Challenge 1
Is this the best time to get bored and brilliant using the insulation produced by COVID-19? It really seems as if we could use our new-found independence to strike gold and build the next billion-dollar idea, but to be frank, in times like these it seems difficult to get away from technology. Zomorodi's main goal in her book is for us to understand our digital behaviors and seek to become a safer and more conscientious user of technology. She sets out tasks to strengthen our ways of using technology and day one is about self-observation. I've taken note of my digital habits over the past two weeks and it's gone up dramatically, but can you blame me? As COVID-19 spreads in the U.S, I want to be educated and many important discussions are being shared about the virus, but I do realize it comes with a cost as ignorance is spreading but the unparalleled level of real-time information on our hands can both give us the resources we need to make wise decisions but it also make us more anxious of what is to come. I know everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. I know some people who have family employed in healthcare at this time and their only way to connect is via their devices, I also know some people who usually seek to take a break from their smartphones to avoid listening to the panic created by covid-19. I have had friends telling me they're still sick of being home with their families, so they're purposely more involved with their smartphones, so I thought it was important to check in and see where each degree of contact with your phone has been over the last few weeks.
Challenge 2
Perhaps the toughest task for me was the day two challenge which was to stop using your devices while you're on the move. If you're walking, driving or waiting in a hallway, don't surrender on the urge to pick up your phone, which means no podcasts, no music, nothing. This is particularly hard when you begin to understand that you are using your phone all the time, even though it is not actually physically. Currently, when I'm working out, I use my phone to listen to music and let me tell you how hard it is to get into "beast mode" without your tracks getting you inspired. I always drive to Seguin very frequently, and that's where I love to listen to my podcasts, but when I was challenged and couldn't listen to my podcast, my brain wandering so often. It was not always a positive thing because driving was so natural that I forgot that I was operating a vehicle, actually. It's been interesting to see where my thoughts can take me and how everything I think about interacts with each other but not getting one thing to concentrate on really leads my brain away.
Challenge 3
My third challenge seemed easy and very quiet, yet I deceived myself. What we had to do was go to a public setting and spend some time watching and listening without any electronic gadgets, paying enough attention to where you are such as the people, sounds and smells. The intention was to relax your thoughts and excite your imagination, but I might have done the opposite with my choice of where to go. Without my cell, I decided to go to the HEB and get my groceries with my written-out list like the old fashion way. It was really fascinating because I've seen the various ways people struggled to deal with the pandemic and now more than ever it's easy to feel like we need our smartphones with us, but too much exposure to virus media reporting may lead to this increased feeling of anxiousness. I feel like we should try to be respectful and understand each other in times like these, but all the people I observed were simply very rude and perceived others as walking hazards. Yeah, you need to take care of yourself and be vigilant, but there are ways to do that and still be kind. I also heard a lot of people joking about covid-19 which didn't really offend me because I know that's how some people are dealing with it, particularly the younger generations. I heard a guy say that HEB couldn't restrict how much he can buy because they don't know how much he can consume, so when his own basket was loaded to the top it was amusing to see how he was making fun of others and how social media is really changing the way society is reacting to the COVID-19 outbreak. Humans take signals from other humans, and if they see other people talking about their fear-buying they may be more likely to fear-buy, this comes from seeing a troubling pattern where similar actions caused by fear and panic. Technology is extremely helpful in my view, but it can do a lot of damage too that's why we need to be mindful of how we associate with our devices.
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