14 DAY TRIAL // A group of teenagers from the Bournemouth University (BU), in the United Kingdom have agreed to renounce everything having to do with media for 24 hours, as part of the the groundbreaking experiment called Unplugged.
Internet, mobile phones, news, music, and television are taboo throughout the investigation, say researchers behind the work. The initiative is supported by experts from five continents.
Investigators from Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa want to learn how teens today interact with the various forms of media that compete for people's attention every single day.
The BU group is the only one to participate from the UK, but other students from universities around the world are also involved in similar experiments, in which they have to access to media.
What is interesting to note here are the conclusions of a pilot study on the issue, which was conducted on students in the United States in 2009.
“Students reported feeling withdrawal symptoms that were similar to drug or alcohol addiction. The words ‘addiction’ and ‘dependence’ kept recurring in their narratives,” says Dr Roman Gerodimos.
“They felt they lost connection with friends and family, even those living nearby, but also thought that the study was an eye-opener as it gave them the opportunity to reflect on the extent to which the media is part of their lives,” adds the scientist.
Gerodimos is lecturer in Communication and Journalism at BU, and also the leader of the UK segment of the Unplugged experiment, AlphaGalileo informs.
As the research is unfolding, students taking part are asked to record their opinions and experiences in short essays. Their reaction to the media deprivation is also assessed via questionnaires.
“At an educational level it could benefit our learning and teaching strategies. But it could also make us more sensitive to young people's needs for socialization and awareness,” the UK investigator says.
The research team says that some of the students that participated in Unplugged felt an eerie sense of not being connected with others anymore, and of having their life turned around.
“My whole morning routine was thrown up into the air. Despite being aware of the social importance of the media, I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers,” Multi-Media Journalism student Elliott Day says.
“I felt isolated from society without being able to contact friends at the touch of a button. We have all adapted to depend on the media to carry out tasks quickly and find out information on demand,” adds Caroline Scott, another student.