Media Binge & Fast

Our class was assigned to have a media binge last Monday thru Wednesday followed by a media fast Thursday thru Saturday. Going into this assignment, I figured the media fast would easily be the hardest part of this assignment, but I was surprised to find out the media binge was equally as difficult.

In this day in age technology dominates our everyday life. We turn to technology for leisure, helpful information and to perform many necessary tasks such as homework or work. Since there is so much to do online, I figured this media binge would be a fun and easy task. Since the assignment asks you to have a screen in front of you at all times (that are safe of course), I thought it would be an opportunity to get a lot of school work done, answer work emails, and be productive. I'm a pretty busy person so I have to schedule how to spend my time beforehand to ensure I get all of my tasks done throughout the day. I figured it would not be hard for me to stay on task because I'm usually pretty good about avoiding distractions, but this media binge assignment made this incredibly difficult for me.

Instead of being productive with homework or work, I found myself becoming distracted by multiple media outlets. I found myself using this binge as an excuse to get side tracked and watch Netflix or scroll through social media on my phone. I was no longer taking the time to admire the life around me like I usually do. Instead, I was checking in on the latest Instagram posts while walking to class instead of looking at the trees, the flowers, or the cars passing by. Not only was I less productive than usual but I was also paying more attention to what was happening in other people's lives via social media than I was to my own life.

Before I began the media fast or the media binge assignment, I figured going without the Internet or any screens that weren't necessary or required would be a very difficult task. Instead, I found myself ready to take a break from the Internet and social media after being completely consumed by it during the binge. I found myself being much more productive with my homework since I wasn't being distracted by the TV or Twitter. I was accomplishing even more during my day than I usually would because I was completely avoiding numerous distractions. I ran into some difficulties when I had to find alternative sources to figure out the directions to a new restaurant or to look up the weather forecast for that day. But all in all, the pros outweighed the cons.

This media binge and media fast showed me two completely different worlds a person has the choice to live in. You can choose to let social media completely consume your life, you may be up on the latest news and trends but you won't be as productive with tasks, or engaged with the people around you. Or you can also choose to let social media and the Internet take a back seat in your life. You can be in control of being productive with your time, being social (as in face to face interaction) and living a life that is uninfluenced by how people on social media are living theirs. Moving forward, I will choose to be less consumed by social media so I can live a more productive, happier life.