Chris Garcia, Saturday, December 6

Wow…I really wasn’t sure if I was going to make through this day without cheating. I was off today and had so many opportunities to watch TV, listen to music, go to the movies, and play video games; pretty much everything we weren’t supposed to do everyone wanted to do on Saturday. Every time I explained to my friends and family that I was doing a media deprivation project they all told me to just cheat; that no one would really know if I cheated. As much as I wanted to give in I didn’t and I suffered all day. As much as I would like to say I’m not media dependent I really am. I haven’t even talked about text messaging yet. I sent out a mass text on Thursday telling everyone that I wasn’t going to receive text messages for two days; nobody listened to me. Instead on Friday I kept getting text messages all day; I decided to send out the mass text again and it helped somewhat. I honestly did not know what to do with myself on Saturday; I just wanted to have a relaxing day. What I didn’t consider was what I consider a relaxing day. Usually I would have played video games for half of the day, or sat in front of a TV and watch movies all day; that’s my idea of a relaxing day. At night I really wanted to go to the movies and couldn’t. I slept a lot on Saturday and spent a lot of time with friends, there was nothing else to do. Being media deprived makes you have to be a social person. During the project I was thinking, what would our lives be like if we didn’t have all the mass media in our lives? I bet we would have a lot closer relationships with our friends, family and we would probably have more friends. This project gave me a chance to kind of reflect on life and consider how much time I really spend using mass media. I am a big thinker and this weekend gave me the opportunity to think a lot more than usual. It really is amazing how consumed we are in mass media; I never would have thought I was so dependent on mass media before this weekend. I know I use mass media a lot but this weekend I found out that I am truly dependent on my mass media.

Friday, December 5 Chris Garcia

Friday, December 5

I am so media dependent it is not even funny. I woke up and am so used to turning on my computer just to listen to music I almost forgot I was on media deprevation. I didn't use my computer and got ready for my day. I had a class at nine o'clock on Friday morning; as I drove to school I was so tempted to turn on the radio. It is such a routine to want to hear music while you are driving; it is like second nature. When I got to my class I am used to doing lab work and listening to my headphones while I work; not possible on this day. One observation that I made was how much longer the day feels when you aren't so absorbed in using your mass media devices..whatever they are. Well..the weekend just got better and better. I happened to be off of work on Friday and Saturday; what a great time to have the day off when you can't go to the movies or play video games. After my class on Friday I went home and was not sure what to do. Typically I would have watched Espn or NBA TV and just relax on the couch; or maybe play on Xbox Live. Maybe in between get online and check facebook. I felt so bored, I was actually really tired so I took a nap which is something I rarely do. My day just kept getting more and more interesting. I figured if I was doing this media deprivation project I was going to really try my best to not cheat or fall into temptation. I was invited to go out with some friends to the movies and I denied the invitation because of the project. Usually on a weekend I am off of work I would have been at the movies; so I had to improvise. I invited some friends to play pool and hang out; which really worked out. I told them about my project and all night they kept testing me and trying to make me listen to music, play video games, and watch tv. I am proud to say that Friday was a successful day; I was totally media deprived and felt really good about myself at the end of the day. The day really did feel longer and I felt as though I had got more accomplished in that day that on a typical day. Don't get me wrong Friday was a very challenging day, but I survived and didn't cheat.

Quiet Deprivation at The Library of All Places!

Oh, boy what have I gotten myself into?? Here I was thinking 72 hours was too much for my students to have to put up with the weekend before Finals, so I shortened it to 48 hours thinking that would be just enough time. Nope. I barely made it through 24 hours and I'm their freakin' professor!

Anyhoo, the following is a blow-by-blow account of my first 24 hours of media deprivation:

9am - Woke up earlier than I would've liked but there were things to do and I didn't want to waste any time. Ate breakfast and did what my parents (and my parents' parents) do every morning before they start their day: read the newspaper. My routine isn't much different as I usually get on the computer and read local and national news online via CNN, Yahoo!, MYSA, etc., so having to read the actual print edition of the Express-News wasn't much of a change for me.

11:30am - After taking a shower, checking email, and getting all my school stuff in order, I headed off to my alma mater's library (OLLU) to get away from the house and the temptations it provides for media consumption. The drive to OLLU was quiet since the radio was off, which allowed me to hear all the "wonderful" noises my truck makes. I'll spare you the details so let's just say my truck does not purr like a kitten and I'm currently looking for a new car.

