Media Binge/Media Fast

The media binge was pretty easy for me considering I am always using the internet and looking at my social media. Since I do most of my homework on the computer, and finals week was just around the corner, it was easy to have my screen in front of me for majority of the day. I would also use my phone and look at my social media while using the computer. On top of all of this, I would sit on the couch in my living room and watch Netflix. During classes I would also open up my phone and look at my social media pages, as well as having my screen open in front of me to take notes. Getting the work I needed to get done was a rather difficult task due to the fact that I always had a screen in my face. I found myself being pretty tired during the binge and I think it was because of the constant screens, and having to focus much harder on my homework because I was aways distracted. I definitely got sick of the binge after probably two days because I started seeing all the same posts on every social media outlet, and I could not finish the essays I was writing at the time, for the life of me. By the end of the binge, I was glad it was finally over and I could have a break from the things I had already seen for the past three days.

The media fast wasn't as hard as I had originally thought it was going to be. Since it was immediately  following the binge, I was due for a nice break from media. Although it was impossible to not use my computer at all, I was able to only use it for homework assignments and blackboard. For the first day, I was able to go almost an entire day without using my phone, tv, and any social media. I distracted myself with getting my homework done and shutting off my phone for the entire school day so I wouldn't be tempted. The second day, after I felt like I was missing out on what other people were doing, it was much harder for me to not look at my phone and do some web browsing. I didn't shut my phone off, and at times I had some lapses where I would look at my screen to see if I had any texts, but I was able to get through the day without checking my social media. On the third day, I was really struggling because finals were coming up and study breaks are mandatory for me. I sat down and got a lot of studying done for most of the day, but eventually I needed to get up and take a break. I looked at my phone, answered a couple of texts, and unfortunately, answered a snapchat. But then I was able to put my phone down and continue on with my studies.

All in all, the media binge and fast was a super necessary experience. I realized it is absolutely imperative to find a balance between media usage and none at all. I like using social media on a daily basis but I definitely need to limit how much I check every day. On the other hand, growing up in a completely digital world, I wouldn't want to not ever use social media again. This was a great thing for me to experience and really put things into perspective for me.