About this column:
Perhaps in a quest of self-discovery, or perhaps out of mere curiosity, the Germantown Patch editor will relinquish all online and digital entertainment for one week. Stay tuned to hear how she survives and what experts have to say about it.My series of "A Week Without" is finished. While I am glad it's over, I have learned a lot about the role of media in our lives. I still remember when internet sources were considered unreliable on the bibliography page of my school papers. Now, people often get even their encyclopedias online. Meeting people online used to be overwhelmingly taboo. These days people make whole groups of friends, and even meet their significant others through the internet. Throughout the past week, I often felt alone, or just didn't know what to do with myself without media. Dialing into the digital had…
Seeing how lonely and difficult my own challenge has been over the past week, I wondered if anyone else has tried to this before, and done so successfully? This brought me to the work of Dr. Susan Moeller, Professor of Media and International Affairs at the Merrill College and the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Moeller and her team of researchers led a study called "24 hours: Unplugged," where they challenged 200 University of Maryland students to give up all social media for 24 hours. This included not just Facebook but g-chatting, e-mail, texting, …
I remember a few weeks ago when the Comcast man knocked on my door to inquire on my televisions provider. "I don't watch TV," I said. "I just watch Netflix and Hulu on my computer." "What about your phone provider?" he asked. "Nope, just got my iPhone." "What about your internet." "I have a wireless card." "Well," he said, sighing "here's my card." Thinking back to that day, I realize how my entire source of at-home entertainment has been computer-based and independent of providers like Comcast (can't be good for business). This is the case for so many other as well. Hulu, Netflix and …
It's day four of my week without digital entertainment and I have to begin by confessing I have already given in to Pandora. Writer's block was settling in and the silence in the room became just too much to bare. I turned to my iPhone and hit play on my Pandora playlist. What came out of the speakers immediately started to lubricate the gears in my head and the creativity was flowing again. My name is Frances and I am a music-aholic. Sorry to say but the radio just wasn't cutting it. So I have given in. I have never before appreciated the rhythms of Seu Jorge and the Brazilian Girls as I …
It's day three on my challenge to give up digital entertainment and now the withdrawal has shifted to Facebook. Since starting this challenge, I have county 38 times I have started to type Facebook.com into the search box. Having moved to Germantown this summer, Facebook is the easiest way to keep up with old friends. As soon as I find out about my girlfriend's new significant other, I can scope him out on Facebook and we can discuss whether I think he is too short or if he still shows some unwanted chemistry towards an ex-girlfriend. Three days without Facebook and I already feel so out of …
It's day 2 of my challenge to give up all forms of digital entertainment and today's most notable difference has been the silence. It was probably after my fifth or sixth time of realizing how quiet it was in my house this morning that I realized what was missing, my music. Pandora internet radio has provided the soundtrack to fit any one of my moods for years now. I cook with John Mayer and sing to Lily Allen in the shower. I write with earphones blaring tunes from Discovery and drive to the beat of Iron and Wine. With the Pandora application on my iPhone, I never have to pause the music. …
It's only the first day of my "A Week Without Digital Entertainment" challenge and withdrawal is already settling in. While I did find myself clenching my fists not to log into Facebook, the hardest part so far has been my loss of direction. I admit, I am a directionally challenged person who has relied on the GPS, and related devices, to direct me through life for years now. So today, I found myself at a crossroads, several in fact, and many of which led me in the wrong direction. I yearned to reach for Sancho (my GPS) but instead I spent nearly an hour trying to find my way to Button Farm …
