We are hot again!

6/29/2010 - With an unofficial job offer (anxiously awaiting the formal job offer) I decided to get reconnected. I'll have much to prepare for with fall semester approaching and the prospect of teaching four college level classes solo (can't wait) and assisting in one class (can't wait for this either)....not to mention comprehensive exams and dissertation. I'm very excited for the future and feel very fortunate.

So, now we have internet up and running again; however, I have not reconnected dish television. We lasted almost two months without everything (except cell phones). It felt good. For now, weekends, Tuesdays and Thursdays are media free (unless someone has work, school or otherwise). Even without television, there seems to be more interaction and bed time is not a fight anymore. Kids are actually tired and ready for bed at a decent hour despite being teenagers. I have no intention of turning on the tube anytime soon so we'll see how life goes without it for awhile. And, I'm hoping we keep internet access under control - if not, everyone around here knows what I might do!!!! ;)

I hope to continue this discussion with myself and my family as we let the internet back in and we keep the television out for awhile longer.

6/14 - Media free living update

Found an interesting article about tech addicted parents from the Huffington Post. A link is given to both an article in the New York Times and a CBS show on the subject. Sherry Turkle is mentioned in the NY Times article. She's from MIT and is a well respected expert in this area. After perusing the information provided, I must say "guilty as charged" and I am happy to have taken this break.

Still, I wonder if I can keep this up. Can I keep a job and maintain a media free living environment? Brad has so far....lol. My middle son has said he can live without it - in fact, his exact words were "it doesn't bother me, I don't care". Wow! What a surprise. Every time I think about reconnecting, I shudder. I don't know that I want to. I long for the convenience of the tools; but, I also enjoy the freedom, and the limits, we have now. One and half months tomorrow and the countdown continues!

Media Free Living Spaces - One Month Update

6/4 - It's been about a month since I disconnected incoming media (internet and satellite television - not cell phones or radios) from our home. It's been interesting.....

I still have a few channels with infomercials coming in. I could disconnect the boxes and have a black screen but then I would not have access to the view of earth from space accompanied by classical music. For now, I will leave it. We've cheated and watched a health show or two but over all, the television never comes on. I thought I'd miss a couple of shows and, in particular, the news but I don't miss the shows. I do miss the news occasionally. Like many, I've been praying for the oil to stop spewing into the ocean and I have to wait until I turn on the radio, go to an internet cafe or go to the library to get an update. Still, I am not uninformed and I don't really mind the scheduled news brief.

I had a weak moment (or maybe it was a flash of sanity) last week and decided to call it quits. I've got work to do and thought I should make our house 'hot' again. I even made the call to reconnect but alas, I woke up the next day to find unauthorized use of video games. Come to find out the games have been used in bed at night (after the lights were out) and I now know why some people are tired when I wake them in the morning (after a full 9 hours of sleep mind you)!!! I won't mention any names..... ;) I realize this is typical childhood behavior; but, this behavior becomes dangerous when the technology can take them, unwittingly, into ugly places. Hence, my resolve returned full force.

It's difficult, though. I admit it and when I think about my delicious account, my prezi account, my wiki, my blog, and resources such as Worldcat I get withdrawals and wish I had access. Fortunately my Endnote library is FULL of articles I need to read. The side benefit is that my lack of internet access at home prompts me to take care of items I am often distracted from.

For everyone else, feelings are mixed. My husband still says he likes it. The peace is nice, the organization is nice and the lack of negotiating media usage is pure bliss....my daughter wishes that our home was 'connected'. She doesn't like the inconvenience of having to drive to access internet. BUT, she does appreciate the lack of 'arguing' (her words) we are experiencing. Her brothers' nightly negotiations are not missed! The youngest says he hates not having media.....he misses playing Webkinz with his friend. My other son does not like it either. He misses interactions with friends on XBox. He has discovered that he can buy a cable for the XBox that will allow him to connect to a laptop so some social gaming may be coming in the near future.

It's interesting that the negotiations for time with tech tools was such an ever present occurrence in our home. I like to think I can manage a home and back and forth banter is kept to a minimum when I make a decision. I see this isn't the case with technology and wonder if the draw to the tool is the problem or is it my parenting? Sigh......

Sometimes I look forward to August (when we reconnect) and other times, I have second thoughts. I really enjoy the peace and the talks we have at night.

