Remember the last time your power went out?
Maybe it was during a storm that the TV, Xbox and lights flickered off, leaving you fumbling for a match and muttering, “Greaaat.”
Well, lights are awesome. Big fan here. And media tech is great, too. But what would you think if someone … gulp … voluntarily shut down the TV, Internet and other such staples of American life?
Shane and Jennifer Weeks, along with their three young boys, did just that for 21 days. Before the experiment, Jennifer told Plugged In, “I don’t know what we’re in for, but we are determined to find out how God might use this fast in our lives.” You can read through a transcript of a conversation I had with them afterwards here and the first article in the two-part Up Front series about media fasts here.
But Jennifer, a stay-at-home mom, also journaled about the experience, and I think her thoughts shine a light on what it’s really like to give up this stuff for an extended period of time. Take a look at her candid observations and feelings:
Week 1, Day 2: “Only a couple days into this fast and I realize I go running to my laptop when I’m bored. Bored! The word I don’t let my kids use unless they want some house-cleaning to do. My e-mail and Facebook entertain me, I guess. I don’t have co-workers to greet each day. I’ve got my Facebook friends. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for eight years and I need this [online interaction]. I’ll start some laundry, check e-mails, wash dishes, chat on Facebook and so on each day. Is this acceptable or sick addiction?? Lol.”
Week 2, Day 1 “Not sure how this will go for the family. I don’t regret participating in the fast, but I don’t know what I got us into, either. We don’t live in the pioneer days! My dad had me sitting at a computer as far back as my first memories. I learned a lot. I think the kids benefit from the technology … in moderation. There are pros and cons to anything, but I’m ready to see what the pros are to giving media up for a while.
Instead of Shane and I interacting with our laptops in the evenings (because we don’t watch TV), we sat and talked about school starting, our family, and about his work—things that we have always discussed, but nowhere near in such detail as tonight. … I am excited to have so much more reading time now that I’m not a slave to my laptop!”
Week 2, Day 4 “Sitting here drinking my coffee this morning thinking, What now? Really would like to know what my friends are up to on Facebook. Ugh. … I need to rejuvenate and am having to find another way to do it. Right now I feel cut off from society. … I am determined to see this through, but at this moment I’m asking myself, ‘Why?'”
Week 2, Day 5 “Ha ha. I don’t know who’s more bored, me or the kids!? We play … and it fills the time. It doesn’t seem like there is much else to do. … I would LOVE to spend even five minutes online, but I can’t. Which is where it feels like punishment. We’re not out in the woods, or secluded in Alaska, or any Third-World country. It’s hard to convince myself to do what doesn’t come naturally to society.”
Week 4, Day 1 “If it wasn’t for Shane pushing me to continue, I would have quit. I’m not a quitter, and I usually can’t stop until a task is complete, but this fast is different from anything I’ve done. Still, there’s something in me that says ‘finish this.'”
Read the article to find out if the Weeks made it—and whether it was worth it. (Hint: It was!)
And if you’re interested in embarking on a media fast yourself, we won’t tell you it’s easy. But you might find it worthwhile all the same. Monitor the amount of media you consume—and how you believe it affects you. Then go cold turkey for a week or three. (We’ll miss you when you’re gone, but we’ll get by somehow.) Let us know how you fare and what you learn either here on our blog or on our Facebook page.
We’ll post tips this week on our Facebook page to help anyone who’s thinking about taking the plunge.
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