Two Hours

By: Cassidy Bittenbender

So for my hour of technology I decided to spend it watching none other than Netflix for way longer than one hour might I add. My roommates and I started watching Jane the Virgin when we moved into our new apartment, which currently has mold infested AC vents so that’s been fun. We somehow managed to watch all 5 seasons in a few weeks. Not my biggest accomplishment. Not sure why we watched it either, it wasn’t even that good. Honestly, I learned nothing from the show other than the fact that it was extremely unrealistic and that my roommates and I could desperately use that hour of being outside.

Ah, nature. There’s nothing I love more than relaxing outside at a park or the beach. Fun fact: I am majoring in Environmental studies and I’m allergic to grass. I like to make things harder for myself I guess. For the purpose of this assignment I actually sat still as I did watching TV to really compare the difference. I was surrounded by trees, some water, a few birds, flies of course, and the unbearable heat. Being from Florida I should be used to the heat by now but I’m still not. Despite being extremely hot and itchy, I still enjoyed that hour underneath the branches more than the time I spent on my tiny couch. It was so peaceful sitting out there on my own and the wind being the only thing making noise as it rustled through the trees. What did I learn? That nature is effortlessly beautiful and always wear sunscreen.

What I liked most about this assignment is that it made me think about what’s really important. I definitely could’ve lived without watching 100 episodes of Jane the Virgin. I could have spent 100 hours hiking or swimming or walking and appreciating the planet we live on. As I got older I began to care more about the well-being of the Earth and pollution, climate change, endangered animals and so on. But, I started spending less time outside even though that’s all I wanted to learn about. I would watch documentaries and Nat Geo and travel videos, wishing I could be there instead of appreciating what was right outside of my walls. It’s like when you try to take a picture of the sunset on your phone and it NEVER captures the same colors you see with the naked eye. Even though I spent a lot of time educating myself with the help of the internet and TV and social media, I lost my physical connection with nature while building my mental one. Balance is critical to everything. I have been wavering in mine but I’m going to work on getting my balance back. 

By: Artem Protsenko

My hour of media immersion started with me opening different social apps and media sites. The first app on my list was Instagram, particularly the search and explore feature from it. That is where people can find different types of information based on the posts and accounts you interact with. In my media grid there were news headlines from various publications filled with recent information on recent events. Most of the information was focused on the latest terrorist attacks in Kabul. Since Instagram posts on average do not contain a large pieces of information. I decided to search more details myself on this topic. Therefore, I used Internet search tool to look up the most accurate and updated reports about this event. Soon I found myself on the vast of websites devoted to the news and articles about latest issues. In my opinion it is highly remarkable how from a single post on Instagram I was able to go to the different resources containing various content on the topic of my interest. I believe that shows how much social and media networks are being involved into our lives on a daily basis. For the rest of an hour, I was listening to music, watching YouTube, and periodically checking mason email.

The next morning, I decided to go outside to spend my one hour in a naturalistic environment. In order to do so I chose a nearby park and left all the electronic devices at home. The only thing that I had with me was my phone as a tool of communication. The weather in the morning was warm and sunny. The sunlight was penetrating through the crowns of trees illuminating the road stretched across the forest. My path laid between tall woodlands covered with grass and leaves. As I was walking, I began noticing small elements and details such as different types of birds inhabiting those areas, various shapes and structures of trees and much more.

For me that was a unique experience of how opposite the experience can be from both the time you spend in nature and the time you spend in a mediated environment. The types of information you receive are entirely distinct from each other with outdoor being more observational, while indoor being more analytical.

