Every once in a while I do like to check out the posts of Dr Jim Taylor – he blogs a lot about this relationship with technology, and being a psychologist, often breaks things down in interesting ways. Most recently, Jim was recounting his experience with being ‘disconnected’ for a change – it only happened for a few days, but revelations were felt – I’ve include some brief paragraphs below, and then linked to the full article – which I definitely recommend reading:
The title of this post refers to an epiphany I had over the New Year’s weekend. The realization was about my relationship with