When deciding what “adventure” to choose, I first thought about which ones would be most fun. When I realized that I wouldn’t be able to obtain a wheelchair though, I decided to try something a little bit easier to do, and ended up choosing to go a full day using only technology, no human communication.
The day started out the same as any other day would, technology based with no human interaction. I woke up to my alarm on my iPhone, got out of bed and went to shower. I usually do not speak to any people in the mornings because of how tired I am so this was no different from usual. Class that morning wasn’t that much more different either. I got there and instead of maybe speaking to someone beside me, just sat there. I tried to avoid eye contact with anyone because if they were to talk to me, I wouldn’t be able to respond back to them. I felt like if someone were to talk to me I would look extremely antisocial and almost rude as I wouldn’t be able to say anything back to them by conversation. Everything would have to be written down. Luckily I avoided any form of contact with anybody and made it back to my room safely.
Lunch is where things got a bit awkward. Instead of having a good time talking with all of my friends, I just sat there and listened to their conversations. I felt as if I was some outsider or even some sort of an examiner, as I was allowed to watch but not interact. It was hard as I would want to jump in on conversations and voice my opinion, but wasn’t allowed to. Sitting there not being able to talk to my own friends made me feel even more antisocial and rude than earlier. It really made lunch a bore and awkward for me.
Class after lunch was just as it was earlier; quiet and isolated. I made sure to sit beside quiet people and made sure again to not make eye contact with anyone. Just as before, this plan worked and I got by the class without talking to anyone, but again I felt very isolated in my own little world, and felt that I must’ve looked like the most antisocial person ever walking with my head down avoiding people completely.
After classes my friends and I decided to play basketball. It was weird agreeing because usually I am the one who gets people to go, but this time I had to watch others get people involved and I just stood there. I feel like if I were to try and express my emotion and drive to go play, then I would give in to talking to someone. It was weird not even being able to express the thing I love. I made it all the way to the CRC, but ended up failing my goal of going all day using only technology as I ended up talking during basketball after I realized that my team wouldn’t win if we didn’t communicate. Going the whole day without technology wasn’t fun at all as there was no emotion in the day, and I hope our world does not become that or else we will all become isolated zombies who live extremely boring lives.
Jeremy Renaud's Blog 
Nice adventure. Your adventure was like 180 degrees apart from what I did, which was to spend a day without using technology at all. It might sound really easy, but it was really hard, and impossible to an extend. I think it all depends on the level you take your adventure. How do you think it would have been, if you decide to take it to the next level. By that I mean, no direct human communication at all, not only you can’t talk to them you can’t even hear them directly. For example wearing noise-cancelling headphones all day long. By doing that it would have completely been a day without human communication. I know it sound far-fetched, but how do you think it would have changed your day? I would ask you to read my adventure, since it was completely opposite, just to get the perspective from both sides.
Very cool experience because we as humans communicate vocally. To isolate yourself from speech must have been strange. Did you have to explain what was happening to people before you started the days experiment? Or else people would just think you were some mute guy being very distant.
Did you ever hear your voice in your head at a load volume after not talking for a long time?
Paul Shackelford
I actually didn’t tell my friends at first I was going to do it but it was too awkward after a bit so I just showed them and they understood. I didn’t tell everyone I came across though, so I’m sure in class and while walking around I seemed like someone who was scared of everything since I was kind of trying to avoid people. But after not talking for a while I didn’t hear it at a loud volume, but I thought about things a lot more. It seemed like everytime someone walked by or I saw something I would start thinking to myself about it or them. A lot of times I just wanted to burst out and start talking, say whatever thoughts were in my head which is kind of weird because I almost never feel like just bursting out and saying something. Not talking almost all day really does make you feel different and almost act differently.
Hello!
I thought that what you decided to do for your adventure was pretty interesting. I think it showed fairly well how technology can make us anti social – I know that whenever I am texting friends from back home I usually ignore what’s going on around me even though in a different way I really am being social.
Did going through your experience make you want to use technology less? Or use it more for things like Facebook/texting friends/other social things?
~Kathleen