By: Jamileth Picavia

For my first hour, I was consumed by the three big apps; Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube. Constantly interchanging between all three. I found myself scrolling and scrolling, losing track of time, and making this 1 hour of consumed media fill up quickly. I started with the usual Twitter feed check, seeing what was trending at the time and what news there was. As I did this, I began to realize how catered my Twitter feed was to my interests; filling up with mostly art, music, and funny posts about shows I would watch, as well as the occasional cute cat pictures. The media I was consuming was tailored to me specifically; it was like having my own little world in my hands. I began to understand how closed off from the “real world” I was because of the specific posts and tweets I was seeing. This one tiny app was able to distract me from whatever was going on in the world even for just a brief moment, but I suppose that is the purpose when it comes to these tailored feeds. Similarly, as I transitioned into checking out Instagram, I found myself in the same situation. My explore page was filled with art varying in all types of media from paintings to digital. My main feed consisted of friends and family posting about their lives, from what they were up to this weekend to big life updates. As I caught up on these types of news, I would get distracted once again and go back to Twitter to see if anything new was on my feed, eventually then going on to YouTube to watch videos on whatever was recommended to me. And just like that, the 60 minutes of consumed media was complete; not much about the real world was learned but for that time I got lost in my own little catered world. 

From a distracting little world, I stepped outside and faced the real world in front of me. I spent my hour in a naturalistic environment at a small little park near my apartment complex. I set my phone aside to prevent myself from getting distracted, and so I sat and embraced what was around me. I realized that when I took a moment to look around, I was able to point out a lot of small details about the environment. It may sound strange but I was able to listen to the breeze around me and feel the warmth of the sun against my skin. It was quite sunny and there were quite a bit of people outside also enjoying the weather. Even though I was in a park, I could still hear the busyness of the streets around me from the cars. This made me realize how much information you’re able to learn from just looking around your surroundings. Even though I wasn’t at the site, from a distance I could sirens from a firetruck which I assumed was on its way to help somewhere. From looking at the people around me, I could tell schools were just let out since there were more kids and their parents stopping by the park. All these little details became more clear to me when I just took a moment to take in the environment. I was able to better understand the different components that fill an environment, from animals to people, to the type of weather on that specific day. 

After immersing myself in both an hour in consumed media and a natural environment, I was able to learn a lot about how different my perspectives were in each. For instance, in my hour within consumed media, I was able to multitask and jump around the apps on my phones based on whatever piqued my interest. Whereas when I was outside, I found myself less distracted and taking note of the details around me. However, after reflecting, I realized the reason why I may have had my eyes more open while outside may have been due to the tendency of always having something within my hands to fiddle with and distract myself. I had become so used to relying on my phone to keep me busy that when I didn’t have it, I was forced to look around me in better detail. I think this experience was very eye-opening as it made me realize how much we tend to rely on consumed media for getting news about the world around us. This experience also made me realize that I should take more moments to immerse myself with nature with no distraction, not even music from my phone. The brief hour nature was very calming and allowed me to embrace my surroundings. I will take this experience as a sign to become more in tune with nature and all it has to offer.

By: Jael Espinoza

So I started my experience with using media consumption for an hour. I came back from my english 302 class that was about a few minutes away from me. I immediately plopped my backpack on my bed, took my shoes off, and climbed on my bed. I then pulled out my phone and started looking through my social media. I started with twitter, and looked at my DMs for any missed messages from my online friends. I click on the GC dm that I belonged with and messaged them for a good 20 minutes. We talked about some of the upcoming movies that had just came out and which ones we liked and I brought up Suicide Squad, which all in all, was a solid movie. Afterwards I scrolled through my feed to see anything fun or interesting. I retweeted a few tweets such as what selfie or post my favorite celebrity posted, liked a few funny tweets from my friends, and tweeted on my own page how my day went. After this, I changed gears and moved on to snapchat and instagram interchangably. I scrolled on my feeds for a while and messaged back to some of my other online friends. I liked some posts from people like Halsey with her promoting her latest album, a selfie from Rihanna, a post congragulating Messi for joining Paris-Saint Germain, and a video mashup of kpop artists dancing to a Doja Cat song. Finally, I hoped on tik tok and scrolled at my feed for about a good 10 minutes. By the time I finished, my hour was done. 

