How did that go for me? Horrendous. I would catch myself checking ESPN at my internship or clicking the Facebook app on my phone. I'd be halfway through whatever thing I thought was oh-so-important to search, before I even realized what I was doing. Then I would sit there and think "Was that really that important?", ad of course it never was. But to sit down and think about how I couldn't go even one day without it, shocks me. I know I'm not alone in this dependancy; some students were pretty vocal about how they were not at all for WWW and couldnt imagine their life without the Web...even calling it Unrealistic.
The worst part about this, for me at least, was that at one point I had gone almost 6 six without the Web. I spent a month and a half studying abroad in Italy this summer, and the only time I used the computer was once a week to e-mail back home. I hand wrote all of my assignments, looked up references my textbooks instead of Googling them, etc. And you know what? It was awesome. I had no ideaw what the celebrity gossip was, what was going on in sports (I found out about George Steinbrenner's death through a phone call from my dad), or what drama was going on in the Facebook world. I also didn't have a TV in my apartment which was a new experience for me. I realized that I went outside more; explored the city I was living in and wasn't checking my phone every five minutes to see if I had a text. It felt like a giant burden had been lifted off my shoulders and after a week, I didnt even notice it anymore.
Which leads me to my question...if I could do it for six weeks, why was it so hard to do it for one more?
When I went to Venice in January, I had withdrawals when I first got there. Then after the weeks went by I really forgot about checking my facebook and twitter. I was ready to get home and be in constant contact again, but it was a nice break.
ReplyDeleteI am still very thankful for year 2011 and all the technology we have!
It was probably more hard here because you are in a surrounding where it is everything and part of everything that is done. As a PR student and intern, you used the internet for practically everything. When you were in Italy, it wasn't something that surrounded you.
ReplyDeleteBut I think you draw an interesting contrast here. Even though you are part of a world that uses technology and the web repeatedly, it's nice to get away from it. Surroundings are highly contributing factors. When I am home I use the internet far less than I do when I am at school.
When I first arrived in Italy for my study abroad experience, my first thought was "Internet" and lots of it. What I did throughout was just use the web before going to sleep. I would sometimes go three or four days, usually weekend trips, without the web and do better then I expected. I was lucky though that I had the environment of a new country to distract me...during WWW, when I was not on the web, hundreds of other people still were; I began to feel left out...
ReplyDeleteNew York is fast-paced, technology driven state and it shows with everyone on the phone or computer all the time. WWW is a nice break, but extending it more would be detrimental to the New York lifestyle I want to achieve.
Yay Megan!
This is so true! I have definitely gone at least a week on vacation or break without using the Web once. Not only not using it, but not even missing it or realizing that I wasn't using it. It's funny and kind of sad to think that we can't go a few days without going online, but there are so many people who can't or don't use it at all.
ReplyDeleteI can say that I'm truly blessed to have grandparents that love to travel therefore, I sometimes reap the benefits of those trips. My grandparents live in Greece six months out of the year and my family and I had visited once. Also, right after I graduated high school I had gone to Italy as well and I've also been to Mexico. Basically, my point is every time I seem to be out of the United States, I'm able to go phoneless and internetless for as long as I'm away. I have to admit at first it's hard, getting off the plane and not being able to make a phone call or check Facebook, but then it becomes second nature in a matter of minutes.
ReplyDeleteI think that in other countries, the living is easier. Not to mention we are so taken back by the beauty of another country and what it has to offer that we're more concerned with going to see the next breathtaking site, Facebook and Twitter seem to fall behind. I knew I couldn't do the WWW. It sounds stupid and makes me feel like I have no backbone when it comes to ignoring the internet, but that's how life for me in the United States works. I'm constantly connected, I've already seen what's here and besides my phone bill isn't going to sky rocket.
I'm sort of the same as you. I've gone weeks without using the web while on vacation, but during WWW, I wasn't able to go a minute. I literally woke up on Monday and checked my email. Was there anything important, nope, but I did it because it was habit. After that, I just sort of gave up. I knew that being at school and having "life" going on around me would make it impossible for me to go without. It was a good idea, but I'm not sure it was timed well.
