Saturday , Day 1

I woke up pretty late around 1pm, I'm glad I did because that was a good way to pass time! The first thing I usually do when I wake up is watch TV (ESPN). It felt kind of weird not being able to be instantly connected to the sports world. I was bored so I went to my brothers room and me him just began catching up on things since me and him don't talk very much throughout the week. He was playing the Xbox, but I told him if he would turn it off because of this project.

I decided to go to the mall and spend some time there with my friends. Of course, I was surrounded by mass media everywhere and it was very tempting to start using my electronics like an iPod or cellphone. Giving up my cell phone is not that bad because I've spent plenty of long periods without any cell phone use. I also told my friends beforehand that I would not be able to use my cell this weekend. I mostly like to hang out with my cousin so I told him to come over.

I haven't watched any television at all today, I feel somewhat lost. I'm not much a of a news junky though. Like I mentioned earlier, I love sports especially basketball. I plan to watch the playoff games later at a bar or restaurant, there is no way I can miss an important game. I began to wonder how did people live in the past, before television and radio. They were able to live peacefully, but now we live in a fast-paced society. Everyone is connected to each other through various forms of communications. I don't think I'd be able to survive like this for a long time. I'm so accustomed to my lifestyle.

Friday, Day 1

Friday wasn’t to bad I didn’t have school or work so not using my alarm on my phone didn’t feel that different. I got up, ate some breakfast, and then went to the library to study for finals and look over reviews. So not having my phone on me was quite helpful because I’m usually always checking my phone or talking to someone. After I went home, took my dog to the park and gave her a walk. All awhile when this was happening that’s when I started to really dislike not using my phone because I started to notice how hard it is. As well I’m slowly seeing myself doing random activities that I wouldn’t have done. Honestly when I got home from the library I probably would have just watched a movie or be texting my friends and figuring out what my plans are. Instead when I got home I just laid down trying to figure out what to do now cause at this point I was running out of ideas. Sitting next to me I saw tons of books that I honestly haven’t touched in years. I picked up one of them and realized I don’t remember the last time I actually read a book for fun. I used to read all the time one of my favorite authors is actually Jane Austen and luckily I still had some of her books lying around my house. I actually got half way done with the book and then I decided I was going a little crazy from not using my phone, TV, or anything else like listening to music. Fortunately I already had something planned before all this deprivation started. My best friend was having her Art Show downtown and so I got in my car again listening to no music, which was extremely difficult. Once I got there though it was nice to be surrounded by all the people, art, and the best part was they had live music playing so it was nice. I slowly felt so much more appreciative being around the lively atmosphere because with out my phone now I think of how dull my life is just because I depend on that for really any type of entertainment. So after her art show we all went out to eat downtown and seeing everyone use their phone at the table was funny because I would probably would have been on mine. Later I ended going home to one of my friends and when I go to sleep I always fall asleep with music on so not having anything playing had me feeling a little restless. Laying down thinking about my day some parts were frustrating with out a phone but it defiantly wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Day 1 Friday!

I’ve never been so sleepy in my life. I literally had about two hours of sleep because my friend needed me to take her to work at 6 in the morning! I guess it’s my fault though because I chose to stay up all night with her literally doing nothing exciting. On top of all that I didn't even have any gas so I went to the gas station and I realized I only had 5 dollars. Of course it gave me like a gallon something but still that’s basically nothing driving from North Star mall to brooks city base! As my day went by I ended up having to go to work a couple of hours later, I did go without some types of media though. I didn't read the news online because I never do. There are TVs at HEB but its not like I have time to go stand at the deli and watch it while I’m working. Not only that but its rare that I even get time to sit at home and watch TV because I’m always on the go. I think that HEB actually has music playing threw out the whole store but I don’t think anyone can actually hear it because its so loud in there for some reason. After work I decided to go home and try to sit around for a couple of minutes thinking of what I should do. I was so hungry so nothing was open around my house so i was option less so Whataburger it was. I’m not going to lie I think its nearly impossible to go without my cell phone. Even though I don’t respond to half the people that message me doesn’t mean I’m not checking it every couple of minutes. I refuse to answer the phone though so isn't that good?I ended up going to my friend’s house and he played video games for a good while. I don’t think that counts as cheating because I hate video games and I hate watching people play video games so I fell asleep because I was so bored! I woke up pretty upset because my friend literally let me sleep and didn’t wake me up! 4 AM and I had to drive home and once I got here I knocked out! I have tons of things to do this morning! So I was pretty mad that I didn’t wake up early like I planned to. I think its pretty simple to go without media in my life because all I need is my car and my credit card. Well I have to get ready to go buy my mom a dumb Louis V wallet for mother’s day. Talk about leaving me broke and I don't even has gas in my car! I think i'm going to have a dreadful time sitting in the car without the radio though. Im not looking forward to that.

