Tanner Ward, Editor-in-Chief

On the average day, I’ll send and receive at least 100 texts. I’ll get 75 to 100 emails in the five accounts I have synced to my iPhone. Add in Twitter notifications from the six Twitter accounts I control from my phone, Facebook notifications from my own account and from The Signal’s page and push notifications from a million other apps like Instagram, AP Mobile, CNN and USA Today and it’s a wonder my phone hasn’t vibrated itself to death.

Long-evolved from the days of simply being able to call people, we can now use our cell phones for practically anything — playing games, video chatting, shopping, banking, reading a book, taking a quiz. I can even control the entire live broadcast of Tiger Tunes on Saturday night from an app on my iPhone.

It seems as if our lives now revolve around our cell phones. Think about it: have you ever forgotten your cell phone in your room one morning? Did you not feel naked and out of touch with the world until you went back to get it?

At least two of every three people I pass on the bridge or on the sidewalk on the way to class are using their phones in one way or another. I can’t even count the couples I’ve seen on a date at restaurants who are buried in their phones so much that there is zero conversation going on. And don’t even get me started on the irresponsible people who feel it necessary to text and drive.

These reasons and more are why I decided to try an experiment at The Signal: some of our staff and I were going to turn our cell phones off for 24 hours and see what life was like.

I must admit — I was a little nervous about turning my phone off. My usage averages at least 8 hours a day — a third of my day spent doing something on my phone. But I was looking forward to being able to sit in class without my pocket buzzing 426 times.

I decided to start at 10 in the morning this past Tuesday — I turned it off when chapel started — and left it off until 10 on Wednesday morning.

It was sweet bliss.

Not one buzz through chapel or my real estate class. While I was in The Signal office Tuesday afternoon, my entire attention was on the other people who stopped in. When Tarah Elliott, our Opinions Editor who also went without her phone, and I went to dinner at Cracker Barrel, we spent the whole time talking to each other and carrying on (a little too loudly; we kind of annoyed the waitress), neither one having to worry about responding to this text and that email. While I was studying and doing my homework on Tuesday night, there were no interruptions and I got finished much faster than usual.

Sure, I had to figure out how to work my alarm clock. I had to rely on checking my email on my iMac in the office. I had to listen to the radio instead of my music on my way home. But I survived.

Doing a day without my cell phone made me appreciate having my iPhone and all its capabilities. But it also made me appreciate having a break from my iPhone sometimes.

Taking a step back, you really realize how much we are truly dependent on and addicted to our cell phones. You realize just how ridiculous it is the amount of time you spend on it every day. You start paying more attention to the people and happenings around you. You live more in the moment rather than always anticipating what’s next.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying I think cell phones are evil or anything — I got on Twitter four times while writing this article. But a break every once in a while is nice.

Go go on, try it for yourself. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll enjoy it.

Tarah Elliott, Opinions Editor

While some of my fellow writers at The Signal were worried about their ability to go an entire 24 hours without their phone (ahem, Sam Cushman), I was more than confident with my ability to put aside my iPhone for a single day.  As it turned out, I was grossly underestimating my reliance on my smart phone.

I began the experiment at a little after 11 a.m., and the first few hours were a breeze. As a matter of fact, it was freeing. I didn’t have to constantly check my phone for missed calls and text messages, and it was nice to be without the distractions that come with owning (and being addicted to) a cellphone.

But then, some odd number of hours later, I began to realize that I didn’t just feel strange or off without my phone; I felt lost. I didn’t have a watch to check the time, I couldn’t check my email when I was away from the computer, and I couldn’t even get a hold of Tanner Ward, our Editor-in-Chief who asked us to take on this experiment, to follow through with dinner plans. I actually had to track him down and have a face-to-face conversation about our plans. Heaven forbid!

Sadly, I failed the experiment. Just after midnight, I gave into the urge and turned my cell phone on. I cannot even begin to explain the rush of relief that washed over me as I answered my texts and called my nearest and dearest.

Perhaps I didn’t finish the experiment, but I did learn a lot about myself and about my reliance on a cell phone. It is almost silly to think about how my life is centered around this one piece of technology. What if I spent the extra time I wasted checking my phone doing something productive, like studying?

Am I going to stop using my phone? Of course not, but it’s certainly something to think about.

Lauren Snow, Staff Writer

When the idea of giving up my phone for 24 hours was mentioned, I tried to avoid eye contact at all costs. I thought not having my phone for a mere day would be the end of the world. Instantly I thought of the worst possible outcomes.

My first thought was, “I am going to miss out on inside jokes and knowing where to meet my friends for meals for the day,” which ended up being slightly true. Another issue I thought of was not being able to talk to my boyfriend and family whenever I wanted to. But, academically, what was going to wake me up in the morning for class, naps or tell me when my laundry was done? With this experience, I realized a lot of my life is consumed with technology and there really is a way to change that.

When I began this experiment it was more difficult than I thought. The first few hours were the most difficult for me. I stopped using my phone a few minutes before I went to bed. Usually before I fall asleep I check Twitter, Facebook and my email, but I can’t do this when my phone is put away. This was the reason why it was difficult the first few hours; it was breaking one of my habits.

Throughout the day I saw the benefits that came out of what I thought would be the end of the world for me. Without my phone being a constant distraction, I finished my homework at a reasonable time.

Not having my phone I did miss out on a few insiders and I was slightly late to a few events but it really made me focus on looking at an actual clock and not my phone.

Although this short experiment without my phone caused me to be lost a few times, I accomplished all my work and realized that my life is unfortunately completely enveloped by a 5 inch phone.

Kathryn Coffey, Staff Writer

I had to really improvise. My whole day was full of improvising. It all began with my alarm. Usually my alarm is my iPhone, the little strum wakes me up every morning, but this morning I had to set the alarm on my iHome and I connected my iPod to it so that the alarm would play music instead of the annoying beep. Then my morning continued much as it typically does, the only thing different was that I didn’t have background music as I got ready for the day. I really missed Toby Mac while I was brushing my teeth.

The next instance that I had to improvise was that I carried my laptop with me all day so that I could periodically check my email. Email is an important communication tool at Ouachita whether it would be with professors or The Signal office. Lunch, lunch was interesting. Instead of texting a few of my friends to see when they would be eating, I just walked right into the Caf and hoped for the best. The most obvious time that I missed my phone was when I was idle. I couldn’t just pull out my phone to check Twitter or play Cut the Rope. Nope, I just had to sit there and endure reality. When it came down to it, my day really didn’t seem that different. Yeah my communication was a little off, but I still made it to my classes on time and I still had a social life.

The thought that this little phoneless day provoked in me was what was it like to go to college before cell phones? I know my mom and dad did it and they had great social lives and graduated just fine without them, but could I? Could I make it through my college years without my phone? I don’t know, this no-phone test is just for a day, and let me just say that I am thankful for that.