Author: kakerlof

I began my first hour of information by scrolling aimlessly through Netflix as I’ve always done when trying to find something to watch. Except this time, I payed more attention to the volume of options I had before me, the large mix of television shows, movies, documentaries, comedies. I decided to watch a documentary called 20 Feet from Stardom, which was about African American backup singers before and during the era of rock and roll. One interesting thing I found out was that one of my favorite songs by the Rolling Stones actually included one of these backup singers, and she was later inducted in the Rock and Roll hall of fame for her work with the band and others. The vast amount of choices that is available on streaming services can make it feel overwhelming when trying to choose a program to watch.  The movie would have kind of slow moments, so I would stop and maybe check my messages and social media from time to time. This immersed me even more into even more media and I found that I didn’t not gain any useful information from my social media, but I did receive multiple advertisements while using the app.

              For my outside time I went to University Park that is near George Mason. I brought a book and notebook to pass the time but ended up just observing the park and the other people there. It was a cold day, so I did not enjoy just sitting on the park bench, so I walked around for a while to get warmer. The trees swaying as the wind whipped through them was calming to be around, not only for the look of it but the sound was calming as well. There was one couple who was walking their dog around and that was about all the animals I saw besides a handful of squirrels. I found that I could think clearer without using my headphones or phone which was a refreshing change to being on campus where everyone walks to class with their heads down and focused on their technology.

              I liked this assignment because it made me think more into my daily routine of watching television and attempting to hide from the cold of winter in my dorm. There is an extreme contrast between the mediated environment and the natural environment. Firstly, I found that I became less stressed faster and with more ease in my natural environment. Without all of the media interfering, I was able to process my day and thoughts which helped me slow down and appreciate the environment I was in. While watching the movie I didn’t experience the same relaxation, the flow of new information interested me but was a less satisfying experience for me. I think in today’s society, television is one way how we deliver and receive information, in great volumes, from all different perspectives. Which could be an advantage, hearing from different types of people, but with the vastness of information out in the world it is easy for the population to get lost in the knowledge. Going out into an environment without the influence of social media and technology can be beneficial to people mental health because it allows for time to reflect and observe our earth and its natural wonders.

Mads

I tap my pointer finger against the desk. thump thump thump. I check my watch. The younger hand ticks past nine and I realize I still have 7 and a half hours in this room. In this seat. I look up. Most of the other people in this driver’s improvement course are young and dumb like me. Driven by the “it’s not illegal until I get caught” mindset. Unfortunately, we are all alike in that we did end up getting caught. Lol. The course moderator (Calling her a teacher would be generous) drones on uselessly about driving improvement I presume (after a while her voice morphed into that of the instructor off of Charlie Brown). She talks more. Whom whomp wawamp wwamp. I turn over my phone on my lap to reveal a screen of notifications. Instagram, emails from instructors, messages from my friends, snapchats, instagram, twitter, tik tok, did I mention instagram? This cycle of checking the clock, my phone and half checking in on the class continues throughout the course of the hour. We watch a video. I don’t pay attention. My mind is off somewhere else. It always is. This feels like eternity. I am impatient. 

I walk outside. Ah nature. Well as close to it as I can get. I’m on campus. Stepped out of Krug hall. It’s brisk. As I walk I notice everything. They added new benches that line the sidewalk. I walk some more. Two cute leaves on the ground in front of me. I look up. This time of year is always sad to me. The trees all dead and sublime. It looks dreadful. But I do enjoy the cloudy weather for staying in. I walk some more. There’s a lot of construction going on so it’s hard to enjoy the natural environment. There’s a lot of people walking in groups talking. I walk alone. I run into a robot. I’m on my way to my favorite place on campus which includes the grassy area to sit. A man behind me plays music off of the speaker. Isn’t that kind of lacking common decency? How much do I miss when I have my headphones in? I get to my favorite spot. No one sits here in the winter time. Everyone walks briskly to class. Why is that boy not wearing a jacket? I find myself counting the trees. Cigarette butts litter the area. i don’t count those. My mind goes a lot to my body and how cool I feel. I practice breathing exercises to regulate my body temperature. I wanna get my mind on nature. But I’m so in my thoughts. I can’t help but think about what all I have to do today. I take some deep breath‘s. Inhale. Exhale. And I feel better. it’s loud out here. I can hear the construction going on in the distance. I see one of my favorite professors. He used to teach an astronomy lecture. What a wise man. I get up and walk around on the steps. The stained white concrete is cold under my feet even though I have shoes on. I pace back-and-forth on the steps looking around from time to time. I wonder if people judge me. I wonder if people think differently of me because I’m out here in the cold. I know I would look at myself crazy. But I kind of enjoy this cold loneliness. I don’t stay out there whole hour. I can’t. Im impatient.

