My media-free experiment ran from Saturday 11/5 through Tuesday 11/8. My typical day is not as social media oriented as many other people, so I thought this exercise might be a bit easier for me than the typical student. I don’t have Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or any of the other various social media accounts. I do text quite a bit to keep in touch with my wife, kids, and friends since I am on a rotating night schedule now, which severely limits the amount of quality, face-to-face time I have with them. I am working when they are home or asleep, and they are working or at school when I am asleep or at home.
During my typical work day, I wake up around 10:00 AM, and I turn on the TV as I eat breakfast and get ready for the day. Afterward, unless I have something pressing to do in the three or four hours of “free time” available, I park myself on the …show more content…
The video from this week, Connected, But Alone? (Turkle, 2012), put into words something I have felt for a while now. We are all more connected, but more alone than ever. Those with Facebook can share (and overshare) their deepest feelings and desires with the entire world if they choose, but put most people face-to-face in a room with only each other and their phones, and they will not talk, only stare at their electronic distractions. I see this every day at work, during lunch and breaks. In the past, coworkers would converse, play cards, or otherwise interact with each other; now the breakroom is largely silent. Most people are lost in the world of the internet on their smartphones. I can’t say that I am immune to this behavior either, but I have decided to make an effort to resist pulling my phone out at every opportunity. Overall, I think the deprivation was a good experience. Although I was aware that our day-to-day existence is inundated with technology and media, I did not fully realize the extent of our
During my typical work day, I wake up around 10:00 AM, and I turn on the TV as I eat breakfast and get ready for the day. Afterward, unless I have something pressing to do in the three or four hours of “free time” available, I park myself on the …show more content…
The video from this week, Connected, But Alone? (Turkle, 2012), put into words something I have felt for a while now. We are all more connected, but more alone than ever. Those with Facebook can share (and overshare) their deepest feelings and desires with the entire world if they choose, but put most people face-to-face in a room with only each other and their phones, and they will not talk, only stare at their electronic distractions. I see this every day at work, during lunch and breaks. In the past, coworkers would converse, play cards, or otherwise interact with each other; now the breakroom is largely silent. Most people are lost in the world of the internet on their smartphones. I can’t say that I am immune to this behavior either, but I have decided to make an effort to resist pulling my phone out at every opportunity. Overall, I think the deprivation was a good experience. Although I was aware that our day-to-day existence is inundated with technology and media, I did not fully realize the extent of our