No Data No Problems 

I just had an unforgettable weekend spent at the music festival Lightning In A Bottle.  The festival is in Bradley; a small town pretty much in the middle of nowhere about 40 minutes north of San Luis Obispo. It did not even seem like a town, as we drove in with hundreds of other cars deep into the hills all we could see was acres and acres of land and barely any civilization. Yet somehow the magical and artistic festival grounds were created out of essentially a desert. As we drove in, we gained incredible excitement…but lost one thing, good cell phone service. 

As it was still possible to call and text most of the time, throughout the whole weekend my urge to snapchat or post photos was silenced. The best part about it was that that silence was present in many other people as well. We were all there to enjoy the moment, and most of the time we just left our phones at the campsite when we would go explore the festival. Even when we were at the campsite, barely anyone would be on their phones. Without good service to check our social media apps, we would sit around and talk at our campsite, truly enjoying each other’s company and finding other ways of entertainment. I really felt like I could bond with the group I was with so much more because nobody was zoned out on their phones not listening to what one was saying. I actually loved that everyone’s phones were either dead or on airplane mode, I kept hearing people say things like “my phone has been off for 2 days” without a care at all. It was such a refreshing contrast from the usual panic people experience every day if they cannot find their phone or are on 2% battery. 

I feel that a part of this had to do with the whole feel and idea of the festival itself.  Lightning In A Bottle is extremely unique because it is not just about music; it is about art, spirituality, freedom of expression, nature and having fun. Besides amazing musical performances, they had many other activities such as workshops promoting healthy food, yoga classes, activist talks, art galleries and more. I believe that the focus on creativity and appreciation of nature made people want to embrace this more and forget about technology. I do question if people would use their phones more if there was better service, yet the ideals of the festival had a huge factor in forgetting about them and I think that a lot of other people enjoyed that as well. It was such a difference from other shows I have attended where you look at the stage and see hundreds of people watching the performance through their illuminated cell phone screens and not their eyes.

I’m not saying that I did not use technology at all during the festival. I brought my phone out a few times to be able to contact friends if we got separated and take some photos. I also used my GoPro a lot to film, because how could I not document the amazing setup they had? I love to put together videos to be able to look back at the memories and re-live the experience. However, as I’ve gone to more and more festivals I have realized that the present moment itself is far more valuable and have used my devices less and less. A vivid memory can be just as special as a photo or a video...I guess the question to ask each person is which do you value more?