What I found through these two experiences was not information about the world but more information about myself. I found that I am entirely too impatient. I find myself daydreaming quite often. I let my mind take over in situations that I feel are boring or tiresome. I also noticed how unaware I am with my surroundings usually. I love music so much I can’t think of a time of day where I’m not listening to music or have a song stuck in my head. It’s interesting to be out in nature or in a different environment with no music. I think I’ll start to do this more.  As far as impatience goes, I think this can be due to the constant stream of information that we all receive. If we are bored with a topic or an interested in a conversation we can easily find something new that we like at least in the technological world. In the natural world you can’t swipe up if you don’t like the scenery. Being in the natural world forces you to live in the moment and see things for what they really are at a grassroots level. Nothing fancy. No sugarcoating. Being in the natural world also shows me that good things take time. I shouldn’t rush my life. 

In Pomona, California, a man with bolt cutters is stopped by a police officer.  In Tallahassee, Florida, a jar of marijuana is found in a car with two men during a routine traffic stop.  Turns out it’s illegal to walk with bolt cutters in California because they’re considered burglary tools. Officers suspect this man of using them in a crime.  In Lawrence, Indiana, a drunk driver hits a car and flees the scene but is later found after driving his car into a ditch. In Bradford County, Florida, a man is pulled over for having blue lights underneath his truck.  It’s illegal to have red or blue lights under your car. If you visit Ashley home store, you can get 0% interest for 72 months on mattresses. 90% of people fall short of getting key nutrients from food alone, but One A Day vitamins have them all.  If you switch to T-mobile, you can get 2 lines of unlimited for $90 and 2 iPhone 11s for free. Save 30% on your first order with Chegg. Back to Bradford County- turns out the driver’s license has been revoked since 2011. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, officers rush to the scene of a shooting.  The man was shot 8 to 10 times from behind while walking, but the reason is unclear. More people can file free with H+R block online than with TurboTax. Back in Pomona, California, the man wielding bolt cutters is now suspected of public intoxication and is being taken down to the station to sober up.

The pond is quiet and still, save for the wind resulting in soft ripples across the cold surface.  Judging by the surrounding area and an increase in my dog’s interest, geese have been here not too long ago, but must have decided to travel somewhere a bit warmer for now.  Geese eat plants and berries in addition to nuts, so staying here to find food might prove slightly difficult. The steady crunching of leaves draws my attention. I bring myself to stand and make polite conversation with this stranger before we both go our separate ways.  I wave goodbye and call for my dog and we make our way into the woods, the cold wind getting colder as the sun begins to set. In the dimming lighting, I can make out small puddles of water under the clusters of trees, stepping over moss covered logs to continue on our path back home.

Comparing my hour watching TV to my hour spent in the woods behind my house, I definitely felt a lot more free and happy outdoors.  While watching Live PD, the events tended to move a lot more quickly and the hour felt like it was up a lot faster than when I was outside.  When in nature, I was able to think at my own pace and my thoughts felt less like they were controlled by my environment. I definitely felt a lot more awake and alert than I did watching TV, and it was easier for me to actually absorb my surroundings.  I definitely learned a lot while watching Live PD, but the information I retained definitely wasn’t as useful compared to my thought process while outdoors.

I spent my first hour on the internationally popular social media platform Instagram. This is a platform I was use quite often so it was interesting doing so in a more self-aware manner. It allows you to follow pages that post content that may be of interest to you thereby being extremely personalized. In my case the content that I choose to follow is not as wide of a variety as I thought it would’ve been. The majority of what I saw was sports content with an emphasis on American Football and the New England Patriots which is my favorite NFL team. I learned about different players and how they were playing on their respective teams along with other news and highlights from other sports like hockey, baseball, and basketball.  There was also a considerable amount of content focused on either fitness or healthy aspects of lifestyle such as healthy eating and meditation. Most of the other posts were simply entertainment. Funny or interesting videos and memes that don’t really serve any purpose other than providing momentary pleasure. There are some pages I follow that are news and politics related but they are greatly outnumbered by the more trivial pages.

