Okay, I gave in yesterday. But not as much as I thought I would, so I'm actually kinda proud of myself. Don't worry, I'll explain later.
After taking it slow and getting up kinda late, I started my day by spending several hours grading. I also teach COMM 1307 online and just about every week I have my students post "discussion" and "peer" responses on Blackboard as part of their Discussion grade, which is worth 30% of their overall grade. Over the weekend I spend a good deal of time grading their responses, usually while listening to music on my iTunes library. Well, I tried to grade in complete silence and I just couldn't do it! I had to have my music playing so I said to hell with the rules and gave in. I'm so weak!
But on the other hand, I didn't check my Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or play Words With Friends or Angry Birds on my iPhone, both of which happen to be my primary time-wasting addictions these days. What kinda surprised me this time around (I've done the media deprivation every semester since Fall 2008), is how easy it was for me to ignore my social networking sites and my iPhone. I don't recall it being this easy last time I deprived myself of mass media.
I even went so far as to turn off cellphone notifications for my Twitter account, so in many ways I was out of the loop. For instance, I didn't see the Spurs game Friday night so I didn't know if they won or not. I had to text a buddy of mine yesterday to find out. They won by the way.
I was also proud of my resistance to surfing the Internet, which I usually tend to do when I'm on my laptop grading my online Mass Comm class. The temptation is just too great, what with the ability to have multiple tabs open on my Macbook and the ease in which I can toggle between different websites via the F3 button (I *really* like that button). But I didn't give in to temptation. Yes, I was listening to music while grading but trust me: It could've been a lot worse.
And yet my inability to stay strong didn't end there as I gave in to watching TV! I decided to stay in last night, but with a good chunk of my school stuff done--and having eye fatigue from looking at a computer monitor for several hours--I couldn't resist the urge to watch some of the shows on my DVR. So there I was watching a mini-marathon of the History Channel's Ancient Aliens series, and you know what? I didn't feel all that guilty!
Why? Mainly because I've been unable to watch a lot of the stuff on my DVR due to being so busy with school stuff, especially during weekends where I actually get a lot of work done. So I saw this as a rare opportunity to knock out some shows without being distracted by my iPhone or laptop, both of which tend to prevent me from fully enjoying some quality time with my TV. For instance, I usually have my laptop on and right by my side whenever I watch TV in the living room, but this time I didn't, which is why I ultimately felt good about myself even though I broke other rules yesterday.
But make no mistake: The first thing I did when I woke up on Sunday was check my Twitter feed, then my Facebook, then promptly resumed my games on Words With Friends! So much for overcoming that social media addiction!
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