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DISCONNECT TO RECONNECT
Wednesday May 30, 2018
The world is watching …
Seems every event or ‘breaking news’ fact filled media frenzy or social media hype is new-journalism where someone’s published rumour, true or not, circles earth in a nanosecond gathering missed nuance and errors added to the mix of real v. perceived v. falsehood …
Beyond ‘people watching’, countless algorithms and software programs are watching, recording every keystroke, billing us for services whether or not we use them, for goods we order – exhorting us and bombarding us with every manner and style of pitches to ‘point’, ‘click’ or ‘add to cart’ so we barely feel in control of those consoles of our own lives.
Notions of escaping to mountain retreats or deserted islands – so appealing – cut off, not forever, but for a while. Could we handle that much peaceful? Could we handle that much quiet? Could we handle zero technology? Could we cope with being out of touch? I don’t mean for an hour – but for days, even weeks, at a time?
Consider, after first few days adjusting, would that disconnection be healthy – going without Nettflix, without newsfeeds, without weather reports, without local news and sport coverage, without stock market feeds, political news and ‘what’s happening in Hollywood’. Have you wondered? #hashtagwecan’tstandbeingdisconnected – unsettling, or incorrect?
Outdoorsy friends would say I’m afraid of camping. Not at all – I just prefer clean sheets and a roof. Camping is voluntary homelessness, but those die-hard campers will take their GPS, fishfinders, cellphones, tablets/Kindles and laptops along with their bear spray.
Where am I going?
We don’t want to live without technology – but we should try small doses. Not every day or even once a month, but once in a while. Conversations wouldn’t be interrupted by incoming calls or texts. No screens means better sleeps. More time for exercise and recreation. More time to read. More time to think. More time to prepare quality meals. No need to travel far, we can do this from home. At home, any time we want.
Yes, we can do this at home.
We can disconnect and reconnect easily – it’s just that we’ve all become so keen on knowing everything that is going on, of those things that concern us, instantly. Why? Yes, we all have excuses of why we want to know. But seriously, if it isn’t a ‘live v. death’ issue, why can’t we take some disconnected time to breathe the air. See and hear and live and love without a device connected …
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