Technology Free Day

Signs you have an unhealthy addiction to an iDevice:

• You carry it around everywhere you go, and on those rare occasions when it’s not “on” you, you notice and it worries you a bit.  Smokers plan everything around cigarrettes, and they make sure that have all their bases covered because they don’t want to be caught somewhere where they can’t smoke.  Your iDevice is no different than a pack of cigarrettes; you’re addicted to the vibration, bloops, and bleeps that alert you to useless, unimportant information that CAN wait.
• You walk around in public places with your head down affixed to the glowing pellet dispenser.  I’ve seen people walk through crowded malls completely oblivious to anything going on around them, 100% focused on the instantaneous fix of illuminated shit.  They’re led like a dog on a leash.
• Whenever the iDevice calls you, you come running.  Rats can be trained to associate some stimulation, such as a ringing bell, to the probability of a reward, such as a delicious rat pellet.  Your iDevice has you trained like a rat to come running whenever it dings, regardless of the situation.  You could be in the middle of a conversation with someone who is “important” to you, or be in the middle of doing work that requires concentration, or just relaxing trying to unwind, but when the iDevice calls, you jump, drop everything, and go to collect your reward.  So in this context, how are you any different than a trained lab rat?

Don’t get me wrong, iDevices are wonderful.  They keep life organized and help you remember things that you might otherwise forget.  And talking or even texting with someone who, 40 or 50 years ago was impossible, allows us to stay somewhat connected despite distance.

But the constant flow of informational alerts is overwhelming, distracting, interruptive and addictive, just like the system likes it.  Knock you out of consciousness, feed you worthless tidbits of immediately available information (rat pellets), and you’re the perfect puppet.  The system likes puppets, they’re an integral component to its existence.

Don’t you just love lengthy, probably unnecessary lead ins?

The Proposal

• Pick one day a month, for starters, to completely turn off your most addictive iDevice for 24 hours.  Power off, out of sight, no exceptions.
• For the more adventurous, turn off all distracting electronic whiz bangs, TV, computer, iDevice, all of them, for one full 24 hour period.
• For the even more adventurous, do the above once a week.

Can you do it?  Can you become immediately unavailable for 24 hours?

Small steps lead to big changes.  As amazing as technology is, it shouldn’t be something that controls us.  What maybe good for the system isn’t necessarily good for the soul.

Take a break from the constant stimulation and truly separate yourself from the stupid lab rat, even if for one day.