The Unplugged Challenge

We wanted students to consider balance when incorporating technology in their lives. So we asked them to challenge themselves to unplug from all digital technology for 24 hours as a social experiment.

The Unplugged Challenge was to take 24 hours to unplug from your devices...no cell phones, smartphones, tablets, e-Readers, computers, TV, or video games, etc.  After students finished the Unplugged Challenge, we asked them to write a blog post reflecting on the challenge of being unplugged. We wanted them to include their thoughts and feelings of being unplugged, the benefits and drawbacks of being unplugged, and how they occupied their time, or what others could do while unplugged. We gave them a time frame of a month which included two four-day long weekends.

Unfortunately, very few students even accepted the challenge. A few however did and here are their reflections on being unplugged...

Ian said...
I spent Saturday, November 23 unplugged. Some people may consider that easy, but being a teenager in the 21st century, I found myself going through withdrawal. Believe it or not, there are actually a few benefits from not using electronic, a few. One benefit was, for the whole day, I was way more observant. When I was in the car (the car does not count as an electronic device) I noticed how amazing the views were off of bridges. These bridges have been within ten miles of my house my whole life and I just realized after 15 years how outstanding they look. Of course, there are many drawbacks. Most were little things that were extremely annoying, like to tell the time, I would have to look around for a clock instead of check my phone. There was another bad thing about not being able to use electronics, and that was from when I woke up which was 10ish to around 1:00 I had almost nothing to do, so I ended up going on errands with my mom. Eventually one of my friends that knew I could not use my phone called my sister and asked me to hangout. this could be considered cheating, but know that I never held the phone or talked into it, I told my sister what to say and she told me what my friend said. I went to my friends house and we were outside for 4 hours straight, playing basketball or walking to a town market. and then at like 7:00, I was still with some friends AND IT STARTED TO SNOW! and it snowed a lot, so we spent some more time outside and then went inside to eat and warm up. we were all so tired that I ended up spending the night at my friends house and we were all asleep before 10:00. Then when I woke up, the 24 hours without electronics was up, and we celebrated by watching a movie. If you find yourself without electronics for 24 hours, you can hangout with a friend, but the plans may be hard to arrange. Or you can just spend time outside, there is probably lots to do. 

Michaela said...
I recently had to deal with something that I thought I would never have to deal with before, and it seemed impossible at first. I was told by my teacher that I had to go 24 hours without technology between then and the beginning of December. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard it, and I thought I wouldn't be able to make it. To my surprise, I did it accidentally without realizing it until it was over. What happened was I went on a retreat with a bunch of friends from my church, and we went up into the mountains of New Hampshire. Our leaders took away our cell phones and we were suppose to go the entire weekend without them. It didn't even phase me at that point that it meant that I would go over 24 hours without any devices.

I didn't miss it either. We played games and did activities the whole time so I didn't even notice. We even went out and did random acts of kindness for people. I was kept very occupied the entire time. So if you would like to participate in the "Unplugged Challenge" then I would suggest doing it with friends so that you can keep each other occupied. Hang out together, go outside, play games (board games, team games, scavenger hunts, etc.) It would also be a good idea to give all your devices to someone that you trust who isn't participating in the challenge, such as an adult you trust, so that you aren't tempted by them. Other than that, just go for it. There are plenty of ways to keep yourself occupied during the challenge, and it shouldn't be as hard as you would first believe it to be. Just go for it and have fun!