SOCI 289 - Media and Wellness: What is a Digital Detox?

Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)

(Same as MEDS 289) In this intensive, we study media and wellness by focusing on the theory and practice of the “digital detox” or “media fast.” In the first part of the intensive, we explore the potential benefits of a media fast/digital detox, a temporary cessation of all digital media, and reflect on the work of organizations that promote media wellness by emphasizing mindfulness, intentionality, and balance in social media use. In the second part of the intensive, each student does a media fast for at least 72 hours, restricting their media use during that period to media that are essential to completing assignments for school or work. During this multi-day break from media, students are expected to take handwritten notes reflecting on their experience of going without media, considering questions such as: How do you spend your time? What do you miss, or are happy to be without? What, if anything, do you see or experience differently? The intensive concludes with individual student presentations focused on what a media fast tells us about our media environment, our consumption of media, and the role of media in contemporary society. William Hoynes.

First six-week course.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: INT