Day 1

Friday wasn't too bad, at work I almost started rambling to guest about whatever I could come up with but overall it went well. I'm going to be honest, I still had to use my phone to wake up, my little hello kitty alarm clock won't do the trick. I need that clock and 5 other alarms on my phone! After waking up for work I had to stay clear of listening to music and putting a movie on for background noise. I was about to but quickly rememberd that silence was going to be keeping me company.  No music in the car on the way to work, which I've done before so it wasn't a big deal. However, once at work, it was a different story. I'm sure many of you have been to Buffalo Wild Wings, and know that it's walls are surrounded with flat T.V screens and music blasting out the juke box. So going into work, I just had to tune out the music, not look at the T.V's and keep busy. My manager asked my friend John and I to go pick a song to put into the juke box and as much as I wanted to suggest one of The Stroke's song, I had to walk away. As far as cellphone use went, I put it on silent so I wouldn't be tempted to text friends whenever I got the chance. I did use my phone to call my friends when we were deciding where to go for the night. Notice, call them not text them. The night time wasn't too bad, yeah we went to places where the had music and t.v's but I just focused on getting that face to face time with friends and having a good time.
So here I come day two, let's see how this goes!

Day 1 (friday)

Well, friday morning I tried to sleep as late as possible to avoid idle time and therefore avoid temptation. I got up and got dressed as usual because that part of my routine never really included any type of media. At ten that morning i got in my truck to go pick up my friend Sam to study for our math test. Driving over to her house without any music was near torture. As we drove over to northwest vista we made small talk which really helped me get through the drive. After studying i dropped her off back at her house and went home to grab my work uniform. On my way to work i usually jam out to psych myself up, but no music, just the drone of the exhaust note and the hum of the tires. About half way to work i finally just started singing to myself. When i got to work they didn't need me on the clock yet so it was either sit in the break room and stare at the wall or sit in my truck. So i dug around in my truck looking for something to read and all i found was a Amsoil synthetic motor oil pamphlet, awesome. After reading through the pamphlet and people watching my manager finally called me over to work. After a few hours of working they told me to take a break. So i hopped in my truck and drove across the street to bill millers got my food to go like always and went back across the street and sat in my truck to eat, with no music. After my half hour break i went back to work until 8 when we close. The drive back home was just as boring as the drive to work. When i got home i quickly ran inside to pack because our family was going to my grandparents house which is an hour away. The drive wasn't that bad because we all talked about "stuff". When we arrived at my grandparents house the news was on like always so i watched what was going on in the world for a little while. After that me and my sister decided to go spotlighting for a little while. When we got back to the house i put away the ranger and we went inside. My sister and I weren't really tired even though it was eleven thirty, and since i couldn't watch tv she obliged to play cards until we decided that we should call it a night. The lack of media throughout the day encouraged me to have more interaction with my friends and family when i was with them, but when i was by myself i wasn't to excited about not listening to music. Not using my phone all day was also a challenge because i kept it in my pocket to check the time and in case of emergency.

Day One-Friday

Not really sure if I'm doing this right, its my first time blogging. Oh well here it goes.

Friday is done and over with. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be considering the fact that since I don't have a car I couldn't leave the house until my dad picked me up to take me to work. As soon as I woke up I put all my handheld electronics in a plastic baggy and put them away. However I did look at my phone once or twice; I would press a few buttons just to light up the screen so I could see if I had any messages, there were a few but I'm waiting till Sunday to answer them all, if they are still relevant by then. I also found myself thinking, "when I'm done cleaning I can go watch some TV or listen to music. Oh, wait I can't," numerous times throughout the day. Another thing I noticed was that I was taking lots of little naps here and there when I wasn't sure what to do. But I did go outside and play with my two dogs for about an hour, I also caught up on some of my homework, and clean the house. I really thought that when I went to work things would get better, because I work at a movie theatre (Alamo Drafthouse). I thought to myself, "Hey, I'll be surrounded by movies and music, its not going to be such a blah day after all." I was wrong. Since Thor has recently come out it was super busy. The only music came from the lobby and I was stuck in the kitchen most of the night, or running in and out of our 6 screens. not cool at all. I found by the end of the day that I was agitated by the fact that I really couldn't listen to music to help relax from a busy day at work or watch a little bit of TV before I went to bed.