            For my hour in a natural setting I decided to do something that I already love to do and that is play frisbee golf at Bluemont park in Arlington, VA. I do this often, but I’ve have never done so with this kind of intentionality. The park is beautiful this time of year. I arrived shortly after 10 am so as to not experience the afternoon rush that can sometimes be seen at this popular family spot. It was a cloudy day and the of the trees and grass were dulled but warm. There was a woman walking her dog and looking down at her phone, reminding me why I was there. I first noticed the temperature and I wish I had worn shorts. I decided to take my shoes off in order to feel the grass and dirt under them. To get closer to nature. As I played the first hole, I took my time walking to get my frisbee. There was a squirrel facing down a tree trunk strategically going around as to avoid me. A bird fluttered from the brush, startled.  It was very quiet. I could hear the rumble of the road over the hill and the wind through the trees. As I continued to play, I part of me felt like I was intruding. The bare fields and the paved roads seemed out of place in between the forests and creeks. I wondered who would have been in this area centuries ago and how they would react to seeing their home in such a way. I am glad though that we have places such as this in Arlington to retreat to for peace and recreation.

            Something I noticed during these two hours is the difference in my thoughts. When doing the one hour on social media I did not experience much that encouraged independent or critical thought. It was simply repeated consumption that will probably not serve me in the future. When I was at Bluemont park though I was able to let my mind wander and contemplate in a way that my mind is usually too busy for. It lets you get back to who you really are without any outside influence shaping your perspective. Consuming content on social media may not benefit you but it sticks with you and affects how you live. Being in nature lets you just be.

Catherine Mai

1 Hour in Mediated Environment

I enjoy reading the news- especially news related to science and the environment. I am subscribed to email newsletters from The New York Times, Nautilus, Futurism, National Geographic, WRI, and several others including outlet sources for articles. As much as I enjoy reading the news, however, I also find it rather difficult to keep up with the sheer amount of information and content that is available. From simply reading some of my email newsletters today I’ve discovered quite a lot. A few things I’ve learned from the New York Times: Trump’s impeachment trial continues, Coronavirus outbreak intensifies in China, US political polarization is related to moral grand- standing and mob dynamics, and the book American Dirt by J. Cummins sparks a controversy. Information from the website Futurism (and whatever it links) is up next. Astronomers have detected repeating fast radio bursts for the second time in a galaxy 500 million light years away, ten times closer than the previous and one of the closest yet. Scientists have discovered that the Earth’s core has been leaking into its outer layers for 2.5 billion years, but don’t know why yet. The wildfires occurring (still now) in Australia are so bad that they can be seen from space, turning the continent red when visible from the cloudy  smoke. The ocean’s average temperature has warmed by 0.075 degrees Celsius, or the equivalent of 3.6 billion Hiroshima atom bombs since the 1975-2010 average. All this news tends to make me rather anxious at the state of our planet. I hope that I will be able to do something about it, one day, even if just a little. Staying informed is important!

1 Hour in Naturalistic Outdoors Environment (w/o Media)

It had been sunny today until around noon or so, when the sky became how it is now: mostly overcast. I’ve decided that winter is not exactly the most ideal season to be spending time in the suburban outdoors without any internet or media available. It’s definitely not ideal for just wandering around- unless maybe you are at a park or some other relatively undisturbed natural setting. That’s how I felt as I walked through the Innovation Food Forest on the GMU Fairfax Campus. In warmer seasons, the food forest is normally a beautiful, verdant place. But it is winter now, and most life is dormant or hibernating- like my mood recently. As I walked down the paths in the food forest, I identified a few plants that weren’t dormant: wild onion grass, daffodils that were just sprouting, hairy bittercress, deadnettle, and a couple others. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in how dreary the world seemed at the moment, and longed for spring, when the plants would start to thrive again. Everything felt overcast like the weather and I couldn’t muster up enough energy in me to become interested in my surroundings. Usually I am able to enjoy being outdoors to some extent, but recently I noticed that I haven’t had the strength to do so. I suppose this is all reflective of my mood and condition at the moment. After observing the food forest for a while, I walked around the premise of the area. I couldn’t help but feel critical of the landscaping on the campus and wished that there would be more pollinator gardens and green infrastructure incorporated. I despised the empty, vacant lawn spaces that were meant to grow grass but were rather patchy- mostly dirt and some weeds. Aside from that I also noticed that there were a lot of quartz (I think?) rock around the soil. That is about all for my observations.

