The Experiment
For this experiment four University of Georgia students chose to go without their phones for 24 hours in order to see firsthand what it is like to feel disconnected. Partners took the phones of Rachel Kelso, Holly Roberts, Cole Rogers and Tara Iyengar on the evening of September 17.
The next day the students without phones were videoed in moments of frustration and hilarity as we struggled to wake up on time, navigate correctly and use our car radios.
At 8 p.m. on September 18, the four group members gave follow-up interviews documenting their struggles, and then were given back their phones.
The People Behind the Cameras
Emily Graven
Shadowing Cole was fairly easy. We live in the same complex so that night at 10pm I went over and took his phone. Truthfully, I was a little nervous about him being able to wake up the next morning. On the car ride to class the next morning, I sympathized with Cole a lot more than I expected. I felt bad he couldn’t check his fantasy football, I also understood the fear when he forgot he didn’t have his phone. During the afternoon, Cole’s girlfriend called twice. Cole had told her the night before that he wouldn’t have his phone so we knew this was an emergency. She messaged me on social media that her car had broken down and she needed him to come get her after her class. This was the scariest part of the day, mostly because we thought she was stranded. In the end, she was able to figure it out without our help, but it just showed us how important our phones are when the unexpected happens.
We are conditioned to always have our phones within arms reach and watching the struggles of group members not having their phones was tough.
Brittany Stewart
I followed Tara from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. When I arrived at her house, she had already awakened on her own without an alarm and spent her morning reading a book in her living room. During the car ride to her parking deck in the intramural field, it was quite funny to watch Tara try to operate her radio instead of using her aux chord with her phone like she usually would. She got along pretty well to class, and I was surprised that she did not seem to be stressed when the bus was coming, but seemed more relaxed and in the moment between classes without her phone. However, I sympathized for Tara in class as everyone surrounded her with their laptops and cellphones while she only had a pen and paper. It was interesting to see how she fiddled with her pens and seemed restless without her technology.
Melanie Fincher
I documented Tara’s day without her phone from about 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. This was my first time visiting her apartment, and I realized that I had no way to contact her if I couldn’t find her unit. Fortunately, when I knocked on her door she was there.
Overall, what stood out to from documenting Tara’s day without her phone was how quickly we got to know each other. We had been in class together for over a month, but just a few hours without a phone forced us to talk more than we ever had. Even though I had access to my own phone, I found myself not reaching for it as much when I was with Tara. I think that was because being around someone who doesn’t have their phone makes you forget about your own.
Athena McNair
Throughout the day, while shadowing Rachel, Cole and Holly, I didn’t really think about my own phone usage since filming the experiment was a great distraction. It wasn’t until later when I realized how glad I was that I wasn’t the one going without my phone. It’s hard not to think about your phone while working on this project. But overall it was a good experience that made me more aware of my own dependency on my phone.
Alex Marchante
So my day shadowing Holly went pretty smoothly. We rode in her car to campus and I filmed much of her morning, from her driving to being on the campus bus to doing some work on her laptop before class. After class we went to her house where she worked on editing a piece and overall I'd say it was a surprisingly smooth day with zero hiccups or crazy moments. I think I was so occupied making sure I was filming Holly that I didn't really focus on my phone while I was doing it. Now that I think of it, besides us both working at Tate Student Center on our laptops, I didn't really use my phone around Holly as much. I don't know honestly if it was the fact she didn't have hers and I didn't wanna make her feel bad about it or it was because I genuinely didn't think about my phone. I guess I was less tempted and less focused on my phone that day.
Mae Eldahshoury
Documenting Rachel’s day without her phone began the night before. I swung by her apartment in the evening to pick up her phone, and reconnected the next morning to accompany her on the ride to school. She told me that although her body was accustomed to waking up at the same time everyday, she still asked her roommate to make sure she was awake since she didn’t have her phone’s alarm clock to wake her up. Switching through radio stations, Rachel explained how she typically never uses the radio since she works at a station in Atlanta and tends to use her phone to listen to music. At the bus stop, she got a little antsy, fidgeting with her rings to distract herself from the fact that she didn’t have her phone and couldn’t distract herself during the wait. I tried to focus on filming any nervous habits. I could tell she was used to pulling out her phone to pass the time, just as I do in almost any free time that I have. It was interesting to watch a classmate go without their phone, especially in the morning with no way to check previous messages, the news, or social media