Thursday March 19, 2009
12AM Normally at this time I would be on the internet, talking to friends until I got tired enough around 1 or 2AM to fall asleep. I usually use my phone for an alarm so I am unsure what to do, because my alarm clock is at school and I do not think I can count on my internal clock to wake me up. Instead of my normal routine spent on my lap top, I will be reading Dear Diary by Lesley Arfin, which I got for Christmas, but never have really have enough time to read at once.
1:10AM I've read about 50 pages and still can't really get to sleep. There's no one awake at my house but I'd really like to talk to someone now. I guess I will just keep reading until I pass out.
11:50AM Yeah, my internal clock sucks.
I don't know what time it is. I am at a restaurant waiting for my mom to meet me at her lunch break. This is really tormenting me right now, because I am pretty anal about knowing the time, and without my phone I don't know what it is. I feel too awkward to ask someone what time it is. What if my mom can't come but she can't get a hold of me?
2:40PM Lunch went fine, and since I have been home I've just been doing laundry and playing with my puppy. I wish the weather was nicer so that I could do something outside. I read an issue of Seventeen magazine, which I have had a subscription of for about 3 years but have been neglecting lately. I am planning on starting homework now.
3:17PM So basically all of my homework involves the internet in some capacity. That did not really take up much time and my sister keeps taunting me to watch a movie because she knows that I can't. At least she is home now because I was getting bored by myself for so long.
4:05PM My 5 year old cousin has been begging to watch cartoons in here and is getting pretty mad that I won't let him. I picked up the book again and I really am enjoying it so much.
6:38PM My friend George is having a house show at his house but I don't know what time it starts. I am afraid that I missed it but I don't really have a way to find out.
8:00PM I came during the middle of the show but it's really good, relaxing music. After a day without music this is so nice. We went to get food after and my friend was annoyed that I made him turn his radio off.
10:00PM Mark is getting a tattoo at this guy Rob's house. My two friends, Lauren and Nick, are here and we are having good conversations. I was getting a little antsy to listen to the radio or check my phone, but there is really no need when my friends are right here to talk to.
12:05AM The second that I could, I turned on my phone and there were a bunch of texts awaiting me! After I did that I got on the computer and checked all the usual sites. Within about 10 minutes on the computer I was bored.
I have recently come to my own personal conclusion that the internet is not fun anymore. A few years, or even a few months ago, I could sit on the internet for hours, completely amused—and completely wasting my time. I do not really have this pleasure anymore, and cannot stand cycling through all of the same sites over and over, waiting for one new thing to pop up. I would be lying if I said this conclusion was not impacted at all by my previously described day of media deprivation. But let me back up first.
My day of media deprivation could be described as slow, boring, insightful, challenging, easier than expected, and even pleasant. The first half of my day was so quiet, with no noise and an empty house. I just kept reading until I could not really sit still any longer. My puppy is nuts and kept me busy for some of the time, but all I really wanted was to take her for a walk. With the weather outside dreary, wet, and cold I felt confined to my house. Once people started coming home I felt a lot better, with people to talk to, although this meant that everyone around was starting to use media or at least wanting to around me. I had to avoid rooms, plug my ears, and cover my eyes to make sure I stuck to the rules of the day, really wanting a true experience. The worst part of the day was feeling so cut off when I had no way to get in touch with anyone to find out what time the house show was starting. Yeah, earlier I could not text my friends random things that had no real meaning, but this time I actually needed some information. It all worked out, but it was a weird experience. Once I was surrounded by a bunch of friends it was easy to not worry about phones or twitter or what song was coming on next. I got wrapped up in being around people in real life, which of course I am used to, but it was nice not having any media-related distractions. I had to force them to comply with my rules, but it was not bad. By the time I got to use my media, I jumped to do it, but did not really feel like I was any happier to be able to use these technologies. My texts were not anything important, there was not much on the internet that mattered, and the television shows were boring.
Media seems absolutely essential and habitual to use on a day to day basis. But this experience of being media deprived only proved that those assumptions are not true. We are just so used to these things in our lives that our main modes for connecting, entertainment, and finding out information. Danna Walker wrote a very accurate description that “Eighteen- to 20-year-olds know in their hearts that electronic media are nearly as dear to their lives as physical nourishment.” Walker wrote an article, “The Longest Day” about when her students had this very assignment. I found that a lot of what her students experienced I agreed with. It was strange to be without this media, but I, just like her students, survived the day and learned some lessons.
Of course, I am not about to cut off all technology and go live by Walden Pond, however I do feel like I want to cut back some of my media usage. My day of media deprivation reminded me how much I love to read and how nice it is to hang out with people without someone turning on the TV, taking out a laptop, or being distracted by a cell phone. My biggest realization was how much I would like to decrease my internet usage. One of my biggest motivations for this is to read more. In “The End of Literacy: Don’t Stop Reading,” Howard Gardner laments how technology has decreased reading of actual texts. This assignment helped me take his opinion to heart and try to change my ways so that I do not contribute to that.
I like the unique style you chose in how you approached this assignment. I was a little confused at times because at some points you said you needed technology but at others you said it was not completely necessary. I thought your opinion on how the internet has become somewhat boring was interesting. I have felt the same way at times that it is just to repetitive. All in all I like what you did with the assignment, well done.
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