Media Binge

Having a phone or screen in front of your face all day is actually not very fun. Being on a device the whole day can make you do stuff you typically wouldn’t do. During the binge part of the week I started downloading more and more apps because I started becoming bored with what I already had on my phone. Refreshing twitter and not seeing any new tweets started to become desperate and it felt like I was pressing too much. Being on twitter as much as I could for the binge did have some positive aspects to it though. I follow several news organizations and they will post stories and usually I don’t have time to click on the link and read them right away, but with the binge happening I decided to read all of them even when it was inconvenient. I love knowing what’s happening in the world so having a device in my grasp at all times was nice for that part.

            After being bombarded with information 24/7 it was a massive juxtaposition between the two. Trying to be in class before it starts and not be on my phone was really boring because literally everyone else is on their phones. I did feel like I was left out without my phone because everyone else was gathering information from whatever their media outlet was and I’m just sitting there with nothing. To be without any mobile device does have several upsides to it, considering now you have no choice but to communicate with others in person. Without any technology you become only concerned with what’s happening in front of your own eyes and at times that can be pretty nice. Because I had my phone so much the days before the binge I really did feel like I was days behind the news and that bothered me.

            Overall, I do think there is a lot more merit to not being completely obsessed with your phone and just trying to be concerned with what’s happening in real time. It’s good to know the news but being on your device when around other people sends a message to everyone else that they’re not that important. The whole binge and fast was an interesting experience and I’m glad I did it but I’ll probably never try and do it again.