Technology reliance

If you are like me, you set the alarm on your phone before you go to sleep at night. I think it is safe to say that for our generation, the alarm clock has been replaced. And this is usually my first interaction with technology on a daily basis.

Whether it is the missed texts, Tweets or Facebook updates I check from my Droid first thing in the morning, it has become an essential part of my morning routine.  

After getting ready and eating a quick bite of breakfast, I pop open my laptop and log in to my email to make sure my 8 a.m. class was not canceled before I make the trek across campus. After I see that my class is not canceled, I put my laptop in my backpack and pull out my iPod.

I start my trip to class with Tom Petty playing to keep me awake. As I get closer to Ballantine Hall, I notice that a lot of people have earphones in just like me.

I think to myself that whether we like classic rock, rap, country or any other genre, we cannot deny that music plays a vital role in our daily routine. If you’re like me, you have iTunes playing while you are working on homework or your iPod turned on in between class.After I get to my seat in my statistical modeling class, I pull out my computer for the next hour and 15 minutes.

As the outlets of survival in this class, Facebook, Sporcle and Wikipedia make time go by much more quickly while the professor grumbles about econometrics.

Halfway through the class, the guy to my left is asleep, the girl in front of me has one part of her earphone in her left ear covered by her hair and the guy to my right has been Blackberry messaging his girl.

Before I finish playing Family Feud on Facebook, I notice that class is almost done and people have started shuffling their things. Laptops start closing and iPods start to appear, including mine.

I feel my phone start vibrating in my pocket as I proceed into my 9:30 a.m. with Michael Jackson playing on the iPod. When I see the words “Aunt Jessie,” I decide to decline the call because I know for a fact that it will take a half hour and accomplish a whole lot of nothing. I sure do appreciate the value of being able to screen phone calls.

After I repeat the same routine for my next three classes, send dozens of texts and take a few phone calls, I am finally on my way back home from class.

I decide to immediately hash out a one-page review of an article I read the night before. Forty-five minutes later, I submit my paper via the OnCourse assignment tab, saving me paper/ink and a trip to Woodburn Hall.

As I am finishing up responding to a few emails, I finally realize that it has been Tuesday all day thanks to my calendar I have in Microsoft Outlook. I yell at my roommates and tell them that it is time to go to Fazoli’s to get our $1 kids’
meal.

Two hours later, we stroll through the door. We decide to stay in for the night instead of going to Kilroy’s on Kirwood and since I am finished with homework, I pick up the controller to play some Call of Duty: Black Ops. What only felt like a few games turns into a three-hour session on Xbox Live.

Before getting ready for bed, I log back onto Facebook, and I start chatting with friends. A few hours later after catching up with peeps, I set my alarm again and realize that I will just have to get up in a few hours to do it all over again the next day.

What I realized by observing my daily habits with technology is that without my Droid, iPod and laptop, my life would stop in its tracks. I now wonder how many of you are just like me.

­— cjcaudil@indiana.edu