Conclusion

Admittedly, reading all this news takes quite a bit of time and sometimes I skim over the information. Yet I find myself preferring it over scrolling through Instagram or Facebook (which I rarely use) for various reasons. From this experience, I don’t really think that the age of information is truly a bad things- I think it’s more about how we consume the information made available to us and how we let it affect our lives. As someone who has always appreciated nature and paid attention to it, I don’t think the presence of media has affected me as strongly as implied. However, I realize that the suburban outdoors environment can be a bit hard for even me to truly appreciate in the midst of winter, especially if I am feeling down. I think I would enjoy being in nature much more if I was doing something, such as gardening, rather than just walking around. In order to fully benefit from nature, I think we have to be occupied with interacting with it instead of just walking around and observing, which was what I was doing. If I was in a park or more natural/undisturbed setting, I think walking around would’ve been fine. But I was still on campus, in the suburbs, so I’m not sure this experience is as valid.

Joseph Ivancic

This semester is hopefully my last at university, and it is not going down without a fight. Already it has been one of the most stressful first school weeks of my storied career. Swamped by monotonous and frustrating math work, I turn to the extensive library of  old music stored on my laptop. I hope that the familiar and calming sounds will ease some of the rarer, darker emotions that have been pushed to the front of my mind. It doesn’t work, so I turned to the sure-to-fail YouTube retreat. I spend an hour laying in bed and watching other people play games. Of course it does not work, and I feel even worse for wasting that time.

I had been intending to go on one of my favorite and more dangerous bike courses in Fairfax for this assignment, but found the front tire of Freda the bicycle completely flat. After a while attempting to resurrect the flaccid rubber, I was forced to abandon my efforts. The murder investigation is underway. Later, life continued its course and I got the opportunity to bury my cat of 18 years on the family mountain. I was in the crisp evening air digging in the red clay, staining my hands and knees. There is a good feeling that comes with getting dirty.

I named this post Two Minds because of how opposing I can feel when faced with different environments and stressors. To feel happy I need to interact and laugh with friends and family, feeling the world around me in conjunction with every other thing that lives. But there are times, sometimes too many times, where I close myself off and pretend to be in a world separate from everything else. In these times I worry about math or jobs or money or clothes, instead of life and love and cold and warmth and exercise and living. 

Ricky Gatz

Media Hour:

First, I open snapchat to view a picture from a group chat I find little interest in anymore. I breeze past my friend’s stories as habit, not really paying attention to the content of their posts. I wonder why I wasn’t invited. I move on to Instagram, scroll for a moment, and find myself uninterested in the accounts that are now showing on my screen as I have already viewed all the posts Instagram thought I would like today. I then move on to YouTube in hopes that this hour, just as many hours before, might go by a bit faster if I break it up into ten-minute segments of recommended video viewing. I watch a video or two but soon I am bored. I go on tinder to see if any one new likes me today and wonder about why my past relationships didn’t work out. Facebook surely will have something exciting.

Nature Hour:

I decide I will ride my bike to nearby Lake Royal Park. I step outside of my house and first take a second to look at the family of white cats along with their two orange friends that live at the end of my street. I notice their delicate movement and patience as they sit in silence amongst each other. As I listen to the birds chirp and try to find where the sounds of coming from, I am reminded of my high school biology teacher who taught me to identify many of the native Virginia birds. Upon arriving at the park, I take a seat at my go to fishing spot on the lake. I watch ducks and geese swim in the water and take note of the colors and shapes and sizes of the trees in the backdrop. I reflect on time I’ve spent at this lake, how the first time I was brought there I was just a freshman, age 18 or 19. I think about my life and how it has changed over the past few years. I think about things that have come and things that have gone.

This exercise has made me really think about how much progress I may be missing out on because of free time spent on social media, video games, etc. I don’t think these things are necessarily bad, but I do feel like they inhibit my ability to reflect and think about the things that are and should be important to me. I found in comparing these two experiences that my thoughts and observances were much more fulfilling in a place where I could only be distracted by myself. There is peace in being distracted by your own thoughts, ideas, worries, and experiences. I can rarely find that with my distraction devices.

As I am sitting at my home desk, I notice that I have many distractions that can take away from the natural settings that we are all supposed to enjoy and take in as humans.  I’m currently typing on my laptop computer while scrolling my Facebook and Instagram apps open on my iPhone resting next to me. With every keystroke and move of my wireless mouse, my Baltimore Orioles Chris Davis bobble head gives me a slight nod, and behind me, my flatscreen TV is delivering the news of basketball great Kobe Bryant’s death and the impeachment of Donald Trump.  As I sit here and contemplate the implications of this absorption of technology and information on my brain and stress levels, I have a hard time wondering why I care so much and why I should ever overexpose myself to this.  I can’t help but have some overwhelming feelings of anxiety, stress, and overstimulation with all of this exposure.  On the other hand, my feelings lean towards being glad that I have the information that I need to stay current in our fast-paced, social and professional environment. 

