I realize the irony of writing a blog post about using less technology. But with that acknowledgement out of the way.... I think I've reached a tipping point with electronics. Everywhere I turn, people of all sorts are in physical contact with some sort of electronic gadget. Senior citizens in the grocery store chatting a cellphone, young kids texting as they walk down the street or ride a bike, commuters checking in with their GPS, parents watching their children's graduation through the lens of a video camera.... heck, the other day I saw a homeless guy talking on a cellphone while he was wheeling a shopping cart down the street!
So.... with a bit of a contrarian spirit mixed in with a dash of frugality and a philosophical yearning for "authenticity" (whatever that may be), I'm partially de-teching. For almost a year, I've had a blackberry-esque device: cellphone, camera, email, web surfer, texter, GPS tool. I'm getting rid of it. I told myself I had it for my business (which I'm "right-sizing" out of an office and into my basement), but I really got it because I thought it was cool. I'm going to replace it with a pay-as-you go cellphone to have on hand for emergencies in the car (not the "wow, I really want a pizza, let me order it on the way home" kind of emergency, but the "I have a flat tire" kind of emergency). Since I can, I'm going to port my business telephone number to the cellphone, so I'll have continuity of contact number.
I thought a lot about replacing the GPS function with a device. Although I lived 39.8 years without a GPS and got along just fine, it was kind of fun and it made getting places easier -- no thinking involved. But then I remembered that I like to discover new places. I like to get lost! I've found some neat places by losing my way in the car. So icksnay on the GPS. I am quite an accomplished map reader, anyway. One less screen in my life.
I noticed that with that handheld electronic thing, I would find myself surfing the web, checking my email, reading the news -- anxiously, hurridly, rushingly -- whenever I had a free moment. I thought I was going to miss something: an important email, a news update, a text from a friend....and on Friday, I reached a tipping point. It was -- it is -- too much. So I turned it off this past weekend. When I had a free moment, I played with my cat and dog. I sat outside and looked at the world around me. I cleaned my house. I did laundry. I read a magazine. I wrote (longhand) in my journal. And I feel great this morning.
So, I'm going to be keeping the computer and the Internet. I need it for work, and to keep in touch with some friends (although I do have one friend with whom I correspond by written letters, which is great). But everytime that I have a free minute and I think "oh, I'll just check my email" or "oh, I'll kill a few minutes reading Consumerist.com or the Dollar Stretcher or the New York Times" -- which turns into half an hour or more, I'm going to try to check in and see if that's what I really want to do, or if I can do something less virtual with my time. Although every now and then a little web surfing is a good fun escape like watching television. But having it in my pocket made it more of a compulsion.
This de-teching over the weekend gave me a bit of peace and serenity, and I haven't (yet) had any tech withdrawl (although here I am writing something on my computer to post on this blog, so maybe I'm in denial). But each time I saw someone attached to an electronic device over the past few days, I thought how glad I was not to be touching something plastic and electronic and ignoring the world around me. I'm going to try to spend more of my time touching people, pets, paper, and nature, rather than beeping, whirring, energy depleting devices.
And with that.... I'm signing off for now.
