NYC-Feature Story

Off the Grid
NYC Writers Give Up Their Gadgets

Don’t iTune Out

By Chantel Morel

When I agreed to give up my iPod for a week, I mainly worried about being on the train without it in the mornings. I hate how quiet everyone is. I feel forced to think about things. Whenever I’m confused or don’t want to make a decision, my iPod helps me escape from the world. The music calms me and seems to slow down time.


	Can Students Give Up Their Technology? (treasure hunt)

It wasn’t always this way. When I first got an mp3 player about four years ago, I couldn’t read or write while listening to it. I would sing along in my mind and get all mixed up. But somehow I got used to it, and now at school and at home, my iPod helps me block out distractions and do my work. Without my iPod for a week, I thought I wouldn’t be able to concentrate.

Reading Again

But over seven days, I got used to having no iPod again. By the time the week was up, I actually found my iPod distracting when I listened to it at home.

And while I didn’t enjoy my morning train rides without my iPod, I started to take things to read, and then it wasn’t so bad. I hadn’t read a book in a while, so I was glad to have a reason to do so.

And I remembered one day last year when a TV actress sat down next to me on the train. I told her I recognized her and she was very nice—we had a conversation and she shook my hand. That probably wouldn’t have happened if I was listening to my iPod.

Forcing myself to give up my iPod reminded me there’s a whole world going on around me. Escaping is good sometimes, but if I do it too much I might miss some important things. I’m glad to say that when the week was over, I didn’t listen to my iPod on the train for another five days. When I did, I listened to it because I wanted to, not because I felt I had to.

Offline, Off-Kilter

By Conor Dawson

I knew things wouldn’t go well when I decided to recreate the dark ages before the Internet.

The Internet is usually my sole resource for information and I had agreed to give it up for three days. I wasn’t even sure what day it was without my computer to tell me. I guessed it was a school day, so I headed out the door.

In one class, we went to the computer lab to do an online treasure hunt. I explained that I couldn’t participate because of my experiment, so I spent the period doodling in my notebook. “If I can get out of doing work, maybe this isn’t so bad,” I thought.

Googleless

The next day, Saturday, I woke up at 9 a.m. and remembered—no Internet, which meant no StumbleUpon, Digg, Facebook, or Google. I imagined Googling “What to do with no Internet” but, of course, that was impossible.

I went back to sleep for as long as I could, finally crawling out of bed to meet my boredom at 3 p.m. Eventually, I decided to go to a movie. But what movies were showing? What were the show times? I had to get dressed and leave my house to find a newspaper.

Bored to Sleep

When I got the movie listings I was further agitated because I didn’t recognize most of the titles, and couldn’t go online to check reviews. Nothing looked good, so I stayed home. I thought about making origami out of the newspaper, but soon realized I was hopeless without online directions. I watched TV until I fell asleep, which is unusual for me—I prefer a computer to TV any day.

The next day I found a book to pass the time (On the Road by Jack Kerouac), and at one point I found myself playing paddleball. The Internet is such a big part of my life that without it, I had almost nothing to do! I had expected this from the beginning, but was still distraught to be so right.

I know that if the Internet suddenly disappeared, I would eventually find other things to do. I’d survive. I’d just be bored.

Art, Unplugged

By Marco Salazar

Photoshop is a brand of image editing software. Since I discovered it about a year ago, I’ve become addicted. I’ve learned so many new techniques that I now create pictures I once thought only a genius could design, and I spend one to four hours a day using the software. It relaxes my mind and lets my creativity develop. I’d rather Photoshop all night than watch TV.

Challenged to give up my favorite technology, I decided to see if I could live without Photoshop. I wanted to go exactly one week, nothing more or less. So on a Wednesday night, I spent a couple of hours editing images to bid my farewell, and turned off the program at 8 p.m.

The first full day was fairly easy: I replaced Photoshop with TV. But on Fridays, there’s nothing good to watch. After school, I had the urge to be creative, so I improvised: I took out paper and a pencil and drew all night.

Unused to Imperfection

It was frustrating having to sharpen the pencil constantly. I couldn’t make straight lines and I couldn’t undo my mistakes, since my pencil marks showed even after I’d erased them. The drawing smudged easily and I had to throw out paper constantly. It was stressful.

By day four I was twitching with the desire to run Photoshop and at least watch the blue loading screen. I turned on my laptop just to look at the icon. It screamed out at me, telling me to double click it. I knew that no one would find out, but somehow my fingers found their way to my laptop’s “off” button and gently pushed down.

I looked at the paper beside me, an oddly-drawn sketch I’d done that day. I didn’t like it. I was no longer used to imperfections. I was used to having technology make things better than anything I could create by hand.

More of Me

As the week ended, I sat in my room, glancing at the clock. It mocked me: 7:59 p.m. As the minute hand reached 12, I turned on Photoshop and stared at the blank screen. I wanted to finish the sketch I’d been doing, but I didn’t like using a pencil. I came up with an idea: I could scan the sketch and use Photoshop to edit it.

The outcome was a masterpiece, much better than if I’d used only Photoshop. It’s a technique I’ve been using since. I can draw a shape that’s exactly what I want; I’m no longer limited to the perfect lines of Photoshop. A little bit more of me goes into my art.

No Phone, No Fun

By Christina Gee

Names have been changed.

