I’ve been assigning a “media fast” for several years now as part of the Media & Society curriculum. The assignment provides an opportunity for students to see just how much their lives revolve around mass media, especially electronic media that provides an appearance of being both omni-present and omnipotent. In the past several years, the idea has found more and more proponents and more and more calls urging us to unplug, log-off, and catch our breath.
The National Day of Unplugging is one such effort. With distinctly Jewish overtones, the Sabbath Manifesto website encourages people to, “reclaim time, slow down their lives and reconnect with friends, family, the community and themselves” from “Sundown, Friday, March 4 to Sundown, Saturday, March 5.” You can find their 10 principles here, and their YouTube channel here.
Here’s a video short that also encourages people to take a break from their media-saturated lifestyles.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUIZx3OWZh4&]
How about it? Are you ready to go cold turkey?
The challenge of Un-plunging is to actually try to stop using your cell phones, TV, music (radio), and social media (internet). The focus is to step away for a while and observe how you react to the challenge. Most people have a hard time un-plunging, it’s like an addiction. When it results in withdraws it marks it under the category of addiction. The positive effect helps the community and the environment. Step away from the media and any electronics, use the time to reflect on life or spend time with a friend or family. It’s hard to think that talking face to face brings you back to the good ol’ days.
To “unplug” some believe it shouldn’t be that hard, “I dont use media all the time.” Well I beg to differ. Media is all around us, from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed you are using media in some way. It maybe lisening to the radio or surfing the net, even watching T.V. Some people spend their whole life under media, In my opinion I’m not ready for new technology, not ready for things to be handed to me through the media. I’m not one to say I dont participate in media but I dont think my life revolves around it. I love spending time outdoors and with family/friends and hope I can experience that for the rest of my life.The future scares me.
A 24 hour media fast was hard to participate in, I couldn’t imagine cutting all ties to media permanetly. Participating in this fast made me realize how much my life revolved around facebook, the internet, and gossip magazines. During the fast I found more time to help around the house.Was able to get ahead on some school work and to actually read required readings for class. This task was harder for me then I thought it would be.
I think this is a great idea and hope that more people hear about and partake in this event. As someone who lives more of an old school lifestyle, I use the bare minimum of social media. I am on Facebook, but other than that I am not too well connected to any social media. I don’t have a smart phone and dont feel a need to get one. Of course I watch a fair amount of T.V. and would like to cut back drastically from it. I do have an Ipod, but dont use it a whole lot. In my opinion, Im not to excited about where our world is going with the fast paced, always connected world of mass and social media. I believe it takes away drastically from person to person relationships, which is what comes natural to humans. At the rate we are developing technology, there is no telling where we will be in the next 10, 20, or 30 years. As for my participation in the event I will definately try to partake in the event. Hopefully I can disconnect from media more often than just the designated time of the event. I think it would serve all people well to get outside and take and connect with other people face to face.
I participtated in this media fast and it really makes you realize how much of your life revolves around media. For example, when i wake up in the mornings, i turn the news on. When i drive to school, i listen to the radio. When i am doing homework, i listen to music. Almost every activity that i do in my life, there is some type of media associated with it.
I will be partaking in the media fast this weekend and although im not fully consumed with the necessity of it I believe ill have a hard time with not listening to music. music is a essential part of my day to kind of set my mood. Other than that im usually too busy for tv and personal time on the computer. I do look forward to it because i think ill just be spending my time sleeping or studying.
Unplugging from media for a day is a good way to show society that there is more to life than social networks, listening to music on your iPod or sitting in front of a TV watching life pass you by. Unplugging from media allows for more human to human relationships/bonds to be developed without the use of mediums, possibly making the connection stronger due to factors like emotion and physical presence. No media for a day also allows for more important topics to be thought about and discussed, such as the debt ceiling and global warming. I feel that it is a very productive and efficient method and everyone should feel free to support the cause.
After completion of my media fast I realized it was harder than expected. The hardest part for me personally was staying away from music for a whole 24 hours. Music almost keeps my sain, it has the power to take you out of a specific mood you’re in and can then put you into a complete different one music is just what you need sometimes. But since I couldn’t do what I love the activities I did without using mass media got me away from my everyday routine. As hard as it was it was also refreshing to do something else for a change. To not have to hear about the BS the media feeds on the news nor some of the garbage local radio stations play……. like I said refreshing.
