PhD student ditches phone for 5-month expedition across China: ‘People were shocked’ | Trending

Aug 11, 2024 04:47 PM The student explained that having a mobile phone is often a draction, so on his journey without one, he could focus on reading books or writing. Yang Hao, a PhD student at a British university, left his home in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, in November and travelled across China till April. As per reports, he visited 24 provinces and regions. Yang carried no cell phone or computer on his expedition, and only two cameras couldn’t connect to the internet. Yang studies contemporary art at a British institution, and one of his research themes is how digitisation affects people’s lives. The man visited 24 provinces and regions. (Unsplash ) “I feel that the mobile phone is like a digital organ for us. We cannot do many things without one. So I’d wanted to explore what happens if we have no internet access at all. What’s the experience like, say, for a period of several months? Based on doubts about, and reflections on, digitalisation, I aimed to conduct an experiment in China to undertake an exodus without relying on the internet” Yang told the South China Morning Post. He stated that issues caused the absence of a mobile phone were typical during his journey. For instance, he couldn’t book a hotel ahead of time or immediately consult a map app, nor could he order a taxi using ride hailing. Yang discovered that most shops did not have a mechanism for him to swipe his bank cards. When he didn’t have enough cash to pay, he had to trek considerable dances to find ATMs and withdraw money. (Also Read: The truth behind viral ‘pregnant’ car videos in China: What’s really going on?) “Almost everybody who heard I was not using a mobile was shocked. Some asked if I was doing anything bad, some wondered if I was doing a special job, while others thought it was interesting to live with no mobile,” Yang told the South China Morning Post. He explained that having a mobile phone is often a draction, so on his journey without one, he could focus on reading books or writing. “I am like an ancient man who has time-travelled to the modern day. All those troubles and joys made me excited. It was definitely a great life experience,” Yang said. He intends to produce a book of the articles he wrote about the trip and create a documentary based on the films he shot while on the road. News / Trending / PhD student ditches phone for 5-month expedition across China: ‘People were shocked’