About a week ago, our class
was asked to participate in a Media Fast and Media Binge. This seemed intriguing to me because I have
never partaken in anything like this before to the extreme. I thought this would be easy for me since I’d
like to consider myself a minimalist pertaining to media but this proposition
made me think again. It was an
interesting and extremely necessary cleansing for me to (attempt) to success
at.
The media fast was fairly overwhelming. I was texting and snapping people that I don’t
usually do just to engage in more conversation therefore increasing my
usage. These efforts lead to greater
connection to my phone, constantly checking my homescreen to see new messages
and notifications from people. Although
some conversations were short lived, the effort brought me close and closer to
my phone. I checked Snapchat a lot more
than I already do (which is a lot), tried tweeting more but decided against it
so I continued scrolling through my homepage more frequently than before. I texted and FaceTimed with people I’ve needed
to over the past months of not having an iPhone. I engaged more time in the pointless apps I
have (like Tinder and Twitter), using the explore bar in Instagram that I never
really use but found that helpful in binging.
In regards to using my
computer (when I’m home) I looked at Facebook twice as much as usual and it
made me almost confirm my dislike for it since it’s beyond pointless. I also saw most things twice from Twitter and
Instagram since people post a picture on multiple media sites. Additionally, I tried to engage myself in
reading news, Buzzfeed, and other “news” related sites and witnessed the
overlaps again. Sometimes I checked
Twitter and Instagram on my computer during the day along with my phone to
strengthen my usage. I felt that my
binging was very successful and it heightened my need for a break.
The fast was a lot harder
than I expected. I was experiencing
withdrawal from constantly checking my phone prior, which created a lot of temptation. The first day was the easiest
because I was so sick of media that I completely cut off all connections to my
phone. I only used it as an alarm for
the morning, I turned off my WiFi/data during the day which prevented me from
getting notifications for almost all of my apps. I didn’t bring my phone to class with me,
which lead to engaging in more conversations with people. I take the bus to and from classes so I tried
to talk to more people but most people sitting next to me were on their phones
the whole time, which made it difficult.
Regardless, it made me even more appreciative of how beautiful our
campus is and the world in general because I observed my surroundings more even
though I usually do that all the time.
Coachella was this weekend so it helped me stay away from media
considering that almost all of my friends went.
There’s only so many crop tops and indie pictures I can handle…
The transition from binging
to fasting was easy at first. However,
the final day was really tricky because it felt like months I haven’t been on
my phone even though it was only 48 hours.
I wanted to check my Snapchat the most because that’s how feel in touch
with my friends and it was extremely hard to continue to stay away from
it. My withdrawal took over because I
gave in the last day since I felt like I had a great deal of FOMO when in
reality I only missed a few texts and snaps.
This made me realize how many people I talk to via phone and how underwhelming
my life is at times. It feels like
people always want and need to talk to you even more when you give up using
your phone especially when you don’t tell them.
It’s as if people knew that so they would want to talk to you more but
that wasn’t the case. It was actually
depressing to me and it made me frustrated I gave into self-inflicted
pressure.
Thinking about the binge and fast
made me realize that media is beneficial, in moderation. Excessively checking your phone tunes you out
of the real world because you’re so tuned into your own world. Although media seems inevitable, challenging
yourself on binges and fasts like these puts your self-control to the test. It made me realize that sometimes it's not all that it's made out to be. Normally I try to stay off my phone when I can
but after this experience I will put more of an effort to engage in human
interactions. This was greatly needed
although I was somewhat defeated because I gave in, it’s something people in today’s world
have grown such strong connections to and need to challenge themselves to taking breaks from media. I
have developed some bad habits pertaining to excessively checking but I’m
trying to minimize them and it seems to be working.
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