Media Fast: A Trip Back to the Ol’ Days

Media Fast: A Trip Back to the Ol Days

At the first idea of doing a 24-hour media fast, I was not looking forward to the day. Being in touch with the outside world gives me peace of mind and not being able to know what is going on brings me lots of anxiety. Before the fast, I already knew I would have to break it to listen to music while driving and to work on scholarship applications that were due the following Monday. However, I made sure to only use Spotify, which does not have ads, and that I only used my computer to write the scholarship essays and fill out applications and nothing else.

The hardest part about doing a media fast was all of those two-to-five-minute time periods in between classes or after an assignment is finished when I would normally take out my phone and scroll Instagram or check my messages on an average day. There wasn’t enough time to actually get anything done so I found myself just kind of sitting around aimlessly not sure what to do with my hands. It was a strange feeling not being able to grab for my phone at any time. It seems like it has less become a security blanket but more of a mechanism for curing boredom for me.

On the bright side, I noticed that I was able to pay better attention in class without the constant distraction from notifications and I actually got a lot done in study period, which almost never happens since I usually just sit on my phone or talk to friends for the whole period. I feel like I definitely interacted more one-on-one with my peers. Personally, I think a “notification fast” where I turn off notifications from social media and messaging apps would be more effective for me than a fully on electronics fast, however, I still think I learned something about myself from the experience.

I noticed that I was really anxious throughout the day about not knowing the latest news and happenings in the world. I personally do not like being out of touch and I think being able to connect to news across the world is a new-world luxury that we shouldn’t be ashamed to take advantage of. If something happens in Paris or Tokyo or even just the next town over, I want to know about it. I do not think phones and the internet are such a bad thing and I honestly think the “bad” effects that the media and adults like to talk about all the time regarding millennials are overplayed and its many advantages overlooked. People always like to talk about how “easy” we have things with the internet compared to “back in the day”, when in reality that comparison is just not accurate. It does not take into consideration how much more information and workload we as students are expected to be able to handle given the easy access to information through the internet. I understand that many teens do overuse their electronics for meaningless activities such as social media or video games, however, I think the wrong steps are being taken to solve this problem. In my opinion, the problem is not the use of cell phones and the internet in general, but more what they are being used for. Instead of constantly being scolded for using their phones, which are again a luxury that should be taken advantage and not for granted, children and/or teens need to be taught how they can properly use their electronics to stay up-to-date with what is happening in the world. As opposed to scrolling twitter for the latest news on the Kardashians, you can follow your local and national news networks and get real-time updates on news events. Instead of scrolling BuzzFeed all day for the latest life hacks, you can download countless education apps where you can actually learn a new language just by playing a few memory games every day. Personally, I just think the wrong approach is being taken to curb teen’s use of screen time which in reality just annoys and alienates most teens who are probably not going to listen anyway.