Media Binge/Fast

A few weeks ago I misplaced my phone and didn't have it for a full day. I didn't find it particularly hard to be without my phone, and it was actually kind of nice not to have to worry about texting someone back or checking Instagram and Facebook constantly.

This was not how I felt during the media fast. The difference was that my phone was in my pocket taunting me rather than being lost in my closet. It was weird being disconnected even though I could so easily just take my phone out and jump on social media. As for the media binge, I'm almost always on my phone so it wasn't that hard. However, I did see a lot of the same content over and over again, whether it be an annoying picture my aunt posted or my favorite band's Instagram post.

This reminded me of idia and koine. Idia is similar to the media fast because we are keeping our opinions to ourselves rather than sharing them out on the internet. Koine is similar to the media binge because we are constantly sharing and posting about what we are thinking all the time.

I think it's very strange that almost everyone has a need for their phone. Dan mentioned that he was fine with his non smart phone, but for people like me who are going into journalism, I have a need to be on Twitter retweeting news and building my brand. I need to show that I am serious about what I want to go into.

As for others, they need to be able to talk and FaceTime with their family that lives in a different state, professors need to be able to respond to their students emails if they have a question, and if there is a bomb threat, I'm pretty sure everyone would want to know about it.

Social media doesn't make us anti-social, except for the people who live on there as if there isn't an outside world. If anything media can be used to spark a conversation, like if there's a sudden news alert like with the Paris attacks. Media can bring us together as well as separate us, it all depends on the person you decide to be.