Weekend Activity

When this assignment was first proposed to us I was outraged. I thought it would be impossible to keep myself away from the technology I had been accustomed to. It didn't help that this was one of the most eventful weekends in the year in Madison. However, this assignment wasn't as devastatingly torturous as I thought it would be. The hardest technologies to stay away from were far and away texting, and Twitter. Texting was very difficult to avoid. It is the main way I communicate with my friends and my family. It was also eye opening to see how much the world relies on this medium of communication, because I even though I was resisting to text it didn't stop me from receiving them, and it was almost painful not to respond. I also felt empty without the use of Twitter. I don't watch the news on TV, nor do I read the newspaper, the majority of my news is read from reliable sources on Twitter. Being disconnected from this social network made me feel completely cut off from the world. Keeping myself busy this weekend wasn't too difficult. I live in a house with 25 guys so there is always something fun going on, and this made time fly. I also went out and did more things I usually don't feel I have the time to do, like play basketball, and I played my best game in a long time. (Coincidence!?) Sadly, I could not avoid all media. During Freakfest I needed to communicate with my friends via text. It might be the most hectic night in Madison, and for the safety of both my friends and I we need to constantly communicate. I also needed to use a "proxy" to set my fantasy football lineup, especially once word was spread to me that Tony Romo was not playing, and of course I found that out much later than everyone else. At the end of this assignment, it was fun to catch up and see everything I missed, but I did not feel as refreshed as others have said. I have accepted these medias of part of my life, and how I communicate, taking them away was just a major inconvenience. I'm very aware of the roles these technologies play in my life, and this experiment just validated my beliefs.