About 20 students took part in a technology fast, starting last Thursday.

The 24-hour fast was an event created by the Butler Catholic Community as a way for students to reflect on how often technology is a part of their lives.

“We use technology all the time without thinking about it,” Rev. Jeff Godecker said.  “We’re not doing this to diss technology, we’re just doing this to see what it’s like to live without it.”

This is the first time anything like this has happened at Butler, and Godecker said he is glad it did.

“There are a lot of things we really think have to be done,” Godecker said. “I have a lot of stuff to get done, but today has been more relaxed and slowed down.

“There’s definitely a reward in dropping [technology] periodically. I’m less distracted today.”

Students participating in this fast agreed that the day was filled with fewer distractions and more time to get things done.

“In order to keep my mind off of technology, I took a walk and read a book,” said Katie Day, a junior journalism and political science major, said. “They’re both things I enjoy doing but never ‘have time’ to do.”

Olivia Yoch, a junior dance performance and English literature major, said she didn’t have to carry as much around with her all day.

“It was community-building, which is kind of ironic,” she said.

Yoch said if she wanted to do anything with other people, she needed to make sure she planned certain times to meet them.

“I could imagine this being hard to do through a long period of time as a college student, but I think I could to it on and off,” Yoch said. “I’m glad it was Thursday through Friday. I think I had an advantage because I’m in class all day, so I really didn’t need to be on my phone all day.”

After the fast, Yoch didn’t jump right back into the technology world.

“I actually didn’t check my email until a few hours after the fast was over, and I didn’t turn on my phone until later that night,” she said. “And today [Saturday], I’ve only really sent three or four text messages.”

There was one exception to the technology-free day—academics. Godecker said academics are always a number one priority, so students were allowed to use technology to complete assignments and any anything school-related.

Before the fast, Day told Godecker she thought it was going to be excruciating. Instead of excruciating, she said she found it rather freeing.

“The benefits ended up being a slower pace, less time wasted, and an overall increased satisfaction with productivity,” she said.