24 Hours without Internet
24 Hours Without the Net | Personal Narrative – 5 PAGES, DUE NOVEMBER 11th
STEP ONE: You must first, somehow, survive for 24 HOURS without the use of the INTERNET, including accessing the web from any mobile device or tablet. This means no websites, no email, no online games, no texting, no Twitter, no Facebook, no Skype—NO INTERNET WHATSOEVER. If in doubt, avoid the activity. And please plan in advance. I don’t want to hear that you couldn’t do this assignment because you had a research project due in another class. Either do that research without the internet and include your experience in this paper or perform this experiment on another day.
Take notes about your experience, particularly if you have urges to do certain things or if you find yourself unconsciously trying to do particular tasks, like checking your email or opening a web browser. Could you get the information you might seek online in a different way—like looking outside instead of checking the weather on your cellphone app—or communicate with friends and family differently—like handwriting a letter rather than sending a text, email, or Facebook message?
STEP TWO: Write a FIVE-PAGE paper describing your experience, exploring what you did during the day, how you felt about the change in your lifestyle, and how you feel the internet has been integrated into your life. You should draw on the following sources to interpret and analyze what happened:
(1) Class readings, including media theory and debates about the internet. You MUST use The Shallows as a source in your paper. You may want to explore McLuhan more as well.
(2) At least TWO OTHER SOURCES that provide more context, like studies that talk about how much of our lives is spent with media or news accounts that you feel echo your experiences. You must find these sources yourself.
(3) Your notes and feedback from friends about what you were like during the experiment.
Be sure to address the following questions in your paper, in essay form
STEP ONE: You must first, somehow, survive for 24 HOURS without the use of the INTERNET, including accessing the web from any mobile device or tablet. This means no websites, no email, no online games, no texting, no Twitter, no Facebook, no Skype—NO INTERNET WHATSOEVER. If in doubt, avoid the activity. And please plan in advance. I don’t want to hear that you couldn’t do this assignment because you had a research project due in another class. Either do that research without the internet and include your experience in this paper or perform this experiment on another day.
Take notes about your experience, particularly if you have urges to do certain things or if you find yourself unconsciously trying to do particular tasks, like checking your email or opening a web browser. Could you get the information you might seek online in a different way—like looking outside instead of checking the weather on your cellphone app—or communicate with friends and family differently—like handwriting a letter rather than sending a text, email, or Facebook message?
STEP TWO: Write a FIVE-PAGE paper describing your experience, exploring what you did during the day, how you felt about the change in your lifestyle, and how you feel the internet has been integrated into your life. You should draw on the following sources to interpret and analyze what happened:
(1) Class readings, including media theory and debates about the internet. You MUST use The Shallows as a source in your paper. You may want to explore McLuhan more as well.
(2) At least TWO OTHER SOURCES that provide more context, like studies that talk about how much of our lives is spent with media or news accounts that you feel echo your experiences. You must find these sources yourself.
(3) Your notes and feedback from friends about what you were like during the experiment.
Be sure to address the following questions in your paper, in essay form