Personally I think its good to unplug from technology for a minute. We as a human race have become so dependent on technology that i believe that we have forgotten how to get back to the basics and just enjoy life. Sometimes we can get so “plugged in” that we can be oblivious to what’s going on around us. I know that me personally, I will at times get disconnected of what’s going on in the news because i can get caught up on the computer (facebook) and watching my reality. I might not know the recent news and what is going on around the country. Sometimes, when I am at home for a visit, I can be so wrapped up on my phone that I don’t even realize my family wanting to socialize with me and catch up. I feel its bad to be so wrapped up in our technology that we for get those aspects of our life that aren’t technology based.
Why should we unplug from technology? It’s the soul of our generation. To us, knowledge is a measurement of ease of data access and retrieval. To us, communication skills involve the use of our smart phones and Facebook. The world has changed, and no longer needs a break from technology. Ultimately, it is the future and the present, and people calling for a tedious break have to realize that they may as well call for a break from drinking water for a day. Possible, yes. Painful, definitely. Unnecessary, absolutely, except to prove that one can do it. I did it, and it was as bad as I thought it would be. I hope I never have to again, because I accept just how integrated technology is in my life. And I don’t fear it, but instead welcome the advantages it gives me.
When I did my media fasting, it was quite difficult. Going cold turkey with media was more difficult than I thought it would be. I had to keep myself occupied with soccer and chores. I soon realized that I was dependent on media and that I was addicted to my phone, the TV, Music and the Internet. I have never realized that media was such a big aspect in my life until I had to give it up for a 24 hour period. I think the hardest mass media to stay away from for 24 hours was music, because I listen to music a lot. While technology is increasing, I feel as if more and more people are going to get addicted.
When I heard about the assignment and how I had to quite cold turkey of all mass media for 24 hours I was alittle worried because I am always listening to the radio, checking my Facebook account and watching movies. I knew this assignment was going to be difficult for me. After doing the assignment it was hard not to listen to the radio when I was driving and watch my boyfriend play video games on the TV and get on Facebook on my cell phone. I had to force myself to be entertained by doing other activities such as cooking and cleaning and having long conversations when I went over to my boyfriends’ house. I realized that having mass media around it seems more people are not engaging in other activities without the use of technology.People should try to do other activites such as camping, fishing, picnics in the parks with out being held up with mass media all the time. There would be better communication and connections between people with out the use of mass media.
Being how our paper covered this topic, I decided that I would reflect upon the issue. Taking myself away from the constantly appearing forms of mass media had its challenges but at the same time was not too difficult. Every time I stepped out of a room in my house and walked into another a TV would be on and I would have to remove myself from that room and find another activity to involve myself in. I found myself talking to a lot more of my friends face to face than I usually would, because the “Cold Turkey” assignment forced me to. I found myself getting out of the house and doing activities that I usually wouldn’t do such as helping my brother-in-law change the oil in his car. If everyone was to unplug from media for one day, a lot of people would realize how much more life has to offer and become more on the spot social ready. Also mass media channels would definitely suffer a major collapse in funding and most likely would not be too happy about the newly arriving “Turkey Day”. Their means to stop such an event from happening would probably consist of rewards involving free giveaways if people didn’t participate and tons of other advertising strategies to prevent such a thing from happening.
To unplug from mass media or technology serves no purpose other than stating that technology is humans down fall. In which one would have to debate to what is “technology”? Technology could be easily defined as only electrical or any new innovation that improves everyday life. In which case to unplug would/could mean no clothes, house, music, spoken language, car, smart phone, or anything other than yourself and nature. And yes I would argue to that using a stick or rock for any purpose is innovation and the creation of new technology. So to unplug is simply unreasonable and serves no purpose then trying to halt the progress of the human race which they can do by joining congress.
As far as unplugging as a college student, this makes no sense when the professor told us all at first lecture to check black board daily for updates. Also it can’t be done completely unless you where in a place with no media, like in the middle of the woods.
