Fare Thee Well, Phone

Sin Ler Oo

On November 2nd, a group of Media Literacy students sat pensively in their seats as Mr. Steinkamp strode to the front of the room. A pile of Nokia phones and an empty box lay ominously on the desk nearby. All of the students could see the wide grin on his face. As Mr. Steinkamp clapped his hands to signal the start of the day, he also marked the beginning of something else. Day 1 of the Dumb and Dumber Project had begun.

The project’s goal was to replace the students’ smartphones with “dumb phones” (the Nokia phones sitting innocently on the table) so that students may experience the impacts of using a smartphone on individuals and society. For this project, students were expected not to use a smartphone for two weeks. To those who were attached to their phones, this would be a challenging project indeed.

As a result, with the help of Seth Kelley (12) and Gabe Roberts (11), Mr. Steinkamp began to orchestrate the Dumb and Dumber Project’s first mockumentary as a way to lighten the mood. Even though Mr. Steinkamp had announced the project earlier, students acted as if he had sprung the project upon them. Of course, Mr. Steinkamp desired nothing less than pure pandemonium as he set about casting different “roles” for the event. Students had to pretend to sob hysterically and jump over tables to escape while Seth and Gabe gleefully filmed the event.

As the first part of the chaotic filming ended, the true project began. Individually, students started shutting down their phones (some more mournfully than others) after saving their most important contacts. SIM cards were taken out of the smartphones and dutifully placed into a Nokia that Dalat had purchased. Although newly bought, the phones contained the classic keypad as well as a small screen. As a result, some students struggled to remember how the Nokia worked, to the amusement of Mr. Steinkamp.

As Natasha Palanivel (12) put it, “As I held the phone in my hands, I pondered on how to turn on the device as there was no power button. I didn’t realize there was an instruction manual. By some miracle—after pressing a variety of buttons—the phone turned on! It was a Christmas miracle! It was a thrilling moment to hold this small device in my hand.”

At first glance, it seemed as if the phones could not access the internet, call Grab, or even download music. Students, however, were elated to find classic games such as Snake, Doodle Jump, and Crossy Road on the phone.

For the final filming of Day 1, students formed a funeral procession. They lined up with their smartphones and gradually strolled towards the empty box, where they set their phones down as if performing some elaborate ritual. Then the box was lidded and taken away. It was to be stored in Mr. Steinkamp’s office, out of sight but unlikely out of mind. The 336-hour countdown began.