By Alexander Ameika
The amount of information I received from an hour of media consumption was immense. While there was a large amount of information present, I received it in so many small pieces and from so many sources that I didn’t commit much of it to memory. The majority of it was entertainment from media sources like Tik Tok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Some was directly from people I know, or group chats where I talk to friends, and some was produced for entertainment from popular figures and accounts. Between pieces of information I intended to receive I saw advertisements. This would either be interrupting what I’m trying to see, like when an ad plays in the middle of a Youtube video, or on the side of what I would like to view, like the public stories on snapchat below my friends stories.
The amount of information I received from an hour of being outdoors was great as well. I spent an hour in my kayak on burke lake. However, the information was mostly natural and not directly influenced by anthropogenic sources. This came in the form of sounds I heard. This included sounds from animals, water moving, leaves rustling, and things like sticks falling from the canopy to the forest floor. Other information I received was visual. I would see how birds acted when flying together, or how large birds of prey moved while looking for fish to catch. I also received information from the surrounding environment that was mostly visual. Things like water clarity from whether or not I could see the lake bottom in places I usually do, temperature from ice still on the lake, and depth of the lake from comparing the water level to the more recent high water marks on the banks.
I didn’t learn many new things from this experience because I frequently spend time exposed to media and the outdoors. When I spend time outdoors I try to limit my phone use to texts for later plans or with people I’m outside with that aren’t close enough to hear. Some activities I do outside, like surfing, demand attention and create a situation where I cannot consume media. This is the first time I’ve had to compare the two though, and I’ve learned something from reflecting on these hours. The information I receive from media is less focused and concentrated than the information I receive form natural things. There are so many small pieces of information that try to draw ones attention and can be distracting while using a device. It doesn’t feel as good to consume because it can cause some type of stress in me. There is too much stimulation from a device that allows me to consume media. When outdoors it’s easier to take everything in at once or focus on specific things while still receiving some information from everything else that makes up the environment around me. Even when I’m focused on one thing on my phone I can’t ignore the notifications that appear as banners on the top of my screen. This feels very different from observing an animal or element of the environment and also hearing noises behind me and feeling the atmosphere. The information received from nature feels easier and less stressful to process, and even receive. It doesn’t require much effort and it feels like it simply happens.