Sean McDermott
The opening of Bill McKibben’s The Age of Misinformation (1992) described two worlds I know well. At least one’s I have known. He opens describing the TV options that he watched, all recorded from what was played in Fairfax County in 1990. I grew up in Fairfax County. I am also old enough that I have some memories of what the county was like then. 1990 was the year I started first grade so It’s safe to say that those memories aren’t all that strong, but they are enough that I related to many of the obscure references to George Mason University broadcasts and other things that Bill mentioned in book.
Fast forward to today and I can see the point that Bill was trying to make being even more important. Having grown up a product of a TV driven society, I can now say that my cell phone has overtaken the TV in my life by far when it comes to how my life now operates.
In the hour that I attempted to keep track of my plugged-in use I have lost track of the number of times I have glanced at my phone. I checked Instagram more times than I’d like to admit, mostly pretty picture of outdoor places that I can day dream about mixed with pictures of people working out showing their successes but rarely their less glamourous moments. And of course, mixed in that feed was a scattering of adds targeted to me based on all the data the app has on my habits. I looked at three different email accounts during the hour: two personal and one for school. I checked three different news apps: The Washington Post, NPR, and BBC. When that cycle was completed, I seemed to instinctively restart the whole process as though there would be something so new in one of those apps that I needed to be aware of it now even though I had only been away foe a few minutes to check another app. I sometimes congratulate myself on not being like my parents who watch TV most evenings, but all I seem to have done is exchange the large screen for a smaller pocket sized one.
After that hour I decides to leave my phone behind. I put it into a drawer knowing that just having it in my pocket might change the experiences as I have often caught myself looking down at my phone even when I set out not to do so. So, without my phone, I decided to leave the house. I decided the best way to do this for this experiment was to take the dog on a long walk. Despite it being cold and wet outside she was more than happy to join me. I on the other-hand immediately seemed to take note of the damp coldness that was around me though not in a negative way. Its January, so cold is very much an appropriate outdoor condition. As my time was limited, I kept to my local neighborhood in Ashburn that is very similar to where I grew up in Fairfax. It’s a busy area with rapidly growing urban sprawl. A new shopping center is being built between Rt. & and where my house is located so throughout my walk, I can hear the sounds of the road and construction. Planes landing at Dulles airport annoying fly overhead every minute or so on approach to the runway. The walk I took was one that is very familiar to me but today there was a light coating of snow and ice that aren’t normally there. For my dog this seemed particularly interesting as she was exploring with more than her usual excitement to explore the outside world. I couldn’t help but realize that to her this excitement is her normal state as she doesn’t spend any of her time mediated as I do. Though here presence around me while I am doing such might be an interesting angle to look at.
When I have more time, I often like to take longer hikes to force myself away from distractions but it’s nice to know sometimes all it takes is a regular walk with the dog. Of course, getting into nature is always a welcome adventure but sometimes just putting down the phone is enough to make notable changes. Even in a very noisy suburban location there is still enough nature in the outside world for me to become refocused. Generally other physical activity can have the same responses for me though intense exercise seems to be more a way to drown out thoughts rather than inspire new ones. Being alone with my thoughts isn’t always where I want to be but it’s good to be there enough to remember why I’m always glad when I take some time to step away from the mediated life.