Media deprivation exercise. I did it. During the weekend I did a media deprivation exercise lasting for 48 hours (two days). While the experiment yielded a mixed result, it certainly made me aware of some of my habits and provided incentives to make changes in how I spend my time. ignoring media inputs was difficult and I often had to remind myself of what I was attempting (no newspapers, magazine, reading online media, no radio, and no TV) and that I had to focus on my inner life processes.
I wanted to pay attention to the present without the distractions of the external world. The two days was interesting, I learned that external inputs are everywhere. I learned that I am addicted to social media especially Snap Chat and that I have a certain habit that I usually do during bedtime where it makes me fell asleep or in another word it helps me to sleep. I confess that I did cheat a bit because I found it difficult which was in bedtime which I was used to checking my snap chat and Instagram but instead of using those apps I used gaming app called zaytoona. As I reflect on the two days I found myself more engaged in conversation with my family without the distractions of a television or phone in the background.
I listened more carefully to what they were telling me. Moreover, I started cooking for myself instead of asking the house made to do it because it is one of my hobbies and I realized that if it is really my hobby so I need to be creative and try new recipes. Every time I got into my car, my hand would automatically reach for the radio control without any conscious thought about doing it at all. I found those long, silent rides to be unsettling. It made me ask myself why I needed that noise. On the other hand, I found some negative aspect from this excursive.
Where I felt that I used to know the news and what happening in the worlds but I couldn’t know except if I asked other people. Also, on Friday we have a gathering, it is obvious that during the gathering everyone will use his phone and they will see the television, in this time I felt as if I was under pressure and lost whether to use my phone or not. I won’t repeat my experiment soon but I will be more conscious of the meaning of mindfulness. And I will try to retain awareness of how I allow habits, distractions, and addictions to erode the experience of noticing things in the here and now. Living mindfully will always be a challenge — hopefully I won’t need drastic experiments to allow myself to enjoy the present without the constant distractions offered by the external environment.