Media Free Living Spaces - One Month Down

6/3 - I've been neglectful of my updates. Still, while I am short on time today, I would like to make a quick note of our progress.

Positives:

No fighting over media time.

We devour books.

At night, we sit and talk before bed.

Our garden is AMAZING compared to previous years.

My house is cleaner.

My media use is planned and more on target - less browsing.

The kids go to bed at night with little or no direction from me.

We are connecting with people face to face more.

No porn.

No viruses.

Negatives:

Sometimes I feel out of the loop - my social networking is down and I miss updates.

My media use is so structured, I have less time to browse and explore.

The library kicks me out at 6:00!!!

Till next post when I hope to have more time to discuss my recent tech support experience and thoughts from my family.

Media Free Living Spaces - Week 3

5/19 - Quick update to our family adventure. I thoroughly enjoy the peace associated with not having media streaming into our home. Never, do I have to worry what they might come across on the internet or the television. I love the quiet in the house - that is, it's quiet when we aren't talking or goofing off or laughing hysterically. I was very pleased, I must admit, when my son called and said the second Peretti book had arrived and wanted to know if he could drop everything to read it. I don't know if I can 'relight' our house after the summer is over.......

I have learned that I must plan well, though. I must take care of my communication needs, per a detailed list, or I will invariably forget something and feel as though I need to run to Starbuck's, the library or some other 'hot spot' to take care of the forgotten task. Still, I'm getting better at this. I also wonder if some of my urgency to take care of things immediately isn't associated with the fact that I'm accustomed to walking to my computer and taking care of business/communication whenever the thought occurs to me. Since I can no longer do this, it bothers me physiologically to have to wait. But, I'm getting used to having to wait until tomorrow.....it's hard but getting easier.

Finally, I picked up a couple of techno tricks that probably everyone else in the world has learned. One, when I go to an internet cafe, and open ITunes, I have found that I am able to view the music libraries of my neighbors. This wasn't a pleasant experience in the beginning as I thought someone had hacked into my daughter's ITunes library and I thought we were seeing their library by mistake. This particular library we had access to had over 8000 songs - many of which were labeled EXPILCIT in the big red letters. I nearly panicked until my son came over and told me he had experienced shared libraries with his cousin whenever they'd have their computers open in our house at the same time. Interesting......happily, the library in question disappeared when I left the internet cafe. I have also found the entire TWU campus is 'hot'. Library closed early (at 6p) between semesters and I had a proposal I was trying to complete and get submitted.....Walked outside the library doors, sat down in the beautiful courtyard and kept working!!!

Final thought - what if parents across the United States started disconnecting their homes in order to protect their children? What if we were able to send a message to media service providers that we want the product cleaned up and safe before it comes in our home. What if we told advertisers through disconnection that we are fed up with their onslaught on childhood?!!!!! I, for one, have had enough of it......

I want the good we get from media but I'm tired of suffering the bad.

Media Free Living Spaces Week 3

5/12/10 - So far, I love having a media free space. Unfortunately, this is not a feeling the rest of my family is sharing. My husband says he's not going crazy but he isn't saying he likes living without 'in-coming' media either. One son acts as though we've taken on an Amish lifestyle and my daughter says it stinks. My other child seems to enjoy our daily treks to the library.

While I have to admit that loading up our lap tops, school books, snacks and drinks is a chore, the process is not bothering me as much as I thought it would. Again, though it is hard to delay gratification when I think of a book I want to order but can't because I am no longer connected at home and don't have access to online book stores, I have managed. In like manner, when I long to gather more electronic resources for my digital library, I wait and I have learned that planning has become paramount.

Still, the positives far out weigh the negatives in my opinion. When I think about the aforementioned struggles and want to modify or cancel our experiment, I remember the peace I have at knowing pornography cannot slip into my house electronically. Advertisements for pornography do not lurk in the virtual periphery. Inappropriate or adult video is not coming into my house via DISH or another network. Knowing these things gives me determination to see this through.

A few things I've noticed to date. First, media negotiations are nearly nonexistent. For example, I do not have to wrestle anyone away from XBox, television or Facebook in order to get them to bed at a decent hour. For the first time in what seems like decades, my son came to me and said he was going to bed. He also mentioned that I need to buy the second book in a series written by Frank Peretti as he finished one of his books in two days this week. More reading? I do not mind this at all! We are also cooking together more, talking more and we are walking the dogs more. And, finally, it seems that we are getting some neglected home projects taken care of.

