Three Days Without Media

So for my communications class we were required to go on a "media fast," where we had to pick three consecutive days to go without using any electronic media, like my phone, laptop, iPod, radio, TV, etc. So I decided to go on my fast this past weekend, starting Friday at midnight until this morning at midnight.

At first it was kind of difficult to get used to the fact that I was not allowed to have my phone on me or use my laptop. I'm pretty sure you've all had that feeling where you forget your phone somewhere and it just drives you crazy because you're so used to having it on you. Well imagine three days of that. Awesome.

But honestly, after the first day it really wasn't that bad. Maybe it was because I was busy doing other things, such as going to a football game, or cleaning my apartment like crazy before a cleaning check, but I realized something during my media fast. It is pretty much impossible to get away from the media completely. Even though I personally was not using it, it was all around me. My roommates, friends, and pretty much everyone else around me were connected to the media, and because of that I think I still had that feeling of being connected. It was also kind of funny because people kept trying to figure out ways for me to beat the system, like they could check my phone for me, or they could play music loud enough for me to hear, etc. Really? The point of this was not to beat the system! Otherwise I just wouldn't have even done it in the first place. I really wanted to experience what it was like to not use the media and to figure out the effects it actually had on my life.

One of the biggest annoyances of the media fast for me was that I never knew what time it was. I almost always use my phone or laptop to find out what time it is, so I'm pretty sure I annoyed everyone by constantly asking what time it was. There were a couple times I actually had to just guess what time it was from what was going on around me and hope that I got to class on time. Another thing that drove me crazy was that I could not listen to music. Because of this, I practiced the piano way more than usual this weekend, which was really nice. It made me appreciate music so much more and the positive effect that it can have on me.

Although I was going crazy a little bit, there were definitely some good things about the media fast as well. First of all, I feel like I talked more with those around me because that was the only way I could communicate. Second, I realized I really don't need my phone or laptop (including Facebook) to survive. In fact, at some times it was really nice not to have to worry about it. Yes, it was fun receiving 17 texts after three days (even though the majority of those were from my roommates...sigh), but it's definitely not a necessity or anywhere near it. It's way more fun actually talking and doing things with the people around you instead of focusing your energy into typing a message into a little electronic device that can't even capture your emotions, reactions, tone, or anything else. Real communication is way better.

So, to sum it all up, I'm really glad that my professor made me go without media for three days. Crazy, I know, but seriously. I'm going to try to do better about spending less time on Facebook, and more time doing productive things, getting more sleep, and interacting with real people.