I’ve always been an outdoor enthusiast, so the second part of our assignment, “An hour outside”, seemed to be an easy and much approachable task for me.  For my hour outside, I chose to go to one of my favorite local places which is the Maryland side of Great Falls Park.  Although it was mildly cold, Great Falls never seems to disappoint.  Once in the park, the trailheads and information centers offer information that is extremely helpful to the many visitors that frequent the park on a daily basis.  As my fiancé and I journeyed along some of the trails, we came across some of the bigger falls that the park had to offer. The mist, the sounds, and sense of power that came from the larger falls were exhilarating, refreshing, and humbling all at the same time.  As we trekked forward down the Potomac riverside, it wasn’t hard to miss the wildlife that is extensive in the area.  From large Snapping Turtles, Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, Beavers, and unidentified lizards, we were able to feel as if we were out of the craziness that is Washington, D.C.  Once home and my time at the falls was over, I felt as if I had been able to breathe and clear my thoughts for the first time in a long time.

Throughout my life, I have been able and fortunate enough to surround myself with environments that have taught me the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities that they present.  I’ve lived in the mountains of Colorado, the Hawaiian Islands, grew up on the Chesapeake Bay, and spent some amazing years on the shores of the Mississippi River.  This experience has been interesting for me because it made me have introspective thoughts about mental health, social media, electronic information, and how easy it is to forget about what is really important at the end.  What I’ve learned from this experience is something that was not a major shock to me… spending time in nature and away from social media and news sources is freeing and good for the soul. 

Joey

Nature

I walked around my neighborhood in Falls Church wearing a thick layer of clothing. I don’t think I wore the right shoes for walking but it is only for an hour. I was on a journey to find the black squirrel that is always running around in the morning when I walk to my car. I saw a flock of geese walking around aimlessly but with a purpose. I like the cold more than most people because I love wearing layers. But I hate taking them off because there’s never any good place to put them so after this walk when I walk back home to my car, I’m going to have to take it off so I’m lucky my car is my portable closet. Trees look so naked without leaves and birds on them. It’s been a lot quieter.  As much as I like the cold I am already starting to miss spring. I know it’s slightly selfish to think this way because we barely had a winter. I see a lot of parents walking around with their kids because it’s a teacher work day. Children are so funny. They’re so innocent and tiny. One kid tried to trip his sister but ended up falling himself. I walked for some more and got bored pretty much immediately. I feel like this would be easier if I had music. This experience is making me wish I walked more often. Nature is truly beautiful even without the obvious evidence of its existence such as the signature scents and pretty colors. Even when it looks monochromatic, it still holds the same amount of volume and depth. I didn’t know there was a shortcut to my church from my house. Maybe one day I’ll walk that route. Walking back to my house I think was my favorite part. I have so many from all the reflecting I did.

Mediated environment. 

I watched an episode of my current favorite TV show Schitt’s Creek on Netflix. I think this show is so funny. I watched an episode where one character was trying to get back with his boyfriend. It was a relaxing watch because I haven’t kept up with the show in about a week and watching an episode always puts me in a good mood. After one episode I went to YouTube and watched some recommended videos. I watched a Bjork music video and another one that explains an in-depth analysis on sexism in Hollywood award shows. It made me think about how much worse it is for women who aren’t in the entertainment business. And that Bjork is super cool. I think the weirdest part about the YouTube experience is the amount of ads I came across that were from the brands and companies whose websites I just visited. I think that’s really weird. I started to get really antsy because I hadn’t been on the internet and stayed still like this in a while. Am I having a hard time relaxing? I watched another episode of Schitt’s Creek but couldn’t pay my full attention because I went on my phone for about a third of the show. I replied to some messages and checked Instagram and Twitter.

Conclusion

I think the most important lesson I discovered is the significance of quiet. I think when I walked alone without any music or technology, my brain and mind went haywire. I think it’s because it finally has time to form cohesive thoughts without being interrupted by images and alerts that require immediate reaction and attention. I think technology and social media are so important and has its benefits but I am one to admit that I don’t use it properly. I think I abuse it and completely ignore nature. And I don’t think this is good for my growth because if I am surrounded by entities that cater to my world, I would never learn how to change and challenge myself. Social media should be there to connect me to the world but instead I trap myself in a bubble of my own consciousness. I don’t think I am utilizing the resources around me to optimal use. Hopefully in the future I can be more aware and in control of my actions. Silence will help me recalibrate and move forward.