Media Binge/Fast

The idea of a media binge and media fast was a very interesting thought when thinking about how much media revolves around my life. My first impression was that a media Binge would not be too complex of a task considering I love using media and that a media fast would be very difficult to adapt too. The results of both the fast and binge were very interesting as I grasped a new perspective when trying this process.

As far as the media binge, I was ready for a task that didn’t intimidate me in the slightest. I finally had some time to clear out my emails, get some homework done, and waste some time watching pointless YouTube videos. Although it sounded easy as could be, this media binge ended up being slightly difficult. Instead of being productive, I ended up on Netflix for hours on end and felt pretty gloomy throughout the binge. The screen started to strain my eyes as I was feeling very lazy and worthless. The media binge also helped me realize how much more there is to life that doesn’t relate to technology such as nature, exercise, and little everyday things that media can distract us from. It seemed that media was the only concern I had instead of worrying about what was going on in front of me.

The media fast was a very interesting concept to me as I have grown up using technology and media in all forms. Going into the fast, I knew I would have many urges to break the fast and resort back to media, which was harder than I originally thought. Throughout the fast I noticed how many times I would open twitter and fail to remind myself about the binge because of how often I use media without even thinking. As I started to grasp the concept, I began to realize how much more in tune I was with everything around me rather than worrying about my phone. This process was very eye opening to think about life without media and how useful it is to us today.

The media binge and fast were two very different experiences that I learned a lot from. Both sides of the experiment had multiple positives and negatives that helped me remember how important moderation is when relating to media. Although life without media and life with media have upsides, a life with a good balance of both can be very beneficial to anybody.