I'm hoping today will be better, both my parents are off and can take me out, wherever that may be.

P.S. its so tempting to open another tab and surf the web, or turn the TV on.

Welcome :)

Well I can't say that I am excited for this media depravation project to be honest but I am excited to start another blog. hehe i have been on Blogger since 2008 and it has been a while since i posted anything new.

Blogger Virgin

My first official blog is in the process of being completed. Does this mean that my blogger-cherry has been popped? Yes, I think so. Welcome to the blogger world, Me.

Don't be surprised if i weigh a few more pounds after this weekend cause i eat when i'm bored.

Media Deprivation Project - Guidelines

As we established at the very beginning of the semester, mass media in its many forms dominates every waking moment of our lives. TV, Internet, MP3s, video games, cell phones, movies, and radio are just some of the many forms mass media takes today—and we are all subject to its stranglehold whether we know it or not. The point of this experiment is threefold:

1. To see just how powerful that stranglehold is on our daily routine.

2. To discover the advantages of being free of mass media’s many distractions.

3. To leave our cocoons of indoor media consumption and be more active – more social!

The following guidelines will help you determine when you can and cannot use a form of mass media in your daily routine. ***Media Deprivation begins when you wake up on Friday or Saturday and ends when you wake up on Sunday or Monday (You may choose which two days as long as they are consecutive, and you can still use an alarm clock)***

CELL PHONE/TELEPHONE USE:
• DO use your cell phone and/or telephone for basic contact purposes. You may call or text message but only if it’s for an important reason. Use your better judgment here.
• DO NOT pass the time texting or talking. Only reply to text messages if it’s urgent.
• Finally, DO NOT use your cell phone for web surfing, SOCIAL NETWORKING, or gaming. You may check email, but no games, videos, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

COMPUTER/INTERNET USE:
• DO use your computer/laptop for educational purposes such as writing papers, doing research, checking email, etc.
• But DO NOT use it for recreational purposes such as gaming, online shopping, fantasy sports, SOCIAL NETWORKING, file-sharing, etc. Academic purposes only!

RADIO/MP3 PLAYER USE:
• DO NOT listen to the radio, stereo, or any MP3 players under almost any circumstance.
• The only instance you can listen to music is if you’re at a restaurant/bar/party and there happens to be music playing in the background, so social situations are encouraged.
• DO NOT listen to your iPod or stereo while working out or studying and DO NOT listen to the radio while driving. NO MUSIC!

TV/DVD/MOVIE THEATER USE:
• DO NOT watch any TV or DVDs under almost any circumstance. NO VIDEO GAMES!
• The only instance you can watch TV is if you’re at a restaurant/bar/party and there happens to be a TV playing in the background. Going to the movies is acceptable, too.

NEWSPAPER/BOOK/MAGAZINE USE:
• DO read the newspaper, but only the print edition.
• DO NOT get your news online or on your phone. But you may watch the news on TV.
• DO read books and magazines, both for academic and recreational purposes. Graphic novels and/or comic books are acceptable reading, too.

Media Deprivation Project - Overview

Welcome! Now that you're here, remember to show respect to everyone on this blog site. That means no inappropriate language and/or content. Please keep your thoughts, ramblings, rants, and other written forms of expression PG-rated. No foul or offensive language will be tolerated.

I encourage everyone to read and comment on each other's blogs, and I also encourage everyone to post pictures and videos as long as they are appropriate to this blog site's intent of describing what happens when we deprive ourselves of mass media for 48 hours.

Again, show respect for the academic purpose of this project and be sure to use this blog only as a forum to discuss the project. Also, the Media Deprivation will begin when you wake up on either Friday or Saturday and won't end till you wake up on Sunday or Monday. You are free to choose the days you want, just make sure they are consecutive days... Good luck!