I’m not sure which was more upsetting: turning off my iPhone at exactly midnight when my “tech-free” experiment began, or waking up late the next morning realizing I rely on my phone’s alarm to get me out of bed. If it weren’t for some noisy birds outside my window, I probably would’ve missed school entirely.

On the way out the door, I was thinking of an excuse to tell my teacher. I wasn’t feeling well? I had a family emergency? I had to walk my cow? Or the truth: “I’m on a cell phone purge for 24 hours, which means I can’t function correctly today.”

My New BFF

In the mere two months since I got it, my iPhone has become my best friend. I use it to stay in touch with friends, read the news, take notes, and keep track of all my activities. For all those privileges—picture and video messaging, unlimited texting, and Internet—I pay about $5 a day.

That was $5 I’d be throwing away today. My first class was in the school’s basement, which has limited reception. I would normally pray I’ll have enough bars to text my friend John to buy me breakfast. No such luck today.

By 4th period, I was hungry and still missing my phone. The day before, I’d been texting a cute guy three rows away. The blue-eyed, dark-skinned boy flashed me a smile, which made me wonder if he’d sent me a text message.

“Tony, I’m over here!” the teacher shouted at him. Aw, he got caught looking at me. I wished I could text him “lol” or something. I wondered if anyone else had texted me. I usually reply quickly and was worried that my friends would think I was ignoring them on purpose.

Later, I finished a sociology test early and sat there wishing I could check the time, but I don’t own a watch. I rely on my iPhone for that, too.

Tech-Full and Proud

After school, I went to work. I was so swamped that I didn’t notice the absence of my phone. But at 8 p.m., when I usually call my parents to let them know I’m on my way home, I had to ask my co-worker to call them for me.

When I finally got home an hour later, I was exhausted. I would usually unwind by checking Facebook or AIM, using apps on my faithful iPhone. I’d usually check the weather, too—another app—before preparing the next day’s outfit.

Finally, at midnight, I turned my iPhone back on. Seven texts, two picture messages, and one phone call later, I was back to my “tech-full” life. It was nice to know I got a little less radiation that day, but I was miffed that I’d missed an opportunity to flirt with the cute boy in my government class. Being tech-free was fun and all, but I need my iPhone.

Solar Shut Down

By Marco Salazar

As our experiments going “off the grid” show, it’s hard to live without your favorite technology for even one day or one week. Yet most of us aren’t aware that our source of life, the sun, is a threat to all our technology—to modern society, in fact.

At any point the sun may release a coronal mass ejection (CME), or a burst of plasma with an electromagnetic force strong enough to wipe out transformers. Busted transformers mean lights out. In the electricity-dependent world we live in, this would be catastrophic.

Inevitable Disaster?

In 1859, a CME hit the United States, causing telegraphs to go haywire and even catch fire. This was before electricity played such an important role in keeping society running.

Today, if a single CME of similar magnitude were to strike, as many as 130 million people would lose power, according a report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

A CME is usually detectable only minutes before it hits, but it could knock out power for months. Imagine going a year or more without your dear cell phone, computer, gaming console, or any other electronic source of entertainment. Life would be devastatingly boring, but boredom would be the least of your worries.

Especially in a densely-populated area like New York City, the impact would be disastrous. Within 12-24 hours perishable foods and medications would be lost, the NAS report estimates. Trains, hospitals, and schools would be affected. Electronic items plugged into outlets could catch fire, endangering the whole city.

Society has become vulnerable: Losing electricity over a large area for an extended period would ruin us. Even if no large CME hits, some of our major resources—like fossil fuels—will eventually run out. This is why we need to find other sources of energy.

Unless, of course, you can deal with no iPod—and going to the Hudson River to get a bucket of water.

Status Update: Obsessed

By Jordan Temple

When I first joined Facebook in December 2007, I rarely logged on. But last year, I got a phone that had a one-click Facebook application, and it became second nature to check the site 10 times a day and update my status almost as much.

So, when I was challenged to give up Facebook for a whole week, I agreed to try because I thought it would be healthy for me to “detox” from my Facebook addiction.

On Wednesday, I posted the status update: “Going off fb for a week...lets see how this goes.” Then I went home and took a nap. As soon as I woke up, I logged on to Facebook out of habit, forgetting about the experiment. I felt guilty as soon as I remembered, but figured the damage had already been done, so I checked some notifications and some photos I’d been tagged in.

No Willpower

Throughout the week, I logged on a couple of times a day for just a few minutes at a time. (I figured checking it less than usual—and not even updating my status—was at least a semi-hiatus, right?)

Anytime I turned on my phone, the Facebook application was right there and I couldn’t resist. Or I’d be trying to sleep and bored out of my mind. Instead of counting sheep, I indulged in the glow that was that shiny blue Facebook application and clicked away.

I had no willpower. I felt guilty, like I had failed, but I had definitely identified my weakness for technology.

The experiment also made me realize why I like Facebook so much: To see photos of people I grew up with or read friends’ notes and status updates creates a little bit of intrigue in days that can be as painfully boring as a root canal.

To make time for someone in person is much more valuable than just “showing love” on their wall. However, social networking can foster real connection. Facebook prompted me to meet up with distant friends from middle and elementary school, people I hadn’t hung out with in a long time.

Even though I didn’t follow through with the experiment, I noticed the important role that technology plays in my life. I can connect with friends and share my thoughts in a public forum—and I like that.

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