Using technology differently: Dakota Swisher

Being at Ohio Northern has allowed me to meet new people, many of which have interests that are different than my own. One of my better friends since I have come here has been Dakota Swisher, a freshman soccer player who lives across the hall from me.

Dakota is unique in many ways, but the one that stands out the most to me is the fact that he seems to not rely on technology whatsoever. He uses an old flip-phone, an iPod nano, and does not participate in any social networks.

When I ask him about what his life is like without the technology that seemingly defines our generation, he usually doesn’t have a great answer; he has always lived without it, so how could he compare lifestyles? It’s interesting how I immediately reacted to Dakota’s habits; at first, I thought, “How can he live like that?” Then I thought, “Wow, I’m jealous of that.”

Sometimes I wish that I lived without most of the technological ‘must-haves’ that those in my generation all seem to use. Life would be simpler. There could be some potential downsides to not using social networks and participating in smartphone-mania, however.

When it comes to social media trends, Dakota does seem to be behind sometimes. Also, I usually turn to Twitter to get most of my breaking news- Dakota does not have that luxury.

In the end, however, I think that I would trade in instant news and awareness of social media trends for a simpler, smartphone-free life. While I know that I can’t do this because I am a journalist, and social media/instant messaging is rather important in my field, it is nice to think about.

From a technological standpoint, Dakota represents the teenager of 2004, living in the year 2014. And there’s nothing wrong with that.