Thoreau Challenge: Day 6

Going a week without using technology is extremely difficult. By day 3 I already wanted to quit, but I knew quitting wasn’t what I had signed up for. As I mentioned before, two of my good friends came to Shippensburg to visit me for the weekend. Luckily, they kept my mind of technology and I managed just fine for those two days and then Monday came. It was so hard not to call home to talk to my family about my weekend and ask them about theirs, especially since we passed Valentine’s Day. I really miss talking to them! I can’t wait to finally be done with this challenge so I can catch up with everybody from back home. Not only do I miss using my cell phone, I miss watching TV and using the computer. Monday night was very difficult for me because the Bachelor, one of my favorite shows, was on and I missed out on watching it with my friends. Same happened with Glee on Tuesday night. I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be until I was actually living without it. Another thing that is different is all the silence. I feel like my room is so boring with it constantly being so quiet. It actually allowed for me to catch up on sleep.

As much as it hard to use my cell phone, the computer, etc. I am fortunately getting ahead in all of my classes. I ended up doing a lot of “catch up” reading that I had wanted to get done for upcoming exams.  I didn’t realize how distracting technology could be when you use it. When I just sit down and do work without the TV on or music playing, I get a lot more done. As far as “down time”, I whipped out Monopoly and Backgammon and me and my boyfriend (who is also doing the challenge) played many games of it so far. It’s a shame; those are the only two games we have. Let’s just say, I won’t want to play board games in a long time.  Being stuck in the room without being able to use technology is hard. Me and my boyfriend couldn’t take much more of it so we decided to go shopping. We ended getting goldfish which have been entertaining me the past couple of days. How sad is this? I am extremely bored without using technology! I can’t wait until its Friday and can get back to checking Facebook and getting a hold of everybody. I made it this far, I can’t quit now!

Thoreau Challenge: Day 1

Today I started my “Thoreau Challenge” and it’s going well so far. I do admit, it is hard not to get on the Facebook page while I’m on the computer right now, but I won’t. I didn’t realize how much I used technology until today. I am usually constantly listening to music or watching TV, and without being about to do it is very difficult. I think this challenge will be good for me. It will help me understand that technology isn’t everything and I can surely live just fine without it. I wanted to start on a Friday so it makes it a little easier on me because on weekends I surprisingly use less technology than I do during the weekdays anyhow. It’s also going to help that a couple of my best friends are coming to Shippensburg this weekend so that’ll take my mind of the temptation of texting them or getting on the computer. So far what I’ve done all day is, get ready without listening to music which was very peaceful. Usually I can’t stand the silence and need the TV on or my iTunes playing, but it was nice to actually just get ready in silence. I had already called my family to inform that that they wouldn’t be hearing from me all week because of this assignment. I also told my other friends to try not to text me this week unless it was an emergency so I don’t feel the need to text back. And as for TV, I realized I will be missing some of my favorite shows this week which will be extremely difficult. Every week I get so excited to watch them and this week it will be sad to being playing a board game or something else instead of watching. I will get over it.

This challenge is very eye opening. It’s sad to realize how much technology affects my life. Maybe more people need to take this challenge so they realize the same. I don’t exactly know what I’m going to do with myself all week as far as technology goes, but sometimes it’s exciting trying to figure out how to entertain myself without it. I can definitely catch up on some reading for my classes and start studying for upcoming tests which will help me. This challenge will benefit me in a lot of ways. I can live “normally” without all of the noise that goes on in my life everyday typically. As long as I’m with my friends and visit my family, I’ll be fine. They’re what matters most anyway. It also helps that my boyfriend is on campus and is also doing this challenge. We will help each other and find other things to do that could be just as fun as using technology. This week will be rough, but I don’t have any doubts that I won’t be able to get through it. I think the hardest part will be the temptations of wanting to use electronics or technology or trying to find something other to do that could be fun. With my friends visiting this weekend, I know I will be occupied at least during that time. After the weekend, I don’t know what I’ll be doing. I guess I’ll let you know where I’m at!

Life Without Technology

“Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry” (Thoreau).  I strongly agree with this quote. I think Thoreau makes an excellent point. I think we become starving for many things such as technology, bad foods, and bad life styles. Americans become starved before they become hungry. We don’t just think we want something, but we think things like Facebook and cell phones are a necessity. We couldn’t live without it. We get to the point where if we haven’t checked our cell phones or the internet in twenty minutes, we go through withdrawal. It’s sad. I don’t believe technology is more important than my friends or family. I don’t think technology should be such a “craving” for people as much as it is. I think people should be more focused on the important things in life. I think people need to be isolated from what they think makes them “starving” such as the cell phones, TV, computer, etc. During this process I think people will begin to understand life in a different way. Being away from those types of things could allow a person to find who they really are and get connected to the important things in life rather than being connected so much with technology.