I’ll be the first one to admit that media has influenced my life significantly. It probably is a problem but really its some thing that we have all learned to love and appreciate. I guess its taking away from the substance of knowledge a person can gaine. The only way to prevent this is to abstain from media, unless its something that is educational. EASIER SAID THAN DONE!! For example when where in class and one of my classmates was talking about how much money him and his room mates spend on cable a month, and the fact that he only watches about 20 channels out of all that he pays for. This is kind of crazy just seeing that most of the stuff that him as his room mates watch prolly have very little substance ,if any. This is not abnormal though because we all do it and it seems as if the things that we should be watching are paid for but we filter them out of our selection. Will the influence that media has on us ever change?
I am in the class right now and trying to think about going about this assignment. I imagine it will be a hard task. We all are consumed with mass media and technology. If one thinks about it we take all of these great things for granted. No phone, t.v., radio, computer, etc. It would be smart to do this assignment when one has to be away from these surroundings, such as traveling, camping, working etc. All of us participate in some sort of technology and is very hard to unplug cold turkey especially when one has to do assinments and blog entries such as these to keep up in the class. I will try this sometime next week and see how it goes. I do not think it will be as hard as I think. It might actually be relieving a little bit to enjoy the finer things in life.
I think it would be a very good idea for “some” people to unplug from the digital world. Some people rely too much on such things as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, they can not wait to reply to a comment or blog. Technology has consumed most peoples lives and it is pathetic how much time that people will spend on the internet. I am one of these people. I will spend countless hours just sitting at home watching Youtube, Netflix and even Hulu. What is even more pathetic is how people will spend there time fighting on the internet because they do not have anything better to do. I have come across this many times where people have nothing good to say and and attack anyone. This is why i choose not to comment on blogs or youtube or any place where anyone but my friends can read my comments.
The media fast was good for me and i will most likely do it again and maybe try to go for a longer period of time. i think more Americans need to try to the media fast. people in the last ten years have became addicted to media and it is sad because they are missing out on the actual real world. kids are missing out on there childhoods because they are inside watching tv playing video games or online looking up random things instead of outside being a kid.
I think a Media detox is a great thing i know after i had to do it for class it made me realize that i depend way to much on the Media. I shouldnt have to depend on the media when it comes to entertainment. Their are other ways to have a good time. All these medium were not here back in the day and they survived. So i think if everyone would do the Media detox they would realize it’s beneficial to you mentally.
I think that this is exactly what this country needs. People are way to into media now a days. When people can instantly know that they have been “poked” on their facebook and not know what is going on in class, their is a problem. People in today’s society and way to involved with social media that they are addicted to it. People are addicted to knowing what is going on with everyone in the world and they need to know now. What happened to phone calls. People now need text everyone to see if they want to hangout. Their have already been business’ that have been affected from this and people and their social class.
I feel like a media detox could actually be really benificial. I mean it would be nice to be unplugged for an entire day, again like the detox assignment we did. I think it allows people to connect in different ways and to enjoy the simpler thinkgs in life, cheesey, I know, but I think it’s really healthy to do every now and again.
I think it’s a good idea to take a break from the “digital” world and just enjoy what was here long before our iPhone and Android devices. We tend to forget there are a lot of other activities that can consume our time other than just apps and gossip websites. The problem that seems to occur is it’s too easy to access these apps and websites. The majority of people now days own a smartphone, laptop, or computer. Add in a iPod or HDTV with Internet access and becomes close to impossible to not enter the digital world. This results in an intoxication of Internet and mobile apps. But it also comes down to the person with the access to know when it’s time to take a break. Every time I go snowboarding I do at least one run without my music on just to listen to the sound of the powder being shred and the wind blowing.
Upon participating in the media fast, I gleaned the true and scary fact of how reliable we are on technology as a savvy and media hungry generation. The fast was not an easy task as I realized I am not excluded from the media hungry generation, but very much apart and involved in this group of consumers. Constantly having to be aware of what I was intaking though the internet, radio, and other sources of information became somewhat frustrating as I soon realized I check my updates on my phone without being consciously aware. My mind and body had become so adjusted to going through the motions with retrieving my information from different sources of media that I hardly realized how much media was affecting my day. I am not against media in any way because I rely on it too much, but I do believe fasting from certain forms of media that are overtaking important time should be implemented in our society and will continue to be implemented in my life. Be thankful for the media tools we have and let’s do our best to improve them for the better.
