You wake up in the morning and listen to your iPod as you get ready. You text while you walk to class, still listening to your iPod. You check your Facebook, post a tweet or play Angry Birds instead of listening or taking notes throughout the lecture.
I am sure this is all too familiar for many.
If the idea of spending a day away from technology, including your phone, to simply live life and enjoy nature sounds completely absurd, you may be a victim of the latest epidemic.
The increasingly modern technology has become even pushier. Up-to-date companies and organizations use the popularity of smartphone applications to advertise products and spread awareness. Despite the apps’ usefulness and popularity, citizens of America should not feel like lesser citizens for owning a “dumb” phone.
Though I have never been one to buy the latest and greatest tech toys, I manage to stay within a functional range of modern technology.
I spent this past Mardi Gras break with a sufficiently modernized Asian family. Between loud ramblings in Vietnamese, several of the family members stopped to stare at my less than current phone as if it belonged in a museum.
While my phone may not be “smart,” it includes a touch screen and a full keyboard. It has the ability to send texts, take and send photos, calculate equations, connect to the internet, take notes, play games and more, all in addition to making phone calls.
While the appeal of informative and entertaining modern technology is apparent, phones that cannot perform 1,000 different operations should not be associated with the dinosaur age. Even the most basic cellular telephones were not commonly used until the late 90s.  
In 2007 the Apple iPhone was introduced, leading to its current peak, which features a massive app store. Since then, smartphones have been spreading like the plague. According to a 2013 infographics trends study by Anson Alexander, technology publications, 97 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds now use smartphones to send text messages. These handy devices are commonly portrayed as essentials or necessities of everyday life.
According to a 2011 mobile applications study by SingleGrain digital marketing, the average iPhone owner has 37 apps installed. Game and entertainment apps place first for being the most used.  
The number of children walking around today with iPads or iPhones is slightly disturbing.
Think back to simpler times when children played board games, climbed trees and watched the latest Disney films on VHS cassette tapes. Entertainment was as simple as a rubber ball, wooden blocks or LEGO pieces.
New technology can be useful, exciting, time-saving and even life-saving. I am not advising or suggesting a revolution against the newest gadgets. Learn to adapt and embrace change, but do not lose the ability to enjoy simplicity, think creatively, socially interact and stay smart without remaining super glued to your smartphone.