Inquiry Intro #1 - Scene

I fiddle with my fingers and I turn my head to look over to my roommate, who is sitting on her bed.
“Hey, Aiman?”
“Yeah?” She pulls out her white earphones and makes eye contact.
“Do you think I’m on my phone too much?”
She pauses for a second, thinking the number of times I pick up my phone when it buzzes. Her lips press together as she looks around the room, as if she can find the answer hidden in our belongings. She gently pushes up her glasses and her eyes meet mine.
“Yeah.” She nods and smiles.
I look straight ahead, stone-faced, half expecting that answer but also half in disbelief. I slightly realized my addiction to my phone, always craving for the vibration that tingles my desk. I never wanted to admit it, but my roommate’s confirmation brought me back to my senses. If I asked her the same question last year, she would have said no for a fact.
For the past year, my phone was extremely slow. Scrolling through Instagram would be painful because the page would move after I swiped up a few seconds before. Furthermore, sending snaps on Snapchat would be excruciating; each picture I captured, each button I would tap on would only act five seconds after. On top of that, it would crash after two minutes because the app wouldn’t respond. I was discouraged to use my phone for times I wanted to amuse myself because using my phone then only gave me a headache.
However, this past Labor Day Weekend, my parents surprised me with a brand-new phone, one I instantly fell in love with. The gleaming display, curved edges and the seamless, smooth back hooked me in and it felt like I was always holding a glass pebble. I couldn’t take my hands off it, and my parents knew I would be spending much of time browsing and scrolling through social media once I went to college.
My father sternly told me that he still wanted me to get good grades when I head back, and his sixth sense was telling him that I would spend way too much time on my phone. I assured him that I’m an adult and I have the will power to put away my phone whenever I want to. His worried look was stuck on his face like a mask, but I brushed it off. Why does he think that the phone will control me, instead of me being able to control my phone?
It was only recently that I discovered that he was right. Once the wave of freedom and independence hit me when I stepped foot on campus, my eyes were glued to light emitting from the display. I wanted to fix myself, but I didn’t know how to begin.
So, I wanted to test it out. Can I limit my phone usage to only checking it a few times a day when I’m college? Could it be beneficial for me to have less screen time and use that time more wisely, such as for friends and homework? If I can resist constantly checking my notifications, then I’m definitely not addicted. This shouldn’t be too hard.
Right?
In this paper, I will explain my experiment and the journey of emotions and impulses I had to overcome for the past two weeks. I will elaborate on what I’ve learned about myself and support my findings with articles relating to this subject.

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