Event 2 | 24 Hour Challenge: Domain Expansion - Phone Jail

    I am so completely and utterly in love with my ability to pick up my little screen and tap on it a bunch of times to entertain myself. When I saw the 24 hour challenge get posted, I knew it was gonna be a rough experience. As a testament to how attached I am to my phone, I had to give it to my roommate to put in “phone jail” because I knew I would have a hard time not going back to it if it was on my desk. My self control would not have passed that test. My computer and ipad were off limits as well, but considering I associate those devices with homework, I was rather eager to not have to use them for a whole day.

There's Now a Timed Smart Phone Jail So You Can Have Some Family Time Without Screens
A literal phone jail (not the one used during the challenge)

    Three hours in and already I was just staring at my desk, having showered and did my skincare routine and picked an outfit out for the day. I went through all the necessary tasks that could be done phoneless-ly, even made myself tea and got breakfast, which I usually procrastinate too much to do,  but still could not for the life of me come up with what to do with my day without my tech. I thought I’d watch something to pass the time, but that would constitute a screen. 

Mancala - Wikipedia
People playing Mancala, the world's best board game

    Around 8pm, I was sick and tired of finding ways to entertain myself, and was finding it very difficult to keep in touch with the people around me to coordinate any activity that would alleviate my boredom. People were going out and/or going about their day, and with no means of getting around (no rides and no ability to check bus routes), I found myself staring at my desk again for about an hour. I made myself a cup of tea, ate a snack, and found myself overcome by the challenge when somebody asked if I wanted to watch my My Hero Academia, with them and I folded.

Every Main Character In My Hero Academia
Main characters in the animated show My Hero Academia

    I made it from around 10 AM to 11 PM (technically all day if you consider the fact that the device we watched the show on was not my own), and honestly I would not recommend it. It was really isolating and reminded me of when I couldn’t talk to anyone for months the summer before my freshman year. However, as somebody who has a very difficult time focusing on anything and has a short attention span, the problem may have not been the challenge itself but rather how my brain works and how it’s relied on my phone as entertainment for so long. Really, I find myself staring at my phone for hours wishing I could put it down, feeling like I’m completely helpless to it, and if the 24 hour challenge accomplished anything, it showed me that I really don’t have anything outside my phone to tide me over, and even then my phone isn’t enough. I should probably get that checked out by a licensed therapist lmao.

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