Day 1:

Woke up to my alarm on the phone after snoozing it for about 5 times. Browse through notification first thing in the morning. Looking at Facebook while having breakfast before going for a run, Upon setting out to NTU from home, turned on GPS and data to check bus arrival timing. Plug in my earphones and turned on Spotify to listen to music while travelling to school. Same situation when I head home from school. During the duration of doing group work in school, used my smartphone to take videos and photos of process work, searching about various keywords and ideas on Google while discussing about concept of our work.  Constant messaging on WhatsApp with other friends on random stuff throughout the whole day. Refreshing page to check on weather forecast of the day as it was drizzling on and off the entire day.

During this day, i took the time to observe what people used their phones for. Starting from myself, I realise that I seemed to have ‘itchy hands’, whereby when my hands are idling, I would subconsciously reach out for my phone and scroll on Instagram or Facebook just for the sake of doing something. Furthermore, I get distracted with messages and media sent to me by my friends on social media, breaking my attention off things that I was suppose to be doing. I also came to realise that I will text my friend who is actually just a few rooms away from me instead of going to them to talk face to face as I was just lazy to lift myself out of the seat. Overall, I observed that people today seemed to use their phones non stop throughout the day. At the bus stop, it is a common sight to see people refreshing their interface to check the latest update on bus timings. While on the bus, people tend to use the phone as a means of entertainment, doing activities like playing games, listening to music, reading an article/novel or simply just scrolling to read feeds on various social media platforms. Not forgetting the constant finger exercise that we all engage anytime, anywhere when we text people on the phone. Furthermore, people tends to have the habit of checking their phones when they have nothing to do, or to ease awkward moments. Taking videos and pictures using our smartphones are also very common before we start to enjoy our food. Another interesting observation that I gathered was that people tend to think/ imagine that their phone vibrated in their pockets, causing them to fish out their phones unnecessarily.

Day 2:

I chose a day where I did not have any activity out of the house to conduct this experiment. Without the alarm on the phone, I woke up at a later time than usual. The usual routine after I wake up was done much faster without the replying of messages or viewing of social media distracting me, During mealtimes, I would read newspapers and talk to my parents about random things more. As I did not have my phone, I took the time to explain my schedule for the day to my family members in case they cannot contact me, at the same time, I took note of their schedule. Since I couldn’t entertain myself on electronic device, I took out a book that I didn’t have the time to read yet to pass time. I thought of the things that I have to get done during that day and wrote it down in my notebook since I can’t type out my to-do list on the phone. I realise I seem to be more free than other days, since I did not need to spend time to view what was posted on social media, time seemed to past slower too. One annoying thing was that I realise many of my ongoing homework can’t be done as most of them require electronic devices of some form, be it doing a Powerpoint or an online submission. I tried to continue some of my background work by going to the library to search for books that I thought might have relevance to what I was doing. This was something I had not done in many years, since search engines are far more convenient and specific in providing information I needed. I felt a little awkward during the ride to the library as I don’t seem to know where to place my gaze on, I didn’t want to seem like I was staring at somebody, thus, I would either look out of the window or just stare into space. I realise I seem to be more sensitive to my surroundings, I take note of people that pass by me, interesting details that I will never take note of when I was hooked on my phone. Lastly, I think on that day, I slept at an earlier timing as compared to any other day as I did not have any serial or drama to watch before I sleep on that day.