I grew up in kind of a rough neighborhood. We didn’t really have the financial oppurtunities to be able to afford alot of technology. I think that if I had to take time away from the media than it wouldn’t be that much of a problem. I could even last without my phone for a while. I grew up used to this type of lifestyle so electronically fasting myself wouldn’t pose a problem. I can definately see the frusteration and anger that can be derived from those who are used to electronics. Staying away from the media could be hard for some, but for others its just another day.
I have to say, giving up media was hard for the fact that I rely on it every day to bring me information about the world with which I am living. I chose to abstain from all media on March 2nd. I thought it was going to be simple because it was my busiest day of the week, but soon I came to find, it only made it harder.
My first unpleasant encounter was not being able to listen to my internet radio or my iPod when I woke up in the morning. Instead of waking up to something enjoyable, such as the band Gaelic Storm, I had to wake up to an old fashioned clock radio. The radio nearly gave me a heart attack and set me off in a bad mood. The annoying beep was completely a disturbance. I realized later when getting ready in the morning that I couldn’t pay attention and was very sluggish. I completely rely on my music to keep me motivated and pushing forward throughout the day. I ended up taking too long of a shower, because I typically will listen to three to five songs before I know I’m running late for school.
I believe we as a nation should completely put all electricity to a stop for one day. How cool would that be! We would need to use only man powered devices. No electronics, and put away all mass media. We have given up on what it means to be a family anymore. I know that when I play video games with my friends, we don’t talk so much about whats going on in our lives, but tactics. If we give up media for a while I believe that will bring people together and make us a stronger Nation.
The only reason I attempted the media fast was because it was an assignment for class. However, surprisingly, it didnt kill me. The apps on my phone made it a little bit tempting to cheat but it wasnt something I HAD to do…I realized I just use them because they are there. The hardest part for me was probably staying off of the facebook app on my phone. It wasnt hard because I post things, but its a way for me to keep up with the lives of my friends back at home in Cali. I was actually forced to call my friends and see what they were up to. I failed with not listening to music. On a normal day, I have my Ipod with me everywhere I go. On the fasting day, I left my Ipod at home and tunred my radio off, however, right when I thought I had succeeded, I went out to the softball field for practice and my coaches had music playing during batting practice. Overall, it was a good experience. There are some things I can live without and some I cannot.
After I completed the media fast assignment,I felt as though I conquered the world. It was a hard task at first but in the end I learned that I can live life without checking my facebook a million times a day and seeing who sent me a friend request. I know for a fact I can not live without music though, for it is more source of relief when I’m so stressed out. For our socierty as a whole we could not fucntion without technology as it is today.
I personally don’t think I could go a day without being on my phone or on the very addicting facebook. Technology has taken over our lives and consumes out time. Communication in Person is slowly dying. It’s all about texting, skyping, and facebooking. We can’t even go a full converstaion without using lol, jk, bff, and brb in a sentence. Without technology our society couldn’t function, it would be the end of the world for most people because in this world technology is KING.
Unplugging was extremely hard for me. I never noticed how much a routine I had that involved media. The scary part was that it started the second I woke up. I get up walk outside and get the newspaper, as I read that and eat my cereal I am usually watching SportsCenter as well. The hardest part of the media fast for me was television. I could deal with everything else, but whenever I am bored that is the one thing I resort to.
This experience really helped me as I was able to realize how much my life revolved around mass media, and now I make a conscious effort not to get sucked in again and find other activities to do. Media is still very important to me and sometimes, I admit, I crave SportsCenter but my life no longer involves media in every aspect.
I completed the media fast assignment and it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Sure, I had a few moments where I was itching to get on facebook, but I made it through. I was also having a hard time with the silence in my car without the music, it wasn’t the same as I’m used to. Giving up my typical activities like getting on the internet, listening to music, watching movies was very hard because I didn’t know what to fill my time with. It’s a little bit sad how much we all rely on technology, and that going just for a day without it was like pulling teeth.
