JS3 Presents: Media Deprived Day Two

What are your priorities? This question crossed my mind many times as I made it through the 2nd day of my media deprivation project. Without the distraction of media, I was able to give this question quite some consideration. As I looked over to my son, I realized that all my priorities are influenced by him, directly and indirectly. The realization that my main priority is my son has brought me to conclude that media does not have the strong grasp on me as it once did. However, the uncertainty of how much of a hold it has on my son’s life makes me wonder if I have actually mastered this vice or simply passed it on to the next generation.

After being media-free for over 24 hours, I began to notice things about my environment I never had given much thought before, primarily when it comes to my son’s environment. When he awoke this morning, the first thing he wanted to do was turn on the television to watch Sesame Street. I couldn’t turn my attention away from him as I watched him laugh, smile, point, and dance along to the show. At first, I thought it was cute as always, but a few minutes later I gave it a second thought with this project’s goals in mind. I wondered if maybe the interaction was too much for him this early in the day. I wondered how he, being a young child, would deal with being robbed of that “interaction” with the television. I questioned if this was a failure on my part as a parent for making television and media in general such a big part of his life to this point. Had I doomed my son to become the medium in the next “dumbest generation”?

As our day went on, the answer to that question started to reveal itself. After breakfast, we headed off to do some window shopping for Christmas and attempted to meet Santa Claus. On the way to the mall, there was no music playing per the new norm. Here is when the first test for my son would come, as the ride was the longest so far we’ve had to go without any music. As I drove, I peeked back to see how he was doing and smiled at the sight before my eyes. My son was looking out his window, lost in the world passing him by as if nothing had really changed. It was nice to see that both of us were making it through this project together.

Having my son with me at all times has aided me greatly in this media deprivation project. Before I had my son, I would spend most of my time on social networking sites, playing video games, watching television, or texting friends. However, in the couple of years he’s been on this earth, he’s steered me from those time wasters towards a commit that is worthy of my time. At the mall, I had no time for texting as I had to keep a close eye on him to make sure he was still by my side. Once we were done and back at home, I barely had a chance to check my email because I had to get dinner ready for him, wash dishes, and get him changed. Once we had some down time, the UT game was merely background noise in the main room as he pulled me into his room to play with him (Ed. Note: The UT game was my one allowance since my friends planned over a week ago to come over and watch it). I could barely find time to sit down and type this up as he wanted me to lay by his side during bedtime as he drifted off into slumber.

Overall, day two proved to me that both my son and I have made it a priority to manage our media intake. Yes, he may like to watch television in the morning to help him wake up, but he definitely is not happy to sit in front of a screen all day. I like to listen to music as I drive from place to place, but I loved hearing my son verbalize his first thoughts. Media definitely has the potential to consume our lives, but we do not allow that to happen to us. Our priorities are in tune with one another. What are my priorities? Well, right now my main priority is finishing this blog so I can go spend time with the one thing that definitely does consume my life: My son.

JS3 Presents: Media Deprived Day One

Life is full of challenges. Whether it is something as basic as brushing our teeth or something more involved like a major school/work project, we are constantly asked by life to persevere for the good of our being. During the first day of my media deprivation project, I learned that challenges are only worthy and accomplished based on the meaning we give them. I learned this only after going through inner-conflicts, a psychological change, and finally by justifying the means with the end result. I would say the message first sunk in at the sound of, well, the sound of silence.

When I awoke this morning it was to white screens and an endless hall, where the silence echoed so loudly it was deafening. At the breakfast table, the reality of this media apocalypse incarnate sank in. As my son and I ate breakfast, the television still played in the background, but it was morning cartoons instead of news. The trip to his daycare that followed seemed a bit longer without any music to accompany us. Fortunately, I managed through these media-less parental duties with relative ease, but the real test was yet to come.

The most difficult part of my first media deprivation day was my workout routine. On Fridays, I go running for two hours and usually have my iPod to distract my mind, however this Friday that would not be an option. I went through my stretch praying that I would find the power within myself to complete the run without giving into temptation to press that play button. Throughout the run, my mind would drift towards considering playing music but I remained focused on my ultimate goal. Rather than focusing on the media, I gave meaning to my environment and focused on the beauty of nature, the wonderfulness of seeing the first snow flurries of the year, and the amazement at how many people were not wearing jackets or sweaters! Before I knew it, the run was over and I was back instead in the warmth of my home. It felt odd but enlightening to realize that warmth was not coming from a television or laptop but from the energy that was now pulsating through my body.

For the remainder of my day, I observed my son and how media has impacted his life. He could still go about watching his educational shows, playing with his little computer laptop, and free to dance around to the music blaring from his small radio. I wondered if maybe he was growing up too submersed in technology and, if so, was I to blame? However, this evening he did not turn on the TV, ask for his laptop, or turn on his radio. Instead, he brought me his favorite book, some colors, and his favorite toys as if he knew I was on a mission. You may call it coincidence, but I truly feel he could sense my confident, strong state of mind and was feeding off that to become more in tune with me.

Looking back on my day, it was exactly as difficult as I thought it would be, and though it did not play out how I thought it would, I still was able to reach my expected goal of being successful. I was successful because I did not waste any energy focusing on failing or the subconscious “grasp” television, internet, radio, and media in general may have on me. I gave this project the meaning of self-understanding and was able to learn from every experience because of that frame of mind. You see, we always accomplish the things in life we feel we really need to finish, be it a massive project or something as simple as brushing our teeth.