7-Day Challenge essay
The modern world has been completely transformed by the development of media during the recent 20 years. Print and electronic media has become very diverse, and modern people are used to being connected to the network 24/7. Telecommunications and technology have changed the daily lives of people, their social relationships and patterns of behavior (Moores, 2000). Furthermore, the growing reliance on the media and media dependence changes the interactions between people, their experiences and identities (Moores, 2000).
The goal of this paper is to consider the experiment named “7-day challenge” that requires an individual to not watch TV, movies and not to use any other media entertainment like computers and smartphones during 7 days, and to consider the influence of the personal support group and the impact of the family system on the success or failure of this experiment.
1. 7-day challenge and similar experiments
The growing dependence on the media has already captured the attention of sociologists and psychologists. The tendency to use more and more media is common among all age groups, but the most vulnerable groups are children and teenagers as they perceive media consumption as a way of living. Haynes (2006) outlines the following core trends in the behaviors of the Milennials: ongoing participation in online communities, multiculturalism, broad world view, interest towards social change, getting information and entertaining using digital media, multitasking, group orientation, high aspirations, hip-hop culture, and active creation of digital content. Out of 10 core trends, 4 are directly related to digital media and 3 are linked to it indirectly. Therefore, digital media and media in general play a crucial role in the life of the modern people, especially young people, and participating in the 7-day challenge will likely be rather hard for them.
Experiments similar to 7-day challenge have already been conducted. However, they had a shorter timespan. In 2002, Charles Gallagher asked the students to arrange a “media blackout” for themselves for 48 hours. The students measured the time they spent on media prior to the experiment during the week before the experiment. During the time of the experiment, the students were allowed to do their work using the digital means, but should not use the media for any other purposes. The majority of the students survived for several hours, and complained they were feeling isolated, detached and alienated. Most of them did not know how to use their free time without media, and one student even complained she felt like losing her personality. At the same time, several students reported that their self-reflection has improved and they had very meaningful and deep in-person conversations with family and friends.
Moeller et al. (2010) also conducted a similar experiment. In this study, 200 students of the University of Maryland were asked to withdraw from all media for 24 hours. After that, the students were asked to reflect on their success or failure. The findings of the study are overwhelming: the majority of students failed to complete the experiment; the students used terms characterizing addiction to describe their experiences and mentioned that “going without media is going without friends and family” (Moeller et al., 2010). Students were less attached to news and television, but were very keen on texting and could barely survive without iPods. Furthermore, the students’ sense of time was affected by the absence of media, and the inability to connect with friends and family was a distress for all of them (Moeller, Powers & Roberts, 2012).
The results of experiments indicate that it will be very challenging for modern people to complete the 7-day challenge. The dependence on media is likely to be the highest among young people and decline with age. However, the challenge will be difficult for any participant regardless of his or her age.
2. Supposed participant’s psychological challenges
According to Moeller et al. (2010), the participants of the 7-day challenge will experience significant stress due to being disconnected from all kinds of media. The participants might experience loneliness and sadness, irritability, anxiety, boredom and frustration. Many media habits are instinctive, so to overcome these habits, the participants will also have to control every step and increase awareness related to all daily activities and communications. The participants might also hear the “phantom ringing”; during previous experiments, many students reported that their phones were a part of them and they were “hearing” the devices although the latter were powered off. Such proofs of digital dependence are likely to disturb the participants and alter their emotional balance.
Since the planned experiment focuses on a long timespan, the participants might need to explain their “disconnectedness” to their colleagues, friends and family members. They will need to alter their daily routine because media connections are now extensively used to support family communications and planning. Furthermore, the members of personal support groups will continue using the media, so the participants will have to withdraw from media without depriving their family members of technology.
3. The impact of family system on the participant’s behavior
Individual challenges and stresses experienced by the participants of 7-day challenge will influence their family systems and will launch certain transformations in the family structures. For single participants, the members of their personal support group will be affected by these transformations – friends, close relatives, etc. In any case, the participants will need help from their primary support group and the reactions of this group will have a significant impact on the outcomes of the experiment. Since the experiment will last for a week, the contacts with primary support group will be altered, and their responses will influence the course of the experiment. Furthermore, the participants are assumed to feel stress and loneliness, and they will seek relief in communicating with primary support group members who belong to their close surrounding.
With regard to family support group, Patterson (2002) outlines two types of family outcomes: when family demands are comparable with the capabilities of the family, a reasonable level of family adjustment is reached; however, when family demands exceed its capabilities, a family crisis takes place which leads to the change of integration patterns, family structure or both.
Using the family resilience model described by Patterson (2002), it is possible to state that from the perspective of the 7-day challenge there might be two outcomes. The family system will support the participant and contribute to his or her success in completing the experiment if the demands imposed by the participant are compatible with family capabilities. For example, if the participant is a student who warns his parents not to worry because of his “media blackout” and asks them not to use the media in his presence during these 7 days, family capabilities exceed the student’s demands, so in this case family members will likely support the participant and increase his chances for success. If the participant is working and his work is closely related to communications and requires being in touch all the time, he is likely to fail the experiment because the demands of his working environment (and family reliance on his earnings) will exceed the requirements of the experiment. If the participant’s work does not require use of different media but he has small children, withdrawal from digital communications will add significant pressure for other family members and there is a possibility of family crisis. In any case, in such situation family group will decrease the participant’s chances of completing the experiment.
According to Bomar (2004), in order to evaluate the ability of the family to cope with stressors, to assess family dynamics and interaction patterns, the following factors should be taken into account: physical status of the family, psychosocial relationships, developmental family characteristics and spiritual influences. In addition to this, existing family resilience capabilities are influenced by the existing intra-family, interfamily and extra-family stressors (Bomar, 2004). The number and prevalence of these stressors determine the extent to which family members are ready to help the participants and help them relieve their stress and loneliness.
Conclusion
The role of media in the modern world is pivotal. The experiments similar to the 7-day challenge showed that people were addicted to the media, experienced loneliness, dismay and other negative feelings while being “unplugged”, and the majority of them could not complete the experiment. However, the considered experiments lasted for 24-48 hours only. 7-day challenge is likely to be very stressful for the participants, so the latter will seek help and support among the members of their primary support group (most likely, among family members). Family resilience model outlined by Patterson (2002) shows that the family members will support the participant and increase the chances of successful completion if the demands of digital “withdrawal” do not exceed family capabilities. Otherwise, the participant might abandon the experiment because of conflicting priorities (the experiment vs work/family needs) or a family crisis will take place; in the latter case, the participant’s chances of successful completion are rather low, and in the former situation, the participant will knowingly refuse to complete the experiment. Therefore, only participants with strong reserve of family resilience and minimal number of family stressors are likely to overcome the 7-day challenge.
