Information Overload
Normally, I'm on my computer the majority of the day. The only things that inhibit this habitual practice of mine are school, friends, and other responsibilities. So I chose to document a Friday and Saturday because those are the days I get the most exposure to technology.
My Friday began at midnight with my face happily glued to the television so I could fully watch Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring without any interruption. That viewing period of the television lasted until 6:30 in the morning when I fell asleep. I woke up four hours later to watch more television whilst playing on my mother's iPad2. At noon, my mother expressed a desire to go grocery shopping so I obliged. The radio was playing in the car and at Sunflower Market and Shopko. When we got home at 1:30, I watched Futurama and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia until 3:00. At 4:00, I arrived at my friend's apartment and we sort of did online math homework while reading random articles and listening to The Eagles' Pandora station. At 9:00, I returned home and watched more television. An hour later, I did more online math homework until midnight.
My Saturday began quickly after Friday ended. I perused the Internet for an hour longer and decided to watch an hour of television. At 7:30 in the morning, I woke up and played around on the Internet until 9:00 when I decided it was time to play Mass Effect 2. After playing that for an hour and a half, I returned to my computer and music for two hours. At 1:00, I decided to eat in front of my television while reading Discovery magazine. Half an hour later, I returned to the Internet for four and a half more hours. About a third of that time was spend doing homework. At 6:00, it was feeding time again and that also meant television time. That lasted an hour before I returned to my computer and music for the rest of the night.
During my lovely technological escapades on this Friday and Saturday, my cellphone was near me most of the time. Most of the texts I received were Twitter updates but I also replied to a few texts from people.
I'm not ashamed of how much time I spend around technology. I firmly believe in a future where we are very dependent on the existence of the Internet and connections to other people. But I also see the dangers of such a society. I've read many articles that talk about how this overload of information is detrimental to a person's mental health if not handled properly. It's important not to have a constant connection to technology.