For my second hour, I was able to head to the mason pond since my next class didnt start till 4:30pm. On my way I got to grab some chick fil a and walked my way there. As I was approaching the pond, I saw a whole community of local geese in the water. They were standing there for a good minute until they slowly started to emerge from the pond. They were just doing their thing per usual. Once I got to a bench, I sat there and ate my food. As soon as I finished, a large bumblebee swarmed around me for a good 10 minutes. Its buzzing sound was so apparent in my ear that it felt like I was near a beehive. Nonetheless, once I finished my food I began to push myself away from the human aspects of this world. The environment was very warm, yet had a distinctive breeze that blew on my face. I then looked up to the sky and it was calming, it wasnt sunny nor was it rainy, it was a nice balance of clouds and sun. I then looked over to the trees that were facing northeast from where I was sitting. They had a rich variety of green colors, which made them look aesthetically pleasing. Interestingly however, they held such a “presence” to me – like they were watching me. I then observed the aging bench that I sitting on and noticed some of the writing carved in it. One quote that personally struck to me was “Life is cheap, strive for excellence”, and it was a memorable piece of knowledge that I had just grasped. During the final minutes of my hour, I was beginning to fall asleep. The fountain at the center helped mask so many outside noises such as the cars moving and people walking nearby. However, just when I was about to fall asleep, the time was done. 

These differing experiences both allowed me to see how I react and live by them. With the first hour, I did what I usually did cause it was considered “routine” to me as I was familiar with it all. It wasnt unusual for me cause social media is what I live with, what I work with, where I get my information and friend connections from. Its technically an intrinsic part of myself, yet its also something that I try to limit now a days. Another thing to note is that whenever I go through social media, I sometimes forget the amount of time it takes for me to go through media. At times it can go from a few minutes to hours nonstop. On the other hand, my second hour in nature was a different approach that Ive only just started really getting into. Time felt slow, limetless, and infinite. It reminded me of old memories, and felt like I had no pressures or responsibilities on my shoulders. Especially since with social media, theres societal expectations that are placed and presented which in turn has caused for some stress on my mental health at times, hence why I try to reduce it. However, when I was in a natural setting, there was a sense of freedom and a close connectedness with myself. That was probably why I almost closed my eyes to sleep. It was definetly a great experience to witness from both ends. 

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By:  Jasmine Padgett

Based on my current media habits, I knew that an hour on my iPhone would not be difficult work for me. I easily spent that hour mindlessly swiping myself into a TikTok hole, focusing on everything and nothing all at the same time. Now writing this, I can’t even fully remember each piece of information that I consumed. I added a few travel destinations to my list, let out a giggle or two at some silly video that I sent to my partner, and was made aware of yet another pair of shoes that I need in my wardrobe. I gained very little from my hour scrolling despite the plethora of stimuli and overwhelming sum of information. 

While harvesting tomatoes at Arcadia Farms near Fort Belvoir Virginia, I spent this much more fruitful hour in a naturalistic environment winding through the tomato vines inspecting each section for any that were ripe for the picking. As I made my way down the seemingly endless garden rows in a quiet corner of the farm, I found myself humming a catchy tune, becoming more aware of my breathing, and noticing each organism that surrounded me. The birds above, the breeze in the leaves, the bugs… all around, caught my attention and added to the refreshing and almost soothing atmosphere.

The bucket full of delicious sun gold cherry tomatoes wasn’t the only thing that resulted from this experience for me. I came out of the hour outside with a clear head, organized, meaningful thoughts, and a memory that will endure forevermore. For a while now I have noticed how harmful my media consumption is to my productivity and mental state as a whole. It is clear from these two hours of information that I feel infinitely more fulfilled when I am present within my surroundings, experiencing, feeling, and interacting with what the environment provides. 