When doing the media fast in class assignment, I honestly thought to myself it can’t be that hard to do for one day. When my teacher announced we were doing that I thought to myself we can’t have our cell phones either. He immediately announced the measures of what the media fast required. All the students in the class could not watch television, listen to music, read a book (unless you had homework), and could not be on the internet. I do have to say that this media fast was a little hard for me because I always spend tremendous amounts of time on the internet, listening to music and of course watching TV. It was interesting to see how wrapped up in media I am and it was kind of scary to see that my life revolves around media. When watching this video it was an eye opener, because this world revolves around technology and the technology in today’s society is growing rapidly as the years go by. I believe if this continues technology will begin to take over the world and it could lead to destruction, because we no longer use basic technology any more it’s more advance.
I feel the video was very appropriate and shows how much society is so reliant on technology and how much we need to have internet, phones, texting, laptops and other high tech equipment in our lives. The media fast was a bit of a reality check on how much I use all of this equipment myself. I know that I use things such as texting, phone apps, video games, youtube videos whenever I can. Even my trips to the bathroom were not quite as exciting without the use of my phone. (haha) If the world was forced to do this task, we would probably have a major break down and not ever be able to recover because of how much it is used in stead of using basic technology like we once did.
Going cold turkey on a media fast is no problem! No problem if you’re friendless,lifeless,and heartless.We get our life from media tools fromn phones,computers,television,and even radio.Information on what’s going on in the world is broadcasted through media because it allows the public to have something to talk about.Whenever there’s a world crisis,expect the internet or the news to be the first source we turn to.It’s almost having a third lung,you already have one and two,but the third is just as useful and can be harmful when it fails.Personally the toughest media outlet to refrain from is the internet.I see enough of my select friends in person but it’s when I want to share more about myself to the public or found out more is when I use the internet most.Facebook is the catalyst.In a grander view,with all preparations accounted for I could do the media fast without a sweat….okay maybe just a little.
A media fast will be extremely difficult for me because it cuts out every single media outlet. if the fast was just electronic, I could read a book or look at a magazine. but with the requirement to abstain from all media, I am not sure how i will spend my 24 hours. The one aspect that saves me is my ability to text message. i would rather text then be on facebook or the internet. I enjoy interacting with people and not being able to text would hinder me.
I’m pretty much addicted to Facebook. I don’t know why, and I don’t know how it started. But I found that after completing my 30 day photo challenge and the urge to “like” or comment on everything that made me think, I began to update less and less and not care about my friends posts. It seems that if there’s nothing particularly interesting about something at the time, I spend less time clicking the refresh button or seeing who’s online (and even challenging my poke war with a friend). I know that if I distract myself with other activities, I may be able to succeed in this battle with electronic entertainment. However, I’m waiting to do the media fast till the last possible day because I can’t possibly bear to have a day without music.
Yes, I have already done my media fast. The results were not much different from what I thought they were going to be. I don’t have almost any leisure time during the week so I have a very little opportunity to use the most media addiction instrument, which is the television. I couldn’t believe what I read on one of the articles regarding that the average adult in the industrialize word spent as an average, three hours watching TV. Even if I have time to do it, I believe there are better things to do with that time. As a matter of fact, I am trying to eliminate the TV watching during dinner time and spent this time having a quality dialogue with my family. What most affected me in this experiment was the impossibility to listen music, which is the media that I enjoy the most.
I have really been thinking about this fast… I have yet to partake. The idea of not being able to access any mass media is frightening. Because I sit in front of a computer for 8 hrs a day, I have to be doing at least 5 things at once to keep me coherent. I usually work, first of all, watch some kind of dvd, talk to people on gmail, and surf the net, when needed. I am planning to do the fast on Friday, the National Day of Unplugging. Wish me luck!
Im really excited to complete the project given in my media and socity class. I think the day I chose to do the project would be on the day of “unplug.” Im interested to find out how I can survive without my phone. I believe I’ll do ok when it comes to using the T.V or computer, unless it’s for school, but driving to school in the morning might be a little harder. I figure if I focus on something else instead of my phone I’ll come out of this just fine.
I have not started my media fast just yet. I think it will open our eyes to how technology and mass media consume our daily live and feel like most people take it for granted that we have a hyper speed connection to any information that we could fathom right at their finger tips. The idea of “unplug” has a lot of people worried by the reactions in the class when we were told of this assignment, and they should be because technology is and will continue to be dominant in our daily lives. I do not think most of the students in the class will be able to fast for the full 24 hours. I’m going to have trouble for sure.
Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.
