John Ivansek

Professor Schmeling

September 19, 2012

Reflecting on my Connection

            The students who participated in this great experiment at Carlton College are extremely ambitious. In today’s world, technology surrounds us everywhere we go. These kids were offered a challenge to take up the fight against the machine, which they did so very bravely, but ultimately they did indeed find it very difficult to survive while being completely restrained from their devices. They did, however, seem to be extremely surprised and proud of themselves with the wonderful will power they exhibited. They pushed beyond their comfort zones and kept going. I would think the best take away form this is the fact we should not try to make technology our life and try to utilize them to be able to go out and experience life outside ones home.

While watching this documentary, I could feel the pain of the three brave souls who decided to take on this crazy yet very exciting endeavor. In our modern world, technology is king. In addition to that, my generation is the first to be fully brought up in this new age. I find it hard to live without being trapped by our devices. These computers are supposed to make life simple and efficient, but it’s also hard on the contrary to realize we are slaves to these devices. In today’s age, losing a computer is like losing your best friend. We have to worry about having people reaching out on a personal and professional level everyday. Even if we hate the thought of being tied down and forced to turn on or devices everyday it’s inevitable. To be successful in today also requires computer comprehension. Without these computing skills one is essentially pushed out of the loop and therefore the world competition will eat you up. These facts were evident in this video, when the frustration of the students was showing as they overwhelmingly trying to keep up with schoolwork, teachers, friends and family without the internet.

            The hardest part about not having a computer for me is reading and turning in schoolwork online. I do not know what I would do at this school without D2L. This is because teachers barely explain homework anymore in class. All they do is post it and say finish the work by next class. This has its advantages and disadvantages. But, knowing this experiment took place in 2008 teaches me that if these three kids tried to do this computer ban in 2012 they would run into even more difficulties conquering their quest. As we all know, many advancements have occurred in this short four-year period. Technology has only grown to become even more involved for both the good and bad. I love the fact that this has made us completely mobile with work and life, but then again there is no completely going away anymore. Privacy is out the window. The fact that one cannot even make any mistakes in life without them being publicly poured out by social net working is shameful. We are not perfect, and technology is depressing in the fact that it is impeding human achievements. People need to make mistakes and in today’s day and age I am finding it very difficult to make my own decisions in life.

I completely respect these individuals in attempting this wonderful endeavor to give everyone hope that something of this magnitude could possibly be pulled off. I understand that its not easy at all and would take plenty of frustrating moments, but I feel it would be a satisfying show of immense will power and courage to take it on. I also have realized that doing this with school and keeping up with the ones you love would make this a difficult decision to make, because you are sort of shutting off your life from the world. I wish life could be simpler. In a way, computing has the main goal of making everything simpler, but nothing can be that simple. There is no perfect solution, and this is just another tool to help and distract our great human race. Technology has very good intentions, but this film has shown me how difficult it is to shut off the computer for good.

Here in University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, computers challenge us everyday. We are sitting in one of the most beautiful places in the country with so many great lakes and activities to explore around us. We as a student body should realize that computers are just tools to allow everyone to step out side faster. It's hard to believe someone can be so fixated on the Internet with social media, web surfing, and email providing them with one dull virtual world when these people could be getting out and enjoying something real. Instead of watching a video or hearing someone talk about doing something amazing, go out and experience it for yourself. Challenge the unknown, and focus on discovering God’s wonderful gift to us. There is so much to see and with such little time to do it.  If its one thing that all of us should take away from this video, its that we as a culture are getting too fixated on the unreal and not focusing enough on the true beauties of life. We have to make an attempt to break off from being slaves to the devices and learn to live life without them. My goal after watching this documentary is to be able to just use my computer out of necessity and be able to put it all away and enjoy more time with friends and family.