For me, I continue to struggle with the importance of knowing how to use the tools. Young (2008) mentions seven relevant points when considering the impact of the internet on the learner:

a). over time, the internet has evolved as a cognitive tool which is reflective of today's society

- at both the local and global levels;

b). access to, and subsequent mastery of, the internet exposes individuals to the rules,

values, and beliefs evident in today's global society;

c). the internet is a tool which promotes goal-directed activities (motivated by either the

user's own goals or the goals imposed by others);

d). engagement with the internet allows one to access and contribute to distributed

knowledge across society;

e). engagement with the internet develops mastery of the tool - a merging between user and

the internet;

f). cognitive tools, such as the internet, have the power to transform individual cognitive

processes and learner attitudes and behaviours;

g). individual actions using the internet have the power to influence its further development

and use - the internet will continue to grow and evolve to reflect changes in society (p.

177-178).

These points make me wonder.....One, could we have a home that is unplugged yet still use these tools masterfully? Second, if the internet is a reflection of societal attitudes, rules and beliefs, do we agree with these? If we don't agree, why? And, if we don't agree because our values are different, are we neglectful if we don't join the community to ensure a number of value systems are represented. I do not want to isolate. I want to protect children and use these powerful tools wisely.

Young, K. (2008). Toward a model for the study of children's informal

Internet use. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(2), 173-184.

Media Free Living Spaces - Week 2

5/8/10 - The end of our first week. Dish, while it still isn't completely off, is sufficiently devoid of options that viewing television is an unattractive prospect. Internet was not disconnected by Wednesday as promised so I've turned the router switch to off and we aren't using internet in the home. Junk cannot come in via internet or television. Handheld video games, XBOX and Playstation are reserved for Sundays only. So, it has truly begun.....

So far - I love it!!! The house is quiet and tranquil....a place for reflection, peace and interacting with my family - a place to escape from the hustle and bustle. It is my mountain cabin in suburbia. In the first week, we've enjoyed more time together, more talks, more walks and more art work!

We'll see how the family continues to react as time moves on. For now, one child says it stinks and doubts we can do this the whole summer. The other child says it's horrible. The third child says it's fine. Hubby thinks it's an adjustment and at this particular moment in time, that's all he has to say about it. He is trying to keep an open mind recognizing that it will be difficult.

5/5/10 - Monday morning came early as I woke up thinking "what have I done to myself? I still have papers to grade...." I co-teach an online class at TWU with my advisor and a colleague. Still, we were psychologically prepared to wake up to complete silence, no incoming media and the awareness that we would be traveling to connect from this day forward. I was looking forward to peace as it would be impossible to negotiate media usage if it's not available.

While DISH had drastically reduced the number of channels coming in - it was still available. We had infomercials, some smut channels and one channel with a satellite image of earth accompanied by classical music. The land line is off as well. But, we still had internet access. I made a phone call and was told it takes a day or two to complete the process. Ok, I can understand that. They've written up my request like an order and it will happen when they get to my request. At this point, I'm not too aggravated but a little disappointed. I want to know what it really feels like for us to be without access! And, I am sick of smut coming into my home. Yes, I can unplug the TV or throw out the DISH boxes but somewhere there is record of us receiving this stuff and I want the records to show, we've opted out for awhile. Plus, I'm getting rid of INCOMING media - not media tools altogether. We may want to watch a movie.....I shouldn't have to crawl behind the entertainment center to unplug my TV to be rid of this. I want them to quit sending this stuff to our home.

Wednesday comes and we STILL have internet access as well as the aforementioned DISH channels. Now, I'm aggravated. I can't shake this stuff. I want it out of my home. I want to be completely disconnected for the summer. I make another phone call and I'm told that our account shows everything is disconnected and we are not being charged (other than the vacation rate) so perhaps I should just leave services as they are. Boy, that's tempting....for about a second!! I ask about disconnecting. Disconnection will be a $200 disconnect fee since we are on contract for two years - I didn't know we were on contract with them for two years. We've had the services for six years so I'm not sure when the two year contract started. It's a racket - they don't want to loosen their grip!!! In the end, they say services WILL be suspended by the end of the day. If they aren't, I'm disconnecting......

Now, for time spent with family, doing yard work, scrap booking, writing an IRB proposal or charting resources for dissertation!!! Let the fun begin!!!!