Don't read this story! Go play outside. At least for one night, says the National Day of Unplugging
Friday night into Saturday morning is the National Day of Unplugging. Why will you unplug? (nationaldayofunplugging.com/)
Beginning tonight and into tomorrow, thousands of Americans will celebrate the National Day of Unplugging. They'll attend music festivals where cell phones must be checked at the door. They will go on walks. They will talk to each other! You should try it to. If not for a day, then for an hour. Just this once, if you want to unplug right now and skip reading the rest of this story, I'll forgive you =)
Readers of this space know that I think we're all going mad, driven there by the twin evils of economic anxiety and the always-on nature of life in the digital age. You know I'm right; you just don't know what to do about it.
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Well, here's one suggestion, from folks at an organization named Reboot. Take a day off. For the fifth year, Reboot is organizing its National Day of Unplugging, with events around the country. The un-digital festival's website (ha!) offers plenty of tips on how to host your own event. It's also hosting a nice collection of selfies, with digital detox pledgers holding up signs that promise "I Unplug to .... (To Run....To Write....To play with my child)."
Some heavy-hitters are playing along this year, including Randi Zuckerberg, who's brother Mark has a lot to do with the problem. See her selfie, above.
Even Facebook founder's sister Randi Zuckerberg has made the pledge. (Reboot)
I've chronicled the many troubles stemming from overwork and digital umbilical chords. If you need convincing, "
Tanya Schevitz, spokeswoman for Reboot, told me that more than 1,400 people have RSVP'd for tonight's San Francisco event. (I've already made this joke at her expense, but I'm doing it again -- she emailed me this at 8 p.m. on a Sunday night, then admitted she would be up until 11. Also, I responded right away. Pot, kettle, all that. Hey, this is hard!)
"(The) annual digital detox to encourage people to be more mindful of their technology use and reconnect in person, face to face with the people that are important to them," Schevitz says. "Parenting experts warn that digital distractions are harming interpersonal relationships, hindering youth from developing face-to-face communication skills and teaching children that disappearing into digital devices for endless hours is an appropriate pastime. The National Day of Unplugging will be celebrated around the world, providing people with a respite, and hopefully creating new habit of taking a regular break from technology."
In one of 1,000 studies she could have cited, Schevitz points to a recent study by Bridgewater State University that found the number of younger children who own mobile devices is increasing: 83 percent of middle-schoolers, 39 percent of fifth-graders and 20 percent of third-graders have mobile phones, the study says.
OMG! One in 5 fifth graders have mobile phones! Please, someone let me off this train now. Or at least, let me take a break.
“Technology has given us unprecedented opportunity to connect and share,” said Randi Zuckerberg, author of book about tech overload called Dot Complicated. “While this is a wonderful thing, we also need to remind ourselves that a life truly well lived, is not a life constantly buried in a smartphone. By being mindful of how we use technology in our daily lives, and by consciously taking time to unplug and invest in ourselves and our most important relationships, we send the message that we respect our personal time, we value our loved ones and that we control our devices, not the other way around.”
Can you do it? Can you unplug for a day?
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