ReplyDeleteI think WWW was definitely a liberating experience. It is important to realize how dependent we have become on the Internet. I think Professor Morosoff's assignment was important too because it brought to light how the PR professionals did it before.
ReplyDeleteWWW was an impossible task for me. I couldn't do because of my assignments and my internship. I think it was a great idea in theory, but it wasn't feasible for many students in the SOC to begin with.
ReplyDeleteWeek without the web was such a difficult task but yet extremely rewarding because with my job being connecting with media and the internet 24/7 it was hard but on the other hand outside of work it actually felt nice to not sit on facebook or twitter all night which I normally procrastinate and do.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't really that interested in WWW when I first heard about it. We all know that the internet and social media play a large part in our lives. Removing them all from our lives doesn't teach us anything new. I think a better initiative would be to try to use those things for a "greater" purpose, or at least explore new ways of using them. There is so much potential that they bring it would be silly to not find new ways of integrating them into our lives.
ReplyDeleteWWW was something that was very hard for me. And like you I went to Venice aboard and it was there that I hardly used the internet and it was not so hard as it was here. I enjoyed every minute of not using my phone or the internet and being free and just got out and saw Italy. I think it was easier for us to because we were in another country that we never been too and had things to keep us distracted and entertained. Like being here we been pretty much everywhere and the only thing to do when we are bored is to turn to the internet. We just need to train ourselves that the internet is not something to turn to when bored but to go out and adventure out.
ReplyDeleteI love when I take a break from the web, but I have a hard time not checking in via my cell phone or really quick on my computer.
ReplyDeleteEven though I didn't participate in the WWW, I still think it was really great project.
When I first heard about Week Without The Web I didnt bother to even entertain the thought of participating. There was no way I was going without email or internet. I looked at the task as a punishment not a learning experience. When I described Week Without the Web to my dad he laughed when I told him I wasnt doing it. He reminded me of our lakehouse.Our lakehouse is located so far upstate that no one gets cellphone service unless you drive into town.
ReplyDeleteIts the best escape possible.
My dad had a valid point - whenever my family goes to the lake house no one has phone service so we spend all of our time together, we conversate more with each other, and we do alot more outdoor activities on the lake. It really can make one wonder if life is more enjoyable once cell phones are removed.
I totally understand where you are coming from, I didnt even participate because i knew that there is no way I could have gone a whole week without using the internet. The web has become an omnipresent tool that i just could not do without. I use it for almost everything, research, social relationships, communication, news. i really dont know what would happen in the world if i could not use my computer.
ReplyDeleteI feel like being a college student makes it so much harder to stay away from the internet. I did not even try to do week with out the web here, however when I am home i spend hardly anytime on the computer, hardly check my email and am not even on my phone as much. I don't know what it is about the college community that makes the internet so important, but it is.
ReplyDeleteMegan-you raise a lot of interesting points in your astute post. I too have been abroad in Europe, not Italy, but Germany and Austria, and I could not have enjoyed the time away from technology more. It allowed me to experience a culture different than my own and become truly enveloped in historical Bavaria, unique dialects and very strong beer.
ReplyDeleteYou contemplate why it is so hard to go one more week without these means of communications, but I think you're being rather hard on yourself.
Media theorists developed the cultivation theory long ago and it very simply states the necessity for any member of society to become acclimated to a medium. The society in which we live demands that we answer our mother and boyfriend's phone calls to make sure they know we are secure: our professional environments encourage us to sleep with our phone by our ear in the case of a dire emergency .
You can't help that this technology dictates your personal and professional life; you can only contemplate if you want to give in to the weight of traditional and social mediums.
I went on vacation last summer for two weeks in spain and the entire time i had no internet access, no television, no phone, no media period. I realized that it was easy because i was on vacation and had so many things to keep me occupied that i didnt need any media. Its not easy going a week without the web when your in school because media plays a huge role in our everyday lives. To be without the internet is like being handicapped with a crutch. We need it period!!
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