I have tried imagining how university life would be if there were no smartphones. Thinking about it, it looks so boring. I had to start asking myself how our fathers coped while schooling without smartphones. How were they able to pass information efficiently among themselves? How did they contact their parents or loved ones while in school? Oh, I remembered letter writing and the post office.
If we are to compare education then and now, I will agree that our fathers were very serious and dedicated to their education. My dad, till today, can confidently tell you what he was taught in Class 1. They were together. There was more interaction and social gathering. Going to school then was a great opportunity that not everyone could get. So, if anyone got the opportunity, they had to bend down and read. The distractions then were not as much as they are now, and I guess that was one of the things that made them read more.
Research then was physical reading, and lecture attendance was almost compulsory. Everything required one's physical presence. You had to be there to get information, participate in activities, meet people, and get things done. And, all these made students more dedicated and serious.
Now, imagine currently having no phone in university. It would be very difficult to cope, especially with class WhatsApp groups. I can remember this joke: “If you no get data for 30 minutes, your coursemates fit graduate before you.” And honestly, this is very true. Aside from entertainment, our phones help us with information. We can get immediate information that can help us meet up with deadlines, know when a lecture has been cancelled or rescheduled, receive announcements, and avoid missing important things.
Without phones, cybercafés would probably be overcrowded. Little things that can easily be done with a phone would require you to start looking for a cybercafé to get them done. You might have to leave your hostel, walk to a cybercafé, wait for your turn, and pay for something that would have taken only a few minutes on your phone. So, life without phones would definitely be more difficult.
However, I believe it would also increase physical interaction. Students would have to visit one another instead of simply sending a message. People would probably sit together more often, establish reading groups, discuss assignments physically, and spend more time in each other's company. It might even increase seriousness because, as helpful as phones are, they are also a major source of distraction. You can open your phone to check an important school announcement and, before you know it, you are watching a video, replying to messages, scrolling through social media, or doing everything except what you originally picked up the phone to do.
Phones have made university life much easier and more fun, especially when it comes to easing boredom and giving us access to information. But if phones never existed, I think students would adapt, just as our fathers did. We will read more, interact more, bond more, and perhaps even perform better academically.
It would not be easy, but then again, I believe we will adapt as our fathers did
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