Rewind to two weeks back when my mom brought up the idea of disconnecting from technology during our week-long vacation. 

I was appalled that she came up with such an idea because how could a teenager — especially one from my generation — completely isolate herself from her friends and Facebook likes? It was like asking me to give up food or water. After countless arguments and comebacks, my dad had the final say — no technology on this trip.

That one, simple rule completely changed my perspective and made this the best vacation I had ever been on.

This winter break my family and I went to Maui, Hawaii. What made this vacation so great was that I nearly disconnected from the virtual world — I didn’t take my laptop with me, and I checked my phone a total of two times besides the occasional Snapchat or phone call. I swore to take a break from Facebook, Tumblr and other forms of social media.

During this trip, I swam under a waterfall, snorkeled, hiked and drove up to 10,000 feet above sea level to see the sunrise. And the whole time, I was doing it for me. 

Instead of posting statuses and pictures and constantly updating the world about what I was up to, I had the chance to experience these things for myself. 

I wasn’t thinking about how many likes the picture of me underwater would get, nor was I worried about the comments that were on my “check in.” In that sense, I felt as though all of these experiences allowed me to finally relax and enjoy what life had to offer, and were not simply experiences for others to enjoy through my eyes. These specific moments, from the long drives to the actual events, were purely for my amusement and my memory.  

In this generation of technology, it’s quite easy for most of us to live for others rather than ourselves. 

We worry about our Instagram likes and Tumblr hearts rather than focusing on thoroughly enjoying time with our friends and family. It’s become more about showing off and capturing every moment with technology rather than living in the moment for ourselves. 

In fact, it is said that eight to 18 year olds spend around seven and a half hours daily using digital technologies.

That could be seven and a half hours spent exploring new parts of a city, learning a new hobby, or even spending time with your family.

If I had brought my cell phone along to every experience while in Hawaii, I would be engrossed in Tweeting or texting everyone about what I was doing at each and every moment. 

Instead of spending time with my family and catching up on everything I had missed while away at college, I would have been toiling away as a slave to that little eight-inch screen. 

Furthermore, it wouldn’t really have been a vacation, because I’d be doing the same things I do back home by going on social media websites and conversing nonstop with my friends. 

Without my phone or laptop at hand constantly, I was able to enjoy the smaller things that Hawaii had to offer. I witnessed countless moments of whales flipping their tails in the ocean during our drives because I wasn’t staring down at my cell phone. And I finally caught up on books I’d been dying to read because I actually had the time. Most importantly, I was able to genuinely bond and spend time with my family. 

I even observed that if you take a break from surfing the web on your cell phone, you may realize how grown up your not-so-little sibling has become. 

With technology, even though we may be physically present, we’re emotionally and mentally in another world — a world that we create and customize for ourselves. We get so consumed within this technological world that we don’t even stop to appreciate the face-to-face conversations that result in real connection. 

Even though it took a five hour plane ride away from home for me to realize this, I’m glad I was forced into this “no technology” rule. And I’ve concluded that every once and awhile, I’m going to take a full-day break from updating the world on what I’m up to. 

Because in all honesty, not that many people care.

Simran is a freshman in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].