#mediadetox

Try it

Disappear for a while

Go ghost

It’s then when you’ll realise who cares about you the most

In an era of 24/7 news cycles and constant digital updates, staying informed about global events has never been easier—or more overwhelming. From the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza to the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, international news often brings distressing headlines that can take a toll on our mental health. The question we must ask ourselves is: At what…

If you’re wondering why I decided to do it, let’s just make it clear: it wasn’t my idea.

I probably wouldn’t have picked this time of the year, with the exams just around the corner and tons of things to study. But then again, I always find time to procrastinate anyways so that would just be an excuse to avoid the detox.

Truth is, it was part of my last assignment for my Media and Cultural Studies’ course and although I could have bluffed it, I ACTUALLY DID IT. 

Well, I tried at least.

Last Thursday night I realised that after getting rid of my group presentation, I didn’t have any commitment left, so I was free to start. Got into my jim jams, brushed my teeth, TURNED OFF MY PHONE and went to bed. 

I slept like a kid. I’m not even sure if any of the alarms went off, and if they did, I didn’t hear them. With no time perception, I didn’t have a clue what time was when I woke up but i had the feeling it wasn’t quite early.

I remembered that it was DETOX DAY but suddenly, I also remembered it was FRIDAY and Friday only means one thing for me: Grey’s Anatomy final episode. 

Could I resist?

OF COURSE not. 

So, let’s face it: that wasn’t a good start. At all.

I felt a bit guilty for giving up so quickly on something I didn’t even started yet. Just like when you decide to start your diet on a Monday and then secretly have chocolate. Or when you decide to give up smoking but you still have a packet of cigarettes in your bag.

I was doing it wrong. Everything was just too handy. 

After this moment of weakness, I decided to be productive and started studying. 

Although I only used my book, you could argue that even that is media.

Okay, I wasn’t trying to get back to caveman life. The idea was to avoid mainly phone, laptop and TV. 

I studied for what seemed like a few hours. Then I laid in bed wondering about this detox.

I thought: “ What if a day something happens and we won’t have access to internet? ”

INTERNET. This world.

We are constantly connected to Internet and we are constantly disconnected from other human and from what’s happening next to us.

Our bodies live in this planet but our minds are elsewhere.

Although I use them quite a lot, I was fine with having no access to any of the social media. Probably because I am old enough to remember a childhood without internet. I remember to be able to communicate with my peers without the phone. To play with the other kids, and invent games. To use our fantasy. Probably because I was allowed to have a break from people, and I know it sounds mean, but sometimes we need it. Probably because I felt like I had time to think. 

This is what I kept thinking. How I lived before Internet. For the first time in a long time, my thoughts were floating. 

I wasn’t getting DISTRACTED. I was getting NOSTALGIC.

And it’s this feeling of nostalgia that makes me think that maybe this detox was just a starting point for me.

Not using any kind of media for a day? It seems like a simple thing, but it isn’t. Nowadays almost every single form of communication relies on media. Internet became an essential part of life and it’s astonishing how (almost) everything has connection with digital media. But what kind of future awaits if we continue walking in this direction? That’s what I thought about while doing the experiment.

Our phones and computers have everything we “need”: make calls and send text messages through a certain service (something that nobody uses anymore thanks to social media). Apps that give us all the information we want and an alternative form of communication: immediate feedback / response. This creates an easy lifestyle, because everything fits in our pockets or backpacks in small devices. But is it useful? No.

Try the experiment and you’ll understand. This “easiness” is a mistaken thought. Our minds are automatic now, because the first thing we think about is using our devices. I find this disturbing. These tools have surpassed their main purpose and transformed into something we need, thus dehumanizing our lifestyle.

Think about this: if we want to talk to somebody, we rather use our apps or websites. If we want to buy groceries or any other kind of item, we do it through the internet. Have you realized how little is our human contact right now? We prefer to stay indoors and continue with our endeavours with this social illusion that media has created for us.

This illusion is what makes us feel comfortable using media all the time: we believe that everything we do is social, so we consume more and more content every day. But the downside of this is that media is taking almost every hour of our life, and keeps growing as our major source of entertainment and communications. That’s why we now struggle without internet.

Media Detox serves as a meditation process where we can be productive once again. Returning to “old” ways of living: Spending some time with other people, walking. Doing some workout, studying by analysis and not by remembering or repeating. The experiment was a success for me, because it reminded me how different life was before all this media hype. The key word for this experiment is experience.

As we are used to do everything with our devices, we are starting to forget how incredible life is as the ultimate experience. And not just talking about human contact, but the happiness of everything we can do without sharing it anywhere, enjoying it and later feeling satisfaction. That’s what life is about! Not worrying about how many reactions our content can achieve.

Media is not transforming us into “dumb” individuals, but is taking our attention towards mundane and common things. What we have to do is remember how productive and joyful our activities can be without worrying about using our devices or creating content, but focusing on experiences and memories to share later with other humans in the traditional ways: talking face to face.

Sources

CARR, N., 2010. How the Internet is making us stupid. The Telegraph [online]. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/7967894/How-the-Internet-is-making-us-stupid.html [Accessed 16 May 2017].

CARR, N., 2014. Automation Makes Us Dumb. The Wall Street Journal [online]. Available from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/automation-makes-us-dumb-1416589342 [Accessed 16 May 2017].

CARR, N., 2015. How Social Media is Ruining Politics. Politico.com [online]. Available from: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/2016-election-social-media-ruining-politics-213104?paginate=false [Accessed 16 May 2017].

CARR, N., 2016. When our culture’s past is lost in the cloud.

The Washington Post