I thought that I would be able to survive through the media fast because I don’t think that I am highly addicted to my phone. The only modifications that I made was going on google docs to complete scholarship essays, however I did not go on a google search, or see any media.

The easiest part of my day without media was that I left my phone at home, so I was not tempted until the night. This made it easy because I was away from my phone all day The most difficult part of my day was at night when I was in my bed at night because I always listen to music before I fall asleep, but I couldn’t do so. I was extremely productive doing my scholarships without any distractions from my phone. I also was much more aware all the time. I cooked dinner with my mom and went out with my brother. My experience during school was not that much different because I am not on my phone much during the school day. One thing that I noticed was that normally instead of taking an assignment home I would normally just take a picture of it, but I was not able to use my phone, so my backpack was much heavier. I think that I felt much more distant with my friends during the fast, but much closer with my family, during the fast. When I was at school, the fast was easy, it wasn’t until I was home where I began to feel like I was bored. I noticed that I felt bored because I didn’t have much to do that day, but I quickly adapted to my environment and spent most of the day with my brother, who also did the fast. I was not anxious about not having media, I did not experience anybody reactions such as itch or vibrations. I think that I was comfortable with the media fast. I did not break the fast, I was able to last the whole 24 hours without using any media. I was proud of myself because I knew after it had been around 12 hours, that I should just do the rest of the time and finish out the fast. I was very self-motivated to finish out the fast without breaking. I told other people about the fast, but most of my friends were also participating in it, so it was not terribly difficult. I think that the fast was common knowledge around the high school, because a lot of classes were participating.

One of the lessons that I will be walking away with is that I realized that I can survive without it. I know that I am not addicted to media. Although I like being in the know, I do not have withdrawal problems, or any drastic reactions to being without media. When I returned to media, I felt as though I had to catch up on all the media that I had missed. I had woken up to 27 texts, several snapchats, and a few Instagram and Facebook notifications. I just felt like I needed to catch up on all the media I had missed, so I scrolled through my feeds on social media. I noticed that not many people posted on Instagram, most likely due to all the students participating in the fast. I learned that I can be without media, even though, it is such a large part of today’s society. I learned that I have a lot of willpower when I am being put to a challenge. I learned that a lot of my friends are very dependent on their phones, and they are not able to fast for even 24 hours. I think that it unhealthy. My family was happy about the fast because I was more involved in the conversations that I was having with them and I had more time to spend with them because my homework was done earlier. This fast made me realize that I will make sure that my children are not addicted to their phones, because it is sad when someone is so attached to media, and their phones. I think that the culture I am growing up in is constantly making apparent that this generation is not able to meet people in real life because they are so used to meeting people on social media. That my generation is losing their communication skills, and I will make sure that my children are not like that. I think that most of society will fall out of face-to-face communication, because it is more work, which is a shame, because I think that communication in person is much more valuable than that over a media platform. I think that society’s future use of media will appear as though no one is communicating, and that no one is able to go even an hour without their cell phone. I would fast again, I think that a frequent cleanse of media is a positive thing, because often we get sucked into the use and truths of media. It being a week after the fast tomorrow, I have noticed that I do not use that much media, and when I do, it is when I have nothing else that I could be doing. The fast changed how I view myself because I now see myself as different. I was one of the few people in my class that did the entire 24 hours of the fast, I am impressed and proud of myself. I am proud of the amount of willpower I have.

I think that it is sad the amount that people use their phone a day. I think that in this society it is tough to not be connected to the media, but I think that it is important to take a step back and realize that anything that is happening on a social media platform that isn’t affecting you directly is not very crucial to your life. The only thing that I think society should check regularly is the news, I think it is important to be informed in your daily life. I don’t think that everyone should check media such as Instagram, Facebook, or twitter as frequently as they should check the news app. Overall, the media fasting experience was one that was extremely valuable and was one that I think everyone should participate in, at least once in their life.