Once there, I went up to the top floor and settled in at one of those desk cubbies. The library was surprisingly dead; I expected it to be teeming with students since Finals are coming up next week for pretty much everyone in SA. Although I am not a student anymore, I still make sure to listen to my iPod while grading papers and creating lesson plans, so not being able to listen to music was probably the most difficult adjustment I had to make. But I wanted to test myself so I brought my iPod to see if I'd give in to temptation. Boy, was that a long, arduous battle!

I wanted a good window view from the top floor so I sat in a back corner, near a study room where a man (non-traditional student, I presume) was on his laptop while his two kids were entertaining themselves with children's books and these electronic kids toys. The first couple of hours were OK as my area was quiet and the kids in the study room were being as quiet as rambuctious kids can be in a library. I was getting a decent chunk of my grading done and I had no intention of using my iPod.

But hour #3 came and it's like those kids knew I was almost done because they just went nuts in that room. The dad totally lost control of them as they constantly talked loud and were going in and out of the study room. I kept looking back and the dad was trying to quiet them down, but it was obvious these kids walk all over pops. The whole time I kept thinking "I wouldn't even be able to hear all this commotion if I was listening to my iPod," and I gotta admit my hand was inching closer and closer to my bookbag where the iPod was stored. But I was hitting the home stretch of my grading (my goal was to grade my three graduating seniors' short scripts before 3pm) and I didn't want to give in, so I buckled down and finished. Seriously, who brings their kids to a library the weekend before Finals?

3:30pm - Ate some Whataburger at the house while reading the rest of the newspaper in complete silence. No wait, I think I can hear myself chewing....

4pm - Indulged in some leisure reading, as well as some academic reading.

5:30pm - Fell asleep while reading. Happens way more than I would like.

10pm - After waking up a few times due to my cellphone going off, which I mostly ignored, I finally got out of bed wide awake. I wasn't getting much sleep as of late so I figured I'd indulge in some extra sleep. With nothing to watch or listen to, I decided to read again.

12am - Went back to sleep, but not before spending a good chunk of that time trying to come up with a clever title for my first blog. Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with a mass media related acronym that would cleverly mock T.G.I.F.... Because we all know we didn't Thank God it was Friday yesterday!

Blog Posting/Saving

Here's a quick tip for blog posting on this site: 

I know many of you already know how to do this, but I want to make sure everyone knows the difference between POSTING a blog and SAVING a blog. 

When you're on the "Posting" page and you're writing your blog, you'll notice two buttons at the bottom of the page: "Publish Post" and "Save Now." 

Please make sure you click on the "Publish Post" button if you're done writing and editing your blog and intend to publish on the site. If you just click on the "Save Now" button, it'll just save it as a "Draft" file on the site and it won't publish the post. 

Email me if you have any questions about this: albrtlopz@gmail.com

Usernames

Since many of you have chosen nicknames for your profile usernames please make sure you sign your blog posts with your real name, that way I know who did the blogs and I can grade them accordingly.

If your username is your actual name then you don't have to do this. Before publishing your blog posts remember to check your grammar and spelling and that your blogs are at least 400 words each.

Email me if you have any questions about blog posting. Have a great weekend... Well, try to at least!

Greetings and Salutations

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.

You can view the guidelines here in case you misplaced the handout I gave you in class.

Media Deprivation Project: Dec. 5-6 (48 hrs)

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, iPods, video games, cellphones, 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 the many distractions mass media provides for us.
3. To leave our cocoons of indoor media consumption and be more active, more social – Get outside for a change!

PROJECT GUIDELINES – YOUR "DOs and DON'Ts"
The following guidelines will help you determine when you can and cannot use a form of mass media in your daily routine:

CELL PHONE - TELEPHONE USE:
DO use your cell phone and/or telephone for basic contact purposes; but DO NOT have your cell on your person while at home. You may call or text message but only if it's for a good reason; DO NOT pass the time texting or talking to someone. Finally, DO NOT use your cell phone for web surfing. You may check email, but no games, videos, etc.

COMPUTER - INTERNET - GAMING 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, file-sharing, etc. Academic purposes only!

RADIO - STEREO - 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. 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. 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. DO NOT watch the local or national news. DO NOT go to the movies either. NO TV, MOVIES, OR VIDEO GAMES!

NEWSPAPER - BOOK - MAGAZINE USE:
DO read the newspaper, but only the print edition; no online news is allowed. DO NOT read any magazines, unless it's for academic purposes. DO read books, both for academic and recreational purposes. Graphic novels and/or comic books are acceptable reading, too. Like that old NBA commercial once said: READING IS FUNDAMENTAL!