On a normal Sunday morning, I would normally check my phone, email, Facebook, and other forms of "new media" that have emerged in the past couple of decades. Instead, on this particular Sunday, my phone and computer were both powered off. This opened up hours out of my day to be something I am not nearly enough of most of the time -- productive.
I realized that without the distraction known as Facebook, I now had a clear and direct path to actually doing schoolwork. I sat down and did something I hadn't done since the first few weeks of the semester: study for a class when a test was not incoming in the next day or two. I spent a few hours studying, when if I had my internet available to me I would more than likely be wasting time online or playing solitaire.
When I got home from work and was about to put on some music, I realized that my iPod would be a "forbidden" for the day. Instead, I dug into my vinyl record collection and went back a little more than 17 years in technology and listened to records. The records actually ended up sounding better than my iPod.
From this experience, I have realized that I could get a lot more done with my day if I was not able to log online. I could completely eliminate late night, last minute cramming from my life and be much better prepared for class. The loss of my cell phone ended up being more of a minor annoyance than anything, as people could just call my roommates if they needed to tell me something. Life might become a bit harder and full of annoyances without "new media," but it is most definitely possible to get by without.