~Alan M. Eddison
I have not participated in the Media Fast yet. At first thought it seems like any easy task, “Oh I just won’t get on Facebook for a day,” but when it includes all forms of media; it’s literally fasting from most aspects of our everyday lives. We are surrounded by media, and we participate in using it without even thinking. Whether it’s listening to the radio while driving to school, or reading a book for pleasure; all of it is an aspect of media. And when you start to think about it, many of our lives literally revolves around media.
I believe National Day of Unplugging is a great idea, however I believe it will be very difficult for most individuals. I never realized, until this project was assigned, exactly how often I use technology or get updated with mass media. After the assignment was assigned I began thinking about what I do when I am not on the computer, or what I do when I spend time with my friends. As I began thinking about it more in depth I realized that when I am with my friends we are either on the internet or we are watching TV. I wondered if I was the only one that just sat around with my friends and watched TV, but what I found was that multiple people simply watch TV with their friends. I feel as though technology is taking over our world. Even the thought of talking to someone over IM or Facebook is not as personal as talking to them in person. I personally dislike IMing or talking to other people online simply because I don’t get the satisfaction of hearing the tone in their voice. Overall I believe most college students are going to have a very difficult time turning all the technology off, as well as turning off the mass media for 24 hours. I know I will…
I completed the fast yesterday and I had a few twitchy moments. When I got into my car to drive to and from school I almost had to sit on my hand to keep from turning the radio on. I hadn’t really thought about how subconscious that listening to something in the car really was. The rest of the time was pretty easy though. I switched off my phone, went for a long walk, and spent the evening playing my guitar, studying for a test and talking to my girlfriend. I am used to reading a book before falling asleep, which constitued my second set of media withdrawal symptoms. The whole exercise really led me to realize how infused we are with media on so many levels, and I wonder how healthy all of the distractions we have available to us really are.
I have not participated in the essay yet. I have started a couple of times but I end up not finishing because I get on Facebook or I turn on the radio in my car. I think it is a very hard task to do. Now these days everything is surrounded my media. Everywhere you go there is a t.v or radio at that place. Even mcdonalds has t.v’s in there lobby. So to do the fasting task you need a lot of determination and self-despline. I will be able to fast from the media but it wont be easy. It is a good thing for me and others to do the same.
Lol @ me really having to gear myself up for a challenge like this…just goes to show how monumentally connected in I and furthermore, we all have become. I think that the world is so radically different now esp. concerning how we live minute to minute with media…
A day with no technology is a unique idea, this could be all it takes for anyone to complete anything they have ever started or have wanted to do. Technology is nice to have it makes our daily lives easier but it also allows everyone to procrastinate when there is no time to spare. If people even stepped away from social websites for a few days they would have so much time for an opportunity to do something productive instead of finding out “how John felt today”. So being involved in this national day I think will be a neat experience and a real eye opener for everyone.
I have not participated in media fasting yet, but I am prepared for how hard it is going to be. The only reason media fasting has ever even crossed my mind is because it is requored for an assignment in this class. I can imagine that when I do my 24 hours without media, I am really going to struggle. My entire life is pretty much my cell phone. All of my fmaily and a lot of my friends live in my hometown back in California and my cell phone and facebook is how I keep in touch with them. There are people however, that take the uses of their electronics too far. For me, not using the computer for social networking or my smart phone for apps and internet won’t be too hard. However, not listening to music is a task I view as almost impossible. I love music and everything about it. Television won’rt be too difficult because with my busy schedule I don’t really have a show I watch religiously. I am open to attempting the fast, but probably no more than 24 hours. I do think that the whooe concept of media fasting is a good idea with the direction our society is going towards today. It’s a good idea to slow things down and get back to the really important things in life. It will not be easy, that’s for sure.
The hardest technology for me to give up would be music. I rely on music 90% of my day. Whether it’s on my way to work, at work, or on my ipod at the gym after work-I am constantly listening to a steady stream of sound. Without a doubt, giving up my computer and cell phone would also be very difficult. I rely on both for personal and professional use. In my industry, technology seems to be an essential facet of day in and day out production. If I were to commit to giving up technology for “unplug” on March 4th and 5th I would be really challenged to find other ways and resources to go about getting things done in my office.