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By: Piper Thacher

My one hour of media consumption consisted of a series of mindless thumb scrolls on my phone followed by an engaging video game that I was familiar with. To start off, I got comfortable in my bed after finishing my math class and opened my most used app … TikTok. I scrolled passed nearly a hundred videos and would occasionally send my mom one if it had a cute animal in it. There was a video I came across of an orphaned calf that was raised with a dog named Stella, and they created a neat bond. After that, I saved a few helpful videos I saw regarding book recommendations, skin care products, and how to make a yummy vegetarian alternative to a tuna sandwich. Following this, I messaged a few friends on snapchat about how Craig Robinson is coming to do a comedy show at George Mason. A news article about hurricane Ida led to me looking into the damage done and how Louisiana can recover. I knew that the New Orleans Saints had a game planned for the following week, so I looked up where the players will now be practicing at due to the weather. After around 35 minutes of phone use, I swapped to my computer and bought an old nostalgic video game called Dishonored. The game was on sale on the gaming library STEAM, so I installed then booted up the game. My character started in a boat, and I discovered that my name is Corvo, and I am a bodyguard to the Empress.  I noticed how beautiful the art style of the game was, but also how the game seemed aged already. After a few minutes in the game, I become imprisoned for the murder of the Empress, however I was framed. I wake up in a prison and notice that there are some cute rats that were programmed in the game. The rats sat on the prison floor with me, and I thought it was adorable that the computer-generated rats would scratch their faces. I finished up my hour by breaking my way out of the prison while the government tries to find me.

For my hour of being outdoors, I chose to bring a small picnic to Burke Lane Park in Virginia. Around 11:00am I drove over to the local Wegmans and picked up some multigrain crackers, lemon dill hummus, ginger kombucha, and some strawberries. When I got to the park, I brought out my food and blankets and took a short walk to an open area with a good view of the lake. I have been to this area multiple times, so I knew I would not get distracted and could enjoy my alone time with nature. As I ate my snacks, I noticed that the roots of the trees were very exposed, and I’m surprised that I never tripped over them. There were a few squirrels that were surrounding a tree near me, and I watched one dig a small hole and hide a nut near a large root. I tried throwing a few broken pieces of my crackers, but it landed nowhere near the squirrels. I saw a man and a young kid fishing and thought that their matching crocs were very wholesome. After a while I decided to just lay down and relax for the last thirty minutes. However, as I laid on my back trying to enjoy my naturalistic environment, my brain continuously drifted back to what was going on within my phone. So, I ponder whether it is possible to truly experience a naturalistic environment nowadays. I kept thinking about possible school emails and what my friends were up to. There were a few ants that started to make their way on my blanket and seeing them walk around gave me something to watch.

At the end of the day, I felt more productive and fulfilled when I took a step back from my phone and experience nature in a more genuine way. Sometimes it is nice to sit in bed and scroll on my phone, but the excessive use of media consumption can be taxing on a person! Time flew by when I was immersed in my phone, yet it was harder to recall what I saw and did. When I was relaxing in a natural setting, I was able to think about my present situation and not speed through the day. Nevertheless, I think that there needs to be more of a balance between how we spend out hours. I would say that being in the 21^st century requires us to stay up to date with technology, however living behind our phones rather than in the moment can be detrimental to society.

By: Jeremy W.

In my one hour of media consumption, I chose the the television to be my media source. I’m really into the Marvel Comics Universe and I just finished watching 7 seasons of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. After finishing all 7 seasons, I’ve noticed that all the Marvel movies and shows have one thing that ties them all together which is TIME. All superheroes and villians come from different time & universes, and in some cases these different times and universes meet each other. For example in Marvel’s Age of Ultron, Thor comes to earth from Asgard and meets Iron Man and Captain America. They end up fighting side by side to save the world. 

In my one hour in a naturalistic environment, I was outside at work observing contractors lay down fresh asphalt for a parking lot. The asphalt comes steaming hot from the plant in a dump truck. The contractors lay the asphalt out evenly across the parking lot and compact it with a mini smooth drum roller that squirts out water to cool off the metal tires. After all the asphalt has be put down and compacted, you can feel the parking lot become hotter than the natural temperature in the air. 

