What technology could you give up?

[sinkwriter]

24 Hour Torture, or a Day of Complete Freedom From Being Tied To Technology?

That is the question.

I'm taking this "concepts in new media" class as part of my degree program, and our assignment this week is to NOT use any new media. For 24 hours, I cannot touch my computer, use an iPod or an iPad, text or use my cell phone, watch TV or movies on DVD, everything technological that you can think of (and log my experience). Which is actually not just a pain in the ass because I enjoy using those technologies, but also because my homework for my other class requires the use of a computer, so I really need to plan my time to make sure I can still get my homework done. I'm losing a whole day I could be doing my homework. That's not a good thing.

I'm going to do what I can -- do the parts of my homework that require reading from a book and try to cram the rest in on Saturday and Sunday -- and spend the rest of my 24 hours doing everything by hand. I can't work out with my usual DVD (and the streets are too slippery/icy to go for a walk outdoors), so I'll have to get creative with my exercise tomorrow morning. I've got books waiting to be read, a story I could work on writing (just not on the computer, so I'll have to do it by hand), cleaning and laundry to do, and I'm sure (well, I hope) I can come up with something creative to do with my day. It's amazing how much we rely on technologies. Not an easy thing to do, especially when my job requires the use of computer and internet, so I can't do this experiment during the week.

The big bummer is that the big Chuck series finale is tomorrow night, but my 24 hours won't be up yet, so I'll have to cheat a little bit and have someone record the show for me.

Tell me, friends, what favorite technologies would you have trouble giving up? Or would this be an easy assignment for you?

;)

Okay, as soon as I send this, my 24-hour technological 'break' begins. See you in a day or two! o_O

(If you respond to this post and I don't reply right away, well... you know why. LOL.)

Comments

[candygramme.livejournal.com]

You take away my computer, ipod or kindle, and I sit in a corner and rock. Can't cope...

[sinkwriter.livejournal.com]

LOL. I definitely found it difficult not being able to check my emails or read online or listen to my iPod in my car. That was the toughest part.

[candygramme.livejournal.com]

Just thinking about it brings me out in a cold sweat. Addicted? Moi?

Absolutely. Thank you for asking!

[krazykitkat.livejournal.com]

I laugh at the idea of tv being a new medium. Don't use a cellphone, so that wouldn't be a problem. But tv/dvds/computer/internet would be a real issue.

[sinkwriter.livejournal.com]

Actually, my teacher wasn't very specific about certain things to exclude; in fact, I wish he would have made a list because there were times during my 24 hour 'break' that I found myself wondering if it was okay to use something but I couldn't contact him because he doesn't have an office on campus and email was part of the forbidden things we were not allowed to use during the 24 hours. So I had to kind of make it up as I went along. I think some things probably would have been okay for me to use, but I was over-thinking it, as if I was supposed to give up all major technology, not just communicative devices.

But I did ask him during class whether or not TV was okay to watch, because -- as you say -- it's definitely not a 'new' medium. It's been around for a long time now. At first I think he was going to allow it, but then he thought about it some more and decided to say it would be best if we avoided TV as well. Not because it's new but because it's a medium that is often overused, you know what I mean? We might go a whole day without touching a microwave, but TV is something we often watch for more than an hour or two per day, so it's something that's tougher to give up and therefore something we should include in the things we can't use during that 24 break from technology.

It was a pain in the ass, because I had wanted to watch the series finale of Chuck when it aired live on Friday night, and when my aunt tried to record it for me, something wacky happened and all the recording ended up showing was static noise. So I had to try to track it down online, which meant I couldn't watch it for a couple of days.

I only use a cell phone for emergencies, so that wasn't a big deal to give up. But the computer/internet/email and TV or DVDs made me sad. Sometimes that's how I unwind at the end of a day -- after I finish my homework for the evening, I'll watch a TV show episode on DVD or read a piece of fanfic online or just chill out checking my email messages before I go to bed. It relaxes me. To not be able to do that was frustrating. I did end up reading in bed instead, but it wasn't the same.

I definitely understand the need to be balanced about such things, to make time for connection with people in our lives (though one might argue that we also connect with people online), and to give my brain some time to unplug from all the machines (especially if it helps me be less distracted and instead more clear-headed and open to creativity). But I also see the value in these technologies, so I'd never really consider them to be detrimental or of no good use. I certainly don't long for the so-called 'good old days' when the only communication you had was phone or snail mail. Back then I probably never would have gotten the chance to know marvelous you and all the other talented, wonderful people out there in the world! How sad is that?

:)