Step 2: Test
For my media diet test, I went on an 87-hour hiatus from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Netflix and Buzzfeed. And it was absolutely glorious. I was free from the constant distraction of my virtual world for at least a short period of time. I had to put parental controls for the sites on my computer, which was a funny experience in itself, since the program was set to have a parent block sites for his/her child. But I was the parent and child in the system; why can't someone just put blocks up for him/herself? And then I deleted the apps on my iPhone to be completely free of these sites.
When I was first setting up all these blocks to go on my hiatus, I was truly nervous and slightly freaking out. "I don't feel relief just yet, only anxiety," I wrote in my notes as I was logging off of everything. I even wrote a status about my hiatus before disconnecting #lame.
Although I would still procrastinate in my work like before, I found myself having extra time when I did finish something. On Fridays, I have a couple free hours between classes, in which I usually make and eat lunch while watching Netflix, surf the Net, do some reading, etc. But on this particular day, I didn't do my usual ritual of lunch and Netflix before the computer, and ended up having an extra 40 minutes before having to leave for class, which literally left me flabbergasted and truly bored with nothing to do. It sincerely felt glorious.
Also, I found it so much easier to get back into doing homework or reading after taking a short break. Instead of going on Facebook or Twitter, I would just stare out the window or spin in my chair, and then I'd go right back to work. It was fascinating to see how more productive and attentive I was without the constant distraction of my virtual world butting into my real world.
Surprisingly, the hiatus wasn't as brutal as I thought it would be, and it was instead quite enjoyable. I don't think I could ever completely log-off of new media, but it most definitely needs to be a balanced diet of the sweets of social media and the vegetables of the real world.
Since my hiatus, I have left all the parental controls on my computer, but I have downloaded the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram apps back to my iPhone. With at least the blocks still on my computer, I hope it will allow me to be more productive and less distracted while working on my computer and surfing the Net.
When I was first setting up all these blocks to go on my hiatus, I was truly nervous and slightly freaking out. "I don't feel relief just yet, only anxiety," I wrote in my notes as I was logging off of everything. I even wrote a status about my hiatus before disconnecting #lame.
Although I would still procrastinate in my work like before, I found myself having extra time when I did finish something. On Fridays, I have a couple free hours between classes, in which I usually make and eat lunch while watching Netflix, surf the Net, do some reading, etc. But on this particular day, I didn't do my usual ritual of lunch and Netflix before the computer, and ended up having an extra 40 minutes before having to leave for class, which literally left me flabbergasted and truly bored with nothing to do. It sincerely felt glorious.
Also, I found it so much easier to get back into doing homework or reading after taking a short break. Instead of going on Facebook or Twitter, I would just stare out the window or spin in my chair, and then I'd go right back to work. It was fascinating to see how more productive and attentive I was without the constant distraction of my virtual world butting into my real world.
Surprisingly, the hiatus wasn't as brutal as I thought it would be, and it was instead quite enjoyable. I don't think I could ever completely log-off of new media, but it most definitely needs to be a balanced diet of the sweets of social media and the vegetables of the real world.
Since my hiatus, I have left all the parental controls on my computer, but I have downloaded the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram apps back to my iPhone. With at least the blocks still on my computer, I hope it will allow me to be more productive and less distracted while working on my computer and surfing the Net.