高校の部 3位
大浦 晏奈（東京学芸大学附属国際中等教育学校）

How to Change Your Life in a Week

 I recently got a new phone. There's nothing quite like the excitement of opening a brand new iPhone box, peeling the plastic film off the screen, and Oohing and Aahing at the amazing features the new phone possesses. My phone has saved me countless of times, like leading me home when I was lost, or reminding me of homework due the very next day. My phone also provides me with more opportunities to connect with others, using the internet. Now, I have the chance to become friends with anyone across the globe, connect with my favorite Hollywood celebrity, or even become rich and famous myself. Sounds like a dream come true right?
 However, one experience showed me that phones are not just sunshine and roses. I was at a café with my friend when two teenage girls sat at a table cross us. That was when I noticed that there was something unnatural about them: they simply were not talking to each other. It was dead silent. I glanced their way and found the source of the eerie silence. They were both staring blank-eyed at their iPhones, too engrossed to have a proper conversation with each other.
 Ever since, I've been noticing more disadvantages of owning a phone, like the fact that people actually lose their lives in accidents due to their excessive concentration on their phones. Or how my friends sometimes ignore me because they are too busy checking out their LINE conversations. I've seen many of the students at my school even confess their feelings for somebody via text or email. I've seen some people post mean comments online about me and my friends.
 Naturally, nobody can blame me for being skeptical if phones truly are creating a better world. Are you really being "social" when you connect with people on a global scale, but don't make an effort to converse with the people around you? Is it a "better world" if we are provided with various means of entertainment on our phones, but miss the "fun" of being outside and active? Research even shows that just pulling out your phone during a face-to-face conversation makes it "less fulfilling".
 That's why today, I want you all to look up from your iPhones, iPads, and Androids, and start looking around. I want to introduce a method which changed my life in a week: the one week phone detox.
 It's harder than it sounds, I know, and if you're like me, you may be rolling your eyes right now, thinking "that's impossible and useless". But trust me, I've tried it and it is worth it. Let me tell you a little about my experience.
 I wake up, and as I'm about to check my phone for the latest tweets, posts, gossip, and dopamine hits, I remember this blasted program I'm doing, and reluctantly drop my phone. On the train, to school, I unconsciously grope for my phone in my bag, but realize with utter disappointment that I deliberately left my phone on the table at home. I come back from school and almost turn on my phone, but pry my fingers away from the screen and force myself to do something else instead. Yes, it was a very difficult challenge for a person who constantly used their phone, but this was the week I finished reading 10 books. The week I completed my homework a month ahead of the deadline. The week where I was not sleep deprived, and could concentrate more on studying. The week where I did not argue with my mom over how much I use my phone.
 If you lack the willpower, recruit a friend to do it with you. If one week is too much of a burden for you, start with a day, or even one evening. What is important is not the amount of time that you are limiting, but rather the action you are taking, no matter how small it may be.
 Our phones give the illusion that we are more connected with the world, when we are actually isolating ourselves from it. The minutes we lose every day add up as we type instead of talk or swipe instead of walk. The one week phone detox is not the beginning of a completely phoneless life but one which you are in control of your phone use, your relationships, and every minute of your day. So why not start tomorrow? Unplug, and who knows, this may turn out to be a life-changing experience for you, too.