HW2.2 On/Off Experiment: Exit the Online World

For this experiment, we were tasked with turning off our digital devices and leaving them for a period of time while examining our experience.  I live with strangers as roommates in my apartment, so I tend to eat all of my meals by myself while watching Netflix and Youtube on my computer.  This is a daily ritual and I often stop whatever I am doing in order to watch something on my computer while I am eating.  For the last few days however, I have stopped myself from using my computer while I eat my meals.  Instead, I have sat at my desk (where I usually have my computer set up) and eaten without the distraction of Netflix.



My meals felt very quiet without the sound of music or dialogue from a show playing.  I heard the noises of each bite as I chewed my meal and the sound of silverware against my plate.  I tasted my food more deliberately and concentrated on the flavors and actions of eating.  Without my computer to distract me, my meals felt like they lasted longer and were more involved.  I turned my attention on to myself and my actions as ate.  I listened to my heart beat and my saliva collect as I swallowed mouthfuls of food.

When I finished eating, I returned to my computer to work on assignments for class and amuse myself by watching videos on Youtube.  I realized how much of my attention was devoted to the screen in front of me.  When I ate sans-computer, I paid attention to my body and felt connected to my actions, but when I was at my computer my focus was elsewhere.  I remember many times while on the computer when I realized I was insatiably hungry or thirsty or I had been sitting in an uncomfortable position for longer than I'd realized and developed a strain.  If my focus had been on my body as well as the activity at hand, I would never had let myself become so hungry or sit so long.