Disconnected Film Release Poster Just because Caitlin wasn’t going to have a computer she felt like she was going to “sink into a puddle [or] crawl into a hole.”

• Just because Caitlin wasn’t going to have a computer she felt like she was going to “sink into a puddle [or] crawl into a hole.”
• Just because Andrew had to use a phone for conversation, it was going to be more…”intimate.” Something he wasn’t entirely comfortable with.
• Without a computer they got bored, they could “only do homework.”

These were all symptoms that the documentary film directed by students from Carlton College, Disconnected, displayed through the 3 students who were focused on while they went through a 5 week experiment to stay away from a computer.

I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t do it. And I know I couldn’t do it – only because of school. Now there is a difference in timing, the film was released in 2008 though most of the filming occurred in 2007. Compared to today, I see that most of my classes rely on some type of computer technology. It would LITERALLY be impossible for me to succeed in my classes without access to a computer. I will say that the film did not seem like it was made

In terms of communication and social life, I know I can go without a computer. A phone is different; I would need to text people and call people. That’s inevitable – especially since I am away from home and I need to stay in touch with friends from home and communicate with friends here in college during breaks. But I honestly give the cast a lot of credit for going through that trouble for the documentary. I will say that I did think that some of the cast members did get a positive result from the experiment. I honestly thought that Caitlin was addicted; I was personally concerned with the things that she expressed. Also, the fact that she wrapped her computer in order to control herself from using it really shocked me – she called it psychological. I said “I think she might actually be addicted.”

Check out the film – only an hour long – and it’s funny to hear some of the struggles that the students went through. Besides – you might be inspired; can you last as long as they did without a computer?

Media fasting happens once in a while for me. Doing it now, was not all that hard as I thought it would’ve been. When I first came to Middlebury and had to go camping on my Middview trip where I had no cell service. This was my first taste of how it felt like to be away from home and not being able to stay in contact with people. Previously, when I was at home, I would have random days that I would stray away from my technology and just relax and enjoy simple things I liked to do, but I knew that I would always have a connection through phone if they called. It wasn’t a task assigned to me so I felt at ease mostly.

Having to fast now was worrisome at first because it’s hard to keep in the loop of what’s going on in Middlebury or class without having access to technology. Anxiety crept its way through the day, but I kept myself sane by cleaning and occupying myself with friends. These are things I usually do anyway, but it was harder for me to actually really find someone that I needed. Technology for me is a way that I use to make sure that I am in the know about what’s going on or if I am needed by someone. I deactivated my Facebook before doing this (thank goodness) which helped a lot more. I didn’t have the urge to constantly check status updates and try to see who is doing what out of my friends. I honestly don’t miss being on Facebook at all. It seemed to be what I used to help me kill time. As for emails, I usually get promo emails from shopping sites and occasionally those important ones that pop up. It was not anything special.

Fasting in all honesty is something I’ll consider doing once in a while continuously. Most likely during breaks because having to put down my technologies here, is really nerve wrecking.