Like most 22 year olds, I use media on a near-constant basis. I use the Internet for hours a day, spend time on my iPhone's internet before I go to sleep and as I wake up, and keep my TV tuned to a weather channel. Media surrounds me nearly 24/7.
Except from noon to midnight on Friday, August 28, 2015. For an assignment, I went 12 hours without the use of media. From the start, I knew this was going to be a very hard task. It was difficult, to say the least, and forced me to muster up every ounce of my self discipline. Until this exercise, I never realized how unconsciously I use media.
At noon, the twelve hours started. Soon thereafter, my last class of the day ended, and I drove the 44 miles from WKU to my home in White House, TN. Normally, I turn the satellite radio on during this long drive, but today I couldn't, and had to drive in total silence. I began to take stock of what I could do to pass these 12 hours.
I paid my mom's parents a visit, something I do about twice a week on average. While there, I talked to them, swung on their porch swing, and had dinner. I then headed home in the late afternoon.
By around 4 pm, the lack of media was getting very tiring. I was tempted to - and did - pull out my iPhone a lot, only to realize that it was only useful as a clock in this media blackout. The whole afternoon had become a constant battle not to use media, as I had to stop myself numerous times from using the Internet and force myself not to watch the evening news. I began to do a countdown every time I looked at a clock, and took stock of the percentage of the way done I was.
Once I got home, I did the dishes and began talking to my parents. We had an interesting chat for a while, as I recapped how my week went and talked to them about various subjects and current events. All the while I was looking at the clock frequently. My mood had become worse, but I wouldn't call it "bad". Still, after 9 or so hours without media, I had to force myself to stay in a good mood as well.
The last hour was the hardest. My parents went to bed, and I didn't have much to do. Finally midnight came, and despite having awakened at 6 am that morning, I couldn't sleep. I had to check my Facebook, watch YouTube videos, check all of my favorite sites. I was ravenous for the Internet. I don't think I've awaited a certain time that eagerly for a while.
For me, it was the lack of Internet that was the hardest. I found that I could stay away from television or radio easily for twelve hours, but the wealth of information and entertainment available on the Internet is unparalleled. I was born in 1992, at a time when the Internet was extremely limited and rare - basically a pre-Internet time. The thought that a medium that became big in my lifetime could be such a great part of it is sobering.
