So I just did a project for my Public Relations class in which I logged for 48 hours my uses via media and social media and then for 24 hours refrained from using any form of media and kept a journal. WOW is all I have to say. Not having a cell phone or a computer for a day...FREEDOM.
At first I wasn't quite sure how the day of refraining from all media would go. How would I contact a professor if I had a question, how would I call my mom to just say hi, contact my friends to see what time we were getting lunch. An array of different questions flew through my mind that all resulted in the same answer of: I needed a form of media to accomplish any.
However, instead of worrying about any of those things I just went with the flow and shut down all my uses of media for a period of 24 hours. At first it was eh. I really didn't know how to contact anyone to see where they were. Things came up throughout the day that I wanted to call my mom and tell her about but I couldn't. There were periods of time I was so bored and just wanted to go on the computer and waste time. Things that could be done within a minute by having the ability to have these forms of media felt undoable when not having the ability to use them.
To my surprise though not having the ability to use any form of media was awesome. It felt like a weight had been lifted. I didn't have to worry about anything!! It felt good to be free for a day. Not feeling pressured or worrying about what needed to be done next. I felt alone and felt that I could do whatever I wanted without talking to anyone and having to worry about what they had to say about it. That is exactly what Powers explain in his book. After dropping his cell phone into the water while being on the boat made me feel free! Not having my cell phone for a day made me feel the same way. I was able to connect to different things and think about things more real then if I was able to just sit in my bed and aimlessly browse the web.
