Last week I decided to watch a show that I had watched last summer called Merlin. Merlin is exactly what you probably thought of. It is about the great wizard Merlin and King Arthur, although in this show, Arthur is not yet king. I enjoy watching Merlin, it's fun and full of adventure. But after watching it, I had a desire to watch Once, another TV show that I had watched last summer. Why did I have this desire? I think it is called the affect of media. Once I begin, I sometimes feel like I can't stop. Or at least that's how I use to feel. As time has gone on, I have realized how movies "seize" me, meaning I can't stop watching them. Watching one, just makes me want to watch another. Once I realized this, I have been teaching myself self-discipline.
This last week I read an article called Outdoors and Out of Reach. This article really impressed me with how some of the professors/researchers believed that nature helps the mind to be more enlightened with learning. The more I thought about this, the more I believe it myself. This weekend I went hiking with some of my roommates. Being outside was such a delight. I felt more invigorated. I felt more in tune with my roommates as I took the time to listen and to hang out with them outside of our daily busy lives at our home.
All of this makes me wonder, why do we allow ourselves to be pulled into to the webs of technology? Why do we allow ourselves to become addicted and forget those around us? Sometimes my family vacations have been spent using our technologies in each others presence rather than spending quality time with each other. How is that bringing a family together? It isn't.
Yesterday, some friends and I tried watching a movie, but the system died on us. So instead we played games together. Games that used only ourselves and our brains. The fact that we played these type of games allowed us to really interact and get to know each other a lot better than we would have watching the movie. The system failure was a blessing. We had a lot more fun and INTERACTED with each other. Sometimes I feel like media is a determent to our world. It allows us to create excuses in not interacting with those around us.
It's as if media is becoming our "best friend." I cannot count how many times I start a show on Netflix and before I know it I'm through 2 seasons. Then it tells you "because you've watched such and such, you might enjoy this;" and then of course I have to see what that show is all about. I definitely agree with you that we need to make more of an effort to find other things to do. We need to enjoy the things around us, nature, and actually interact with those around us.
ReplyDeleteWhen we pull ourselves away from media and technology, we can more fully connect with others and ourselves! Your post made me think of going to the movie theater and how good the popcorn tastes in the moment and how I want to keep eating it. However, once the movie is over I can't believe how much popcorn I've eaten. I think media can sometimes be that way in our lives. When we step back, we can't believe how much time has been spent on it.
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