From this experience, I’ve learned that media consumption is very informational no matter what you’re watching. It could either be false or true, fiction or non-fiction. If you are intrigued by what you’re watching, your mind tends to soak up all the information and you begin to learn and retain it. When you’re in a naturalistic environment with no technology to distract, you’re literally watching life go by in front of your eyes. You begin pay more attention to the little details in life by using your senses, oberservation, and judgement. 

By: Sean Malloy

A day indoors:

Wake up early just like every morning, but ah how nice, nothing to do today whatsoever.  I look outside to see murky skies, I’ll take this as a sign that Earths closed.  I have a giant TV in front of me ripe with stimulation it’s early though, I want a screen that’s an arm’s length away so the phone wins.  I start my adventure with YouTube I like variety, well my kind of variety, it’s Vice to feel cultured then Aquarium videos and ending with mystery videos.  When I write it one could argue I was doing a little something, learning at least?  I don’t feel that way though, more drained than anything.  The more I sit around the comfier another nap sounds.  My eyes are starting to feel sore so I think that’s exactly what I’ll do.

A day in Nature:

Great Falls Maryland, never been but what could go wrong with an unplanned hike, right?  Finally arrive feeling excited, for this is much more than we bargained for!  Luckily made sure to grab a map because we love as well as respect nature, it was a wise choice.  After a moment on a crowded main trail, we find the unkempt entrance we were looking for.  What a beautiful day it’s cool with the smell of rain.  This trail feels personal like our very own trail, just us and an interweb of roots and mycelium.  At the end of the day, I felt invigorated ready to enjoy the night and the rest of the week. 

Thoughts:

I can feel it when I’ve been inside too long.  It’s a sluggish feeling, unmotivated is the word I’m going to use.  The stuffy air and lack of movement just breed more laying around.  Especially since COVID has happened I feel like I’ve seen way too many screens.  Being outside was amazing, I felt relieved of any responsibilities.  Just us and our trail for the day. I chose hiking because since moving to NOVA I haven’t done any.  I think if possible trying to have a weekly hike is something I’m going to try and continue.

By: Jared Holloway

My hour of media was filled with social media, text messages, and Youtube. Like many people my age, I started by scrolling through different social media platforms and look at what my friends and family were posting. I saw posts on Instagram about people’s first week of classes and their end-of-summer recap posts. I then went on Facebook only to see friends and family posting about politics and especially about the removal of Americans from Afghanistan. After seeing a few of those posts I remembered the old days of Facebook where it was only friends and family posting about their life updates and I realized how different the social media platform is today. At the same time I was on social media, I was also sending and receiving text messages from my family and roommates about various things that happen in our daily lives. I then decided to watch some Youtube for about 10 minutes but that turned into 30 or 40 minutes because interesting videos kept sucking me in. In this hour I was also doing chores such as cleaning and making diner but I would always take breaks from that to look at my phone to consume more media.

In my hour of nature, I decided to go for a bike ride on a trail near my place in Clifton. I have ridden this trail several times because it is away from main roads and runs along some small creeks and large hills. I started off at a slow pace and I quickly noticed a large number of birds and squirrels all moving around as I passed them. They did not seem to be too bothered by my presence and was not bothered by theirs. After around 10 minutes I stopped at a small creek and sat on a log to just enjoy my surroundings. I enjoyed the slight breeze as it rustled through the leaves in the trees. I felt the warm rays of the sun hit my skin as the shade moved around in the wind. But all was ruined by the sound of distant car honks and engine noise which seems to be growing more and more into nature as more roads and houses are built. I then decided to keep biking and finish the trail as I had been out for almost an hour now. Throughout my time on the trail, I only ran into a few people and there was always a short “Hello’ or “Morning” said but nothing beyond that. I finished the trail slightly sweaty but content with myself for purging myself from digital media, even if it was just for an hour or so.