If I had to live in a cabin in the woods like Thoreau did, I think I would enjoy it. I think it would be fun to try and come up with ways to have a good time without music or other technology. I would have to admit, it would be difficult because I do have a habit of always texting somebody, listening to my iPod, or going online, but it would be different and exciting. For one year, I could get use to living “normally” and away from all the noise. I could really get to know who I am and figure out what I would do with myself if I really didn’t have the things I use such as electronics and other technologies.  I would really enjoy it if I could be with my family and friends while I was in the cabin, because I can openly admit that I couldn’t live without them. The other things, I could give up in a heartbeat, but not the most important people in my life. With them, I think spending a year in a cabin would be easy. When I say easy, I mean that the “craving” for the things Americas think are important wouldn’t exist.

Americans have the wrong idea if they think getting wrapped up in video games, internet, and other things is the way of life. Sometimes we need to just step back and look at what we think are our most worldly possessions. Is it going to be the things that shouldn’t matter or the things that do? I think for a lot of people, reality would choose the things that shouldn’t matter and it’s wrong. Going hiking, playing board games, enjoying nature might sound boring, but if more people tried it maybe they’d like it. The thing is, I think people are so use to their electronics and other technologies, they don’t even know what other fun they could have. The family in the beginning of the Lasn text went on a camping trip and they all hated it. I don’t think they even gave it a shot. They just thought about the things they didn’t have with them or thought about doing the things they wanted to be doing such as talking on the phone or getting online. They had each other and I think that’s enough to have a good time. The characters in the Anderson text were so wrapped up in the feed that they didn’t know how to live without it. We depend so much on technology today. So much that we forget how to live without it. Sometimes we need to just give life without technology a try.

Dumb or Dumber

“Fair enough, but we suspect that if young people don’t know the Bill of Rights of the importance of old COLORED ENTRANCE signs—and they absolutely should—it reflects not stupidity, but a failure of the school system and of society (which is run by grown-ups) to require them to know it.” (Bauerlein)  Our generation doesn’t know near as much as people in earlier generations do in particular subjects. Our generation doesn’t know all parts of history, but we can recall most of the pop culture that we see and hear about today. This isn’t shocking. I think most of the people in this generation will be taught something, memorize it, be tested on it, and forget it because it doesn’t pertain to us. The information that we learn only matters when it comes to test time when dealing with a particular subject. I’m not saying I agree with this, but that’s reality. This generation is more focused on different things such as going on the internet or watching TV. Earlier generations didn’t have these types of tools so they read more books for their studies or as a pastime. Because our generation has access to the internet and television, we become more interested in that because it’s faster than going to a library, looking for a book, and taking the time to read it for the information we need. Also, the internet and other sorts of technology could benefit us such as helping us find cures for cancer or other diseases that are so common in our world. Since we are so equipped in using technology more so than earlier generations, we can help people out. Technology is more of interest to us than history, so therefore we are going to know more about it. Because we like to use the internet to find fast facts or not having a particular interest in something doesn’t necessarily makes us “dumb”.

I think our generation is smarter in different ways than other generations. We are going to know more about electronics and technology more so than the earlier generations. We are creating and inventing things to make life “easier” in a sense. Even in schools, they will have the TV on before class to show recent updates or they will have the iPads for students to do their research on, instead of enforcing reading and going to the library. We are more equipped in finding out information on our own through the internet than having it tucked away in our brains. We will learn about something and forget it very easily because we are involved in so many other things that earlier generations didn’t have the option to. Teachers don’t reinforce facts so the students can retain it, but rather make sure their students know what they need to for a standardized test so it doesn’t look bad on them for not teaching it. We aren’t necessarily at fault here. And if people think that we are the dumbest generations, what are they going to say about generations to come?

Bauerlein states that anyone under thirty is the dumbest generation. I don’t think that’s fair in any sense. Comparing us to a beauty queen isn’t right. She probably cares more about her looks and her desires more than who fought in World War I.  Not everyone in this generation is like that. I would give credit to many people in our generation for how intelligent they really are. Everyone has different interests, so that could mean they aren’t going to know everything about history, but they may know a lot about science. Usually if you’re interested in something you’re going to retain the information and you’re going to want to learn more about it. It’s sad that more people don’t know what happened in history, but that could mean they are more interested in other subjects. In high school, history was probably the most boring subject for everyone. Everyone dreaded the history classes. I was one of them. I’m not saying the class wasn’t important because it very much is, but other things interested me more. I have more the love for science, but I still care about what happened before my time. The past affects our future and it’s very important to know the facts of history. We are where we are now because of what happened in history. I agree and disagree with Bauerlein when he says that we are the dumbest generation because we don’t know everything there is to know about history, but we should know the major things. I do think there are many people in this generation that are very smart. I can admit that there are people that don’t even know facts that you commit to brain at an early age that everyone should know, but they might be smarter in a different interest and we shouldn’t make them feel “dumb” if they don’t’ know who the speaker of the house is. Everyone’s different. It’s not fair to generalize our whole generation as “dumb”.

