iExamen 1 Mike Ray

Going into this exercise I assumed it would be a struggle due to my attachment to technology. Everyday I wake up and immediately check my phone for any texts, tweets or emails that I could have missed. Even though I may receive no messages, or half the tweets and emails are garbage, I still feel the need to check them. Having a girlfriend miles away and an overly protective mother, I had to inform them of this beforehand otherwise I would have been in a lot of trouble from over half my life.  In the end of that hour I felt I could have kept going. I had deeper conversations with people and lived life carefree and accomplished a lot. For the rest of the day, with technology, I still remained aware of how I spoke, to whom I spoke to, and the flow of the conversation. My observations were more interesting than I had expected. I noticed that when talking to someone for the first time, you naturally give them the “up-down”. I personally find that creepy so when I found out that I actually do that, I was a little shocked. I also noticed that I was naturally drawn to individuals tattoos and piercings right off the bat, as they are unusual and attract my attention. Another observation is that I tend to look people in the eyes when I speak to them. Some people look back, however others look away. Perhaps they feel this is awkward or unusual, but its how I was always brought up. Communication through technology was also observed. I noticed that since college, I make more phone calls now rather than text. Id rather talk then message. I also utilize Facebook much more to reconnect to my friends back home and abroad. My most important observation came later in the day when my mother called. Before college I wanted nothing more than to leave my house and be on my own, however now that I am living my dream I realize I had everything that I needed. I’m not afraid or embarrassed to say I need my parents and rely on them for assistance and support throughout my life. When comparing the two I realized that I need the best of both worlds. While I rely on technology for long distance relationships, I also need time to disconnect and get things done such as homework and relaxing. As this exercise opened my eyes, I learned most that I need to disconnect some point every day in order to achieve the best of both worlds.