An Experimentation of Human Nature

It was a quiet night in the northern part of the city. As the world slept, a young man sat at his kitchen table, his head burred in a history book. Oh, how he enjoyed history and science. He found it fascinating to see just how far humanity had come from the days before cars and lights. As he read, he felt a familiar thought creeping into his mind. It was one he had often had, and one he usually pushed away. This time, however, he allowed it to float through his mind. As he leaned back in his chair and allowed his eyes to glance towards his window, he couldn't help but realize the truth behind his thoughts. 

His name was Theo Davidson, and like so many before him, the state of the modern world was now weighing heavily on his mind. He thought about every advancement human kind had made. From writing letters to loved ones by candlelight to the invention of the first telephone in 1876. From the first landlines of 1877-78 to devices no bigger than the palms of our hands. From computers that took up entire rooms to handheld tablets and laptops. From cameras that would only work in light to polaroid, from polaroid to disposable cameras, and from disposable cameras to the high-tech DSLR cameras. From people dying of the common cold to drugs that can help treat cancer. It was all so fascinating to him and he couldn't get enough of learning about all the advancements made in both a scientific and historic sense. But the more he learned about all of these advancements, the more he came to realize something had changed within humans over the centuries. 

He saw it time and time again as he shopped, walked the streets, and sat in the park. Mothers with their heads so deep in their phones that they ended up ignoring their children. People taking their dogs for walks, with their eyes glued to their phones instead of paying attention to their dogs. Kids skating past people needing help, with their focus more on videoing their tricks and skill than lending a helping hand. The more he saw the state of humanity, the more disappointed he became. It seemed that the more humankind advanced in technology, the more distant people became from one another. Right then and there, as the thoughts bounced through his head on that cold January night, he made the decision that would change everything. So, as the world slept, he put his acquired skills to good use. 

The city awoke the next morning to no power. His experiment was now set into motion and he was armed with only a thick journal and a pen. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. He made observations everywhere he went, watching how people reacted and how their reactions changed over time. In the beginning they had all been devastated to learn about the power outage. People cried over their phones dying, couples argued for no reason, and things just seemed to get worse. However, in the fifth month, he noticed a different kind of change. As the fifth month passed day by day, he noticed mothers were no longer ignoring their kids in the park. Dog owners were once again playing with their beloved pups in the park. Ignorant teens were now stopping to lend helping hands where it was needed. Families were coming together once more for family dinners. Kids were playing with other kids and actively using their imaginations instead of playing video games together. With gas stations being down, people had been reduced to walking when their cars ran out of gas. Dads and moms were teaching their kids how to fish. This, in turn, was giving the next generation an increased appreciation for the natural world. 

Theo noticed that the longer the city went without electricity, the closer his community became. This led him to wonder something new. Now, he found himself wondering: if electricity was to be restored, would the people return to their old patterns of being stuck in their phones or would they keep their new habits? As he sat at his kitchen table reading over the notes he had made over the past six months, Theo decided that it was now time to change his experiment up and to test his new theory. So, as people slept on the last day of the sixth month, he reversed what he had done in the very first month. On the first day of the seventh month, he once again made his way around town and noticed, with some level of dismay, that people had charged their once-dead cellphones. It seemed, to the young scientist, as though things were already heading back to the way they had once been before. This, however, was not the end of his experiment.

As he continued to take notes on the second phase of his experiment, he began noticing something very interesting and, if he was being honest, he felt hope for the world of humanity. The more he watched the city return to their technological lives, the more he realized that nothing seemed to change. Mothers were once again scanning their phones as their kids played in the park, but this time if the kids sought their attention, the phones went into their purses. Dog owners kept similar mannerisms, placing their phones in their pockets to play with their dogs. Kids recording tricks on their skateboards now also stopped to lend helping hands if they spotted someone in trouble. Couples no longer only communicated through text while seated on the same bench, but instead took selfies together and admired the sky above. Though the city had returned to using its beloved technology, it seemed the first phase of his experiment had left an impact on the people. 

As the year came to a close and people celebrated the end of the year, he decided that the risks had been very well worth it. So, after the start of the new year, Theo released a book. Within his book he had detailed what lead to his decisions for the experiment, how many phases were in the experiment, and the results of each phase. He only hoped that the news of his experiment and the results of it would inspire future generations to continue the change. If they did then maybe, just maybe, there would come a day where electricity did not rule the world, but rather existed along beside it.