Sunday, September 2, 2012
my life and media
i have appreciated the media since my little pony and pound puppies were my choice of entertainment. now i am more attracted to a show or movie that will make me laugh or give me that warm fuzzy feeling. although to the world i may appear to be a "grown up," i would still choose the disney channel over the news any day. what a blessing is to live in today's world were commercials have become optional and it doesn't really matter if you have a blank vhs to be able to catch what you missed while you were out doing something slightly more important. in reality i have this twisted love/hate relationship when it comes to a lot of the media. here are some of the struggles i have...
the television: once upon a time i grew quite addicted to this box full of entertainment. i could watch csi: new york for hours and laugh at episodes of the office that i had seen multiple times. however, i didn't have this medium for 19 months as i served a mission, and now the television is really a complicated thing in my life. i realized how easily time is wasted in front of a moving picture. too add to that it seems to paralyze my husband from doing anything...even if he would not normally watch re-runs of the pyramid game show from the 70s. it seems to erase from his mind any previous objectives he was working on. i am aware that television has been a weakness of mine in the past, so it is unfortunate that free cable comes with our apartment. however, it is a blessing when i am home alone for hours at a time. being the social person that i am, i enjoy voices talking and movement on the screen...even if i am not really watching at all.
the cellphone: i am one that has yet to own a smart phone, but i do not feel any dumber than the person playing words with friends next to me in class...in fact i am probably getting a lot more out of the lecture. moments when i wish i had a smart phone would be (1) when i need to look something up on the internet and don't have access to a computer and (2) when i need a gps to figure out where i am going. i am not opposed the the smartphone at all, in fact i would really not mind having one. what i am opposed to is the time and priority people give it. i can go a couple days without making a phone call or sending a text. i really only contact a few people regularly and it is usually on an as needed basis. i prefer face-to-face communication. it is a lot easier to get the whole meaning and purpose of the message.
this weekend i went to zions national park, a first for me. i saw this family of four on the shuttle: mom, dad, and two teenage girls. the girls were both on there smart phones staying connected with the world the whole way up the canyon. my thought was along the lines of "i would be annoyed if i took my kids on vacation to a place where they could really enjoy the outdoors and all they wanted to do was play around on their phones." there was a audio description of things so i thought these girls should be listening and looking at the landmarks outside. i wanted to say something about it to my husband, but a few minutes later when the girls wouldn't be able to hear anymore, i turned to him and he was on his iPhone...so i didn't' say anything.
Facebook: so i am actually quite happy to admit that i am not a user of the social network Facebook...or twitter or pinterest. again, this relates to the time spent without as a missionary. before my mission i would spend too much time on Facebook, usually avoiding homework. then i came back and tried to log in. over that time, i had forgotten my password and quickly gave up on ever logging in again. i didn't want to let it suck my time away as it had in the past. i am told by many people that i need to get back on. i guess they assume i don't know what i am missing out on. in reality i don't feel like i am missing out. the people that are the most important to me are still aware of what is going on in my life, so i feel fine about it. maybe one day i will get a new account, but it won't be tomorrow.
...just a few of my thoughts on the media.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really enjoyed your post. I never thought I would get a smartphone and never had a desire for one but about three months ago my husband got me one. I definitely feel that I have to remind myself not to waste time on it. It can easily become a distraction from relationships, life, homework etc. Your story about Zions is sad... but I see it everyday! People missing out cause they're glued to their phone. BUT with the gps and the internet, I have found so many amazing and helpful uses for it. I just have to consciously watch myself to be sure I'm not using it too much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I agree with you on many things. I too do not have a smart phone and it doesn't bother me too much, but it would be nice to have when I need to check my email or get directions when I'm lost. When I was in high school, myspace was the huge thing. But I avoided it like the plague...maybe because it was my way of rebellion. I used to think that people called it 'mindspace'. A place where everyone would put a little bit of their minds online. I thought it was weird. There is definitely good and bad about the media. You could get a Facebook account and it can be very beneficial, but if you know that it makes you procrastinate and has a bad influence on you, then don't. Usage of media should be judged on an individual basis. -Julianna
ReplyDeleteTo relate to your Zions story...Before coming back to Provo I went out to dinner with my family. Our booth was a little crazy with 4 small children hopping around, but we were all talking to each other and laughing with each other. Then I looked over and noticed this other family. A mom with three children. And every person, including the mom, was on a phone or ipod. There was no talking or communication going on. I'm not saying that I'm never on my phone in a restaurant, but it was very apparent how influential technology is in that family's life. I think it's important to maintain strong family bonds and I think technology can sometimes prevent us from doing that. I have to remind myself of that sometimes and seeing that family helped me realize how important it is.
ReplyDelete