American Consumption

 “Our culture has evolved into a consumer culture and we from citizens to consumers.” (Lasn pg 63) American consumption is a major theme in both the reading and the clip. In the American culture, consumption is very common and we have all (unfortunately) turned into consumers. The facts and statistics are startling. Americans are so addicted to consumption because they are never really satisfied. Consuming can be very dangerous and can ruin a person’s life. In the clip, video games were expressed as a bad addiction. They are taking all of the life and energy out of many people. For some, it became so addicting that they would game instead of sleeping, eating, or exercising. We, the Americas are the consumers, but some things consume us. As stated in the reading, the internet, the television, and other dangerous possessions are slowly taking over our lives. Most of us don’t even know how bad it actually is for us.

It is hard to see a man go as far as doing anything he can to plug his computer in during an electric failure to game. It is also sad how people aren’t satisfied with how they look, but continue to pass the fruits and vegetable aisle and continue on to the unhealthy snacks. People are becoming so involved in unhealthy habits that they lose who they really are. The bad things are becoming more important than the good. People would rather game than spend time with their family or friends. People would choose McDonald’s instead of a salad. Corporations are the reason for that. “In the early history of America, the corporation played an important but subordinate role. The people—not the corporations—were in control.” (Lasn 67) With the countless repeated commercials, these corporations are influencing Americans to go to McDonald’s or to buy the latest video game. Little do these corporations know what it is doing to their consumers, us. Today, these corporations are in control more so than the people that started them. They are going to continue to strive to sell things that we are going to want, instead of need. Americans are going to continue to want the newest and better item. We, again, are going to be consumed to a certain extent.

Reality can be so frightening that Americans would want to escape. Video games, the internet, and the television could be a place to do so. I believe there are many benefits to those things, but to a certain extent.  Certain addictions that Americans have can be taken too far. Gaming could cause a person to lose their job, it could trigger depression, and it could begin a very unsocial life in the real world. People will find relationships in their virtual world and be so disconnected from the real world. For some people, they think it’s beneficial. They will be in a different “zone”. It may be their way of escaping the real world. For that particular man showed in the clip, he was unable to walk or talk. The video game allowed him to do things he never could. It made him a happier person without the game ruling his life. I believe when people consume responsibly, it may be a beneficial thing. That is, when they aren’t obnoxious about it. I don’t think it’s necessary to game during all hours of the day and I don’t think it’s right to have more meals at McDonald’s during the week than eating healthy, but if America consumes responsibly, then it’s ok.

About Me

Hello!

My name is Kayla Ruth and I am a 19 year old sophomore majoring in Biology here at Shippensburg University. After four years here, I hope to move on to my Master's degree in Nursing. My ultimate goal is to become a nurse practitioner in a doctor's office or hospital. I have my license as a CNA and I love helping and taking care of my patients. I am from Coopersburg, which is about 2 hours away from here and I graduated from Southern Lehigh High School. During those four years I participated in varsity softball, field hockey, and cross country. I still enjoy playing sports and going for long distance runs. I like stay active, going to the gym and staying fit. As well as participating in sports, I greatly enjoy supporting the Philadelphia Phillies, Eagles, and the Penn Sate Nittany Lions. I have been a fan of these teams every since I was a little girl and every season I look forward to attending some of the games.  In my spare time, I love spending time with my wonderful family, friends, and boyfriend. They mean everything to me! I enjoy listening to a variety of music as well as watching movies that are comedies. I'm not much of a horror, thriller, or action fan. My favorite television show would have to be Friends and I also am interested in watching the Food Network because I enjoy cooking and baking.

I am taking Intro to Lit because it is required as a gen ed for my major. Reading isn't something I typically enjoy. To be honest, I don't even remember the last book I read. Reading usually bores me and I prefer doing something else. Although reading isn't my idea of fun, this class seems interesting. I am looking forward to discussing different ideas and concepts and hearing other people's opinions about them. I think this class will be exciting to come to because it's not a typical class of notes and lectures, but rather interacting and talking with our group members about the readings. I think this class will benefit me in many ways and am looking forward to it!