THE ACHE

 (Image credit to Banksy)

In the last article, I asked you to track your media consumption as obsessively as you could. You were to write down every little piece of media you could possibly manage to watch. If you did it right, you should have a VERY large list of all the media you consume. A lot of you might be shocked at how long your lists are. Many of you might realize that some things snuck in to your days without you even noticing them, “Oh, wow. Those really funny ads after my favourite show really got to me...” or “Holy cow, the women in those perfume commercials look dead...that's kind of disturbing...” or "Why aren't there ever women driving the cars in those ads?" (this one seriously gets me. The only thing you see a woman driving in car commercials is a freakin' van or something...ugh!) These are all fantastic observations. I hope that you made some notes as to what commercials really triggered you, emotionally or otherwise. These will especially come in handy later on. Not this week, though!

This week, though, I'm asking you to do something different. This week, instead of obsessively compiling our media intake, we are going to try to completely cut ourselves off from it. That's right. NO media. None.

Now, you can define media however you want, but I want you to for SURE avoid the internet, magazines, and the television (yes, I have bolded them. It's necessary). Your list of media may also include the posters on the subway and billboards. It may include the radio. It may include ALL books. Or it may not. It may only consist of the three I listed (which I find are the major ways media gets to us in today's society). Feel free to add as you want. The less media you can consume this week, the better!

And cue the yelling.

Seriously, though. This notion is always one that garners a very hostile reaction from people. Almost always, there are tens of thousands of excuses “But I NEED to watch TV – I have a project due!” “How am I not supposed to look at posters?! There's nothing else to look at!” “But facebook...” 

NOPE. No media.

Take a step back and listen to the resistance speaking. Do you really NEED media? I'm not saying you need to leave it for the rest of your life – I only ask that, again, you aim to have at least ONE DAY media-free. It would be a lot more beneficial for you if you managed more than that (I suggest a week), but a day will suffice, if you really, really need that media back.

It's this immediate hostile resistance that we're looking at this time. Why is it that we react that way when our life-line to society's messages and whims is suddenly being threatened. We act as if someone is threatening to take away the very blood in our body. It's TV, computers, radio and posters, not your blood and bones, or your firstborn child.

Because really, it's simply a box. A machine. These things that we've become so attached to, so addicted to – they're simple machines, running off of electricity. The messages are what really draw us in. It's not the computer we want, it's the constant stream of chatter and obligations and messages that pull at us so strongly. We don't want to stare at a TV for hours on end; we want to get our daily fix of society telling us what's what and what isn't. We're addicts for the stuff!

(And please, please, PLEASE do not try to justify something. Do not just 'peek' at your dashboard on tumblr, or sit on the couch when someone else is watching TV because you didn't turn it on. Just...avoid media. Don't do it, don't watch it, don't. Please. Because if you do, you're the one who's going to have to live with the gnawing disappointment of not being able to give media up for a day. C'mon. You're MUCH better than that. I know it). 

So, I BEG you. This is one of the most important exercises that you'll undertake in this whole series. Please, please, please go at least one day without media. If you can manage that, go another. Aim, if you can, for a full week of as little media as you can manage. And I know you can manage a lot more than you think! There's plenty of things you can do instead of consume media.

-paint something

-paint your nails and your toenails (or trim them, if you're like me...whoops...)

-learn to cook a new food

-teach yourself a new skill (this week I'll be teaching myself the mysterious skill of guerrilla art)

-spend some time with someone you love

-dance

-go out on a date somewhere

-cuddle with your cat

-take a long, long bath

-clean that thing you've needed to...

-call that friend you haven't talked to in a while

-make some mail art!

-play a card game (I highly recommend magic: the gathering)

-learn a new language

-meditate for a while

-go on a real long walk, maybe go to a park

-go to a museum or gallery, if you can (unfortunately, I cannot, so instead I'll walk through the gallery mother nature has made for me, during a nice long walk!)

The ideas are endless! These are just a few of my seriously exciting ideas! Good luck!