This experience has confirmed my already existing belief that our heavily mediated world has caused us to be obsessed and lack the ability to sit and genuinely relax. I have always felt this way from my experiences backpacking on the Appalachian Trail and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the Rocky Mountains where there is rarely phone service so it is just you, nature, and nothing else. My short hour experience started like any first day of backpacking where you have the urge to check your phone and send some text messages but after a while, those urges fade and that is when you can truly relax for once. In my hour of media, I felt so obligated to check social media and respond to all of my texts so I could be as involved as I possibly could. But that obligation is so draining mentally and emotionally, It feels like it became part of my personality and last time I checked obligated media consumer was not exactly a personality trait. The feeling of letting go of that obligation in nature frees my mind and whenever I am going through tough times or have to make a big decision, I always find the time to put my phone down and go in nature to get a clearer mind, which has never failed me to this day. 

By: Anonymous

Media has become commonplace in our lives. My generation, Gen Z, has grown up with media and technology at our fingertips. Starting with cartoons and tv as toddlers. To Disney and Music as kids. To news, social media, and streaming services as new adults. I recorded an hour’s worth of media interaction by scrolling through Instagram Reels. This form of social media consists of short videos 30 seconds- 1 minute. Each clip that I watch is based on my likes so I don’t get shown models or celebrities, as I don’t like those things. Sometimes, I’m shown funny animal videos. Other times its old vine compilations or crochet items that I want to make myself. cooking videos, and tailored content to the current book I have been reading. One thing I’ve noticed about this form of media consumption is how it shortens the attention span. Since each video is about a minute max. In the hour I watched reels I watched 75 reels give or take. When my timer went off showing the hour completed. I doubted it was an hour until I looked at the clock and saw the 2 had become a 3. In periods of breaks from school and work my screen time averages about 10-13 hours a day. This is a normality in many new adult’s lives.

 Nature has become distant in the lives of Gen Z. Since we’ve grown up with media, it takes effort to get us outside. In a typical week, I am lucky if I get 2 hours of being in a naturalistic environment. The naturalistic environment mentioned above is the campus path. This is laughable when you think about it because the time outside is only to get to another place indoors. I have classes and work throughout the week so making time for nature hasn’t been a priority. I had to rearrange my schedule to allow myself an hour outdoors. I set up a time and went to a park for my hour outdoors. I sat on a bench with a good view of the forest surrounding me. Because I am so used to the hustle and bustle of daily life, I grew bored. In the first 15 minutes, it was almost painful to not be doing something productive. Another thing I noticed was the constant buzzing in the trees. It annoyed me as I am from California and that isn’t present when you are outside. As the hour continued I watched squirrels dot between the trees. Some were fat and had bushier tails and some were leaner and had slim tails. I enjoyed watching them climb up and down trees. This only entertained me for about half an hour so I looked upwards into the canopy of the trees. One thing I did enjoy years ago was birdwatching. In California, the birds in my area differed from the east coast birds. They consisted of morning doves, owls, hummingbirds, red-tailed hawks, robins, and scrub jays. I contemplated the differences in birds I saw when I disconnected from the world. I saw a cardinal which got me excited. I hadn’t seen one in real life before. A few more of the birds I saw were small brown birds that were slimmer than the ones I’ve seen in California. I enjoyed looking for the birds for a while but towards the end, I started noticing the trees themselves. In California, the leaves change but not with the vibrancy I’ve seen with pictures of the East Coast in the fall. The trees in California parks and cities usually consisted of 3 types. They were Sycamores, Coastal Oaks, and Pine trees. I enjoyed being outside again in comparison to scrolling through social media. 

 After both of the hours, I sat back and reflected on them. As a kid who grew up with phones and media was always at my fingertips, I took for granted the entertainment that comes from the natural world. Yes, it may not be the new Marvel movie or the newest post of a celebrity but it is entertaining in its way. My main takeaway is that nature is necessary for the mental well-being of the population. The attention spans of the public are shortening to a point that it’s almost laughable. Time in nature allows people to exercise their minds and increase their attention spans. Additionally, a naturalistic environment encourages relaxation and a little bit of joy.