my first class, I did what I do every Friday: eat Chick-fil-A in the bottom of Lenoir. Thank God I brought my laptop, because without the use of my phone, what else would I have done while I ate? Studied? Done homework? Is that what a world without cellphones looks like?

11:15am

This is approximately when I remembered my MacBook has iMessage. Is it cheating if I text from my laptop? I decided it wasn’t and responded to messages from my boyfriend, roommate and another friend. I felt kind of guilty, but it wasn’t technically against the rules.

12:10pm (I think)

Walking to Spanish, I learned another major disadvantage of not having a cellphone – never knowing the time. I don’t even own a watch anymore, and when walking to class, the time is usually very important.

Am I late? Am I five minutes early? Who knows. I’ll find out when I get there, I guess.

2:45pm

I was about to leave to visit a friend at NC State when I remembered I would have no GPS capabilities. I generally know how to get around Raleigh, but she’s in a new apartment building and I’m terrible at directions.

It was because of this that I did something no one has done since 2009. I used MapQuest.

Getting somewhere is a lot harder without Siri telling you to turn in an exact number of feet, but I got there nonetheless.

3:25pm

Upon arriving at my friend’s apartment complex, I realized I had no idea where I was going. I had no clue which building she was in, and I couldn’t text her to tell her I was there.

So, I broke the rules. I pulled my phone out of my purse and I called her. I would never have survived the 90s.

4:15pm

Because we were in Raleigh, of course I wanted to go to Cook Out. I got a tray and a milkshake, which were fantastic, but I couldn’t even brag about them on my Snapchat story. So what’s the point?

My friend and I spent the rest of the evening baking cookies, playing Sims and Pinteresting our lives away. When I had nowhere to be and no one I needed to talk to, not having my phone wasn’t too bad.

At midnight, I was finally able to use my phone. It was still pretty much charged from the night before and I had over 50 notifications from phone calls, texts, GroupMe, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

In one day, I learned just how much I rely on my smartphone in my everyday life. Every second of potential boredom is usually filled with scrolling through social media, and I am constantly in communication with a multitude of people.

Living in this technological world is certainly a blessing. The ability to be so connected with the world around you is invaluable, and certainly something to be thankful for.

While it was nice to reconnect with my life without the distraction of an iPhone screen, my sabbatical from my phone is definitely over. Time to check Instagram.