A week without computers, cell phones, and television seems impossible in this age where all aspects of life seem to involve the use of technology.  Would you be able to handle it?
Students in John Blaber’s AP Language and Composition class experienced just this when they participated in Analog Week.

The experiment, an optional activity, challenged students to spend a week without technology, to coincide with the class’s reading of transcendentalist novels, such as Walden, by Henry David Thoreau.
Blaber said he wanted to challenge his students to experience life without technology.
“I want my students to see what opportunities might provide for socializing differently and for spending your time alone differently without technology,” he said.
Students were encouraged to set their own limits about how little technology they would use during the week and while most participated, some chose not to.
Junior Victoria Cutler participated for the whole week and chose to not use her phone or watch television.  Cutler did use the computer for school purposes and her phone to contact her parents.
“We were allowed to make our own guidelines so I said it was okay to go on the computer for school,” Cutler said. “Texting my mom or my dad felt like it was okay too, because they needed to know my whereabouts.”
Cutler said she took the activity as a chance to get rid of things this she thought were problems because she never had the motivation before.
“I had problems like going on Facebook while I’m trying to do homework,” Cutler said.  “I’d just flip open my laptop and automatically type in Facebook and that was really bad.”
Students who did participate said that they felt it changed their outlook on technology.
“Analog Week made me realize the high usage of technology in teenagers and adults,” said junior Rachael Thorson. “One time I was trying to have a conversation with my parents, but they were both on their phones and they weren’t paying attention to what I was saying. So now I know how they normally feel.”
Thorson also said that living without technology allowed her to bond with her friends.
“I hung out with two people who were participating as well,” said Thorson. “Usually when we’re together we’re all on our phones, but this time we were actually able to have a fully connected and present conversation that we hadn’t ever had before.”
While many began the week, not very many students, like junior Allegra Kress were able to continue participating through Saturday.
Kress said the one thing she couldn’t commit to live without was music.
“I have two little siblings and I don’t like to hear them when im trying to focus and concentrate,” Kress said. “The silence wasn’t going to work for me.”