I am now addicted to Claire

at 6:07 pm on February 3, 2009 under Feb: Media Fast | 2 Comments

How’s my fast going? Not well. My co-worker asked me today, and here’s our thread:

Me:

Media Fast not going extremely well. Difficult to avoid lots of media. It’s more of a temperance movement really. I’m really just avoiding twitter, facebook, random googling, and reading blogs. I’m noticing myself being a little bit more productive, but feeling a lot less connected to others. And watching a lot more TV because technically TV isn’t something I indulged in very heavily before. I actually watched Heros last night. Heros. WTF?

Him:

i enjoy feeling disconnected from others ;-)
it’s not really that hard to read only work-related blogs, i’m finding this week (experiencing a similar fast).
i expect it’s more difficult the closer your personal interests are to your prof. interests.
i’ve also ghettoized my online life into a number of distinct function areas (i.e. one email address for news only), so it’s easy to, for example, stop reading the news: there’s just one email address i stop checking

So one suggestion we have about handling electronic media in our lives is to manage the interaction. I’ve chosen, instead, to try to eliminate the option.

My SuperPower is Depleting Your Attention Span

My SuperPower is Depleting Your Attention Span

So far I am noticing some benefits in terms of productivity and output – I am more responsive to emails, I have blogged more, I can focus on tasks, and I think a lot more during dead moments. My attention span is recovering as well – I can actually focus on longer form articles in magazines, and I’m not distracted by the pings from twitter and email, or other posts and articles I need to read, and the desire to switch to another track in iTunes.

But at the same time, I have this tendency to WANT to veg out. So I’ve replaced the web with TV. Which I hadn’t indulged in before this week, but now I’m feeling mildly addicted to Heros after one terribly annoying episode.

So, now I’m introducing a new limitation: no TV at all (except for new episodes of the Office and SNL, and certain key live events like the Superbowl) unless someone is there to enjoy it with me, or it is a DVD I have never watched before.

Do you love the caveats?

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  • sy said,

    i think you need to step up and cut the tv altogether. i mean: come on, a media fast with some bits of tv? that’s no fast at all.

  • dandennis said,

    I know, I know – but TV has never been my indulgence! It’s always been the web! The TV sits idle 99 percent of the time, while iTunes and Pandora spin all day. Netflixes go ignored for months, while I let hulu and youtube suck hours away! I’m all for adding ways to make my fast more difficult, but I don’t feel that TV is the bane of my modern life, whereas the web is a dangerous addiction and distraction.

    Okay, I’ve got it. Use TV only as a social tool – e.g., watching with friends and loved ones is okay. Let’s see if TV can act as a real world bonding tool, the way watching a concert or film with friends might?

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