I originally posted this for the iPhone topic, but it might apply here:
It’s hard to deny the utility of (digital media) smart phones. As a tool for managing menial tasks on-the-go, they make practical sense; using my phone to, say, turn on the lights in my home while on vacation to ward off intruders, or, unlock my vehicle in case my keys are locked inside is nothing short of cool. But from reading other posts, I realize that most consumers lack the capacity to realize that heavy reliance upon technology to enrich everyday experience exemplifies a type of obedience to a modern mythology; a belief that new media technology is a meaningful way to attain personal fulfillment.
Once the sole domain of religion, hopelessly lauded technology now provides the unwarranted substitute to ordinary human experience and an empty promise of satisfaction through its use. Arguably, the sole function of religious magisteria is to dupe consumers into disregarding ordinary personal experience in favor of religion’s magical tales and empty promises (a direct line to God, protection from natural consequence, etc.). After all, religious practice enriches one’s soul and enhances reality through a (pretend) distinct connection to greater truths, didn’t you know? If you’re a member of the “correct” religious club (if you use the most popular app) you could escape the common mortal experience and earn eternal residence (and happiness) in the ethereal realm. What a bargain! The only cost is the dismissal of ordinary human experience, as it’ll never be quite as satisfying as a back-stage pass to the divine (or updates of my friend’s FB status).
The advent of technology (print media, then electronic forms) provided quicker individual payoffs and instantly magical substitutes to religious promises of self- enrichment. Sitting around the radio to listen to one’s favorite radio addresses, or finding oneself captivated by moving pictures in a box became the modern way to supplant one’s dissatisfaction with ordinary experience and a way to transcend reality. Just like religion, technology provides a way to mystify and commoditize the experiences of others; making them seem more magical than anything you yourself are experiencing only to try and sell you a short cut for having something similar.
There is a technological magisterium that permeates modern culture so deeply, it might be causing a sort of protracted suicide for the human being. This would be an interesting discussion to have, but there are few who have the faculty to do so. The myth that technology will solve all of the world’s issues is creating overtly quantifiable consequences to the natural realm. However, these objective facts won’t have any useful impact in ordinary discourse on these issues. For now, consumers will continue to engage in the mindless contrarianism of whether one smart phone app is more useful than another. The marketplace will continue to welcome any new app regardless of its utility and especially if it has the potential to stimulate more consumption.
OMG! Thinking to myself, I must check my FB and see if anyone “liked” my status I posted at 9 A.M. in my English class instead of listening to my instructor. The time is now 10:30 A.M. (same day) and no one “liked” my comment! This is the senario most college students go through during the day. Well luckily for me I don’t get on my Facebook anymore and deavtivated it. It has been 4 months since I have last checked my Facebook. Suprisingly I still have friends in reality. Not really because there is so much more to life than the media. We are always surrounded by the media no matter where we are. Even as I am posting this I am on Youtube at the same time listening to music. I have yet to fast from the media but I hunger so much for music I can not get away from it. Thankfully I am a musician and can make music from anything I touch. I own 2 violins which is an advantage because I can make my own music and make music on FL Studio without having to be online. Thumbs up to that on Facebook. Oh wait i don’t own a Facebook anymore.
I have yet to partake in media fasting, but if i had to guess at what it would be like for me i would say that since my whole life revolves around my cell phone its going to be very very difficult. I have a lot of people i am constantly talking to either through email or facebook, once i cut off those means of communication i think i’ll feel very lost and i ‘ll panic. With that being said its scary to think that people in todays society have grown that attached to electronic media. We have become so dependant as a society to things like this that weve lost most ability to communicate the old fashioned way, either through verbal communication (speeking in public seems to be a widely shared phobia) or even just writing a letter. Its very interesting to see how weve evolved as a society and even more interesting to think where we are headed with all the new technological advances weve been making.
I think its good to “unplug” from all the latest technology. A lot of people lives revolve around mass media whether they admit it or not. I for one am excited to get away for a day and see how different my life is without doing my daily routine of checking my facebook, posting new stories and following people on twitter. I don’t think it will be easy seeing how the world i live in is surrounded by devices that allows me to check up on these things almost anywhere i want to. It might be the hardest thing i have done in awhile, but it might be a nice to get away from it all for at least a day.