Choose a day as “Media Message Avoidance Day.” When you get up in the morning, do not turn on your radio, television, or stereo – don’t grab your phone to check social media.
- See how long you can go without exposing yourself to a message from the media
- How long can you go without accidentally seeing/hearing an actual media message or a reference to a media message?
Carry a piece of paper with you and record all your “slip-ups” when you end up being exposed. Label the slip-ups as follows:
- I couldn’t stand it any longer and had to make an For example, your favorite TV show might have been on that day and you just couldn’t let yourself miss it.
- You found yourself initiating an exposure without thinking about For example, you automatically turned on the radio in your car or picked up a newspaper without thinking this was “Media Message Avoidance Day.”
- You accidentally saw or heard a media message that was in the For example, a car drives by and you hear a CD playing or you walk through the student union and notice that a TV set is on.
At the end of the day, see how well you were able to avoid media messages. How many exposures did you experience on a day when you were doing your best to avoid all media messages?
Then look at how many “A,” “B,” and “C” exposures you experienced.
“C” exposures are unavoidable unless you stay in a cave all day. The number of these exposures will tell you how aggressive the media are in your particular environment.
“B” exposures are avoidable when you think about them. The number of these exposures will tell you about how much time you spend in a state of automaticity when you are not thinking about what you are doing in regards to media messages. (Unconscious)
“A” exposures are totally avoidable. If you have one or more exposures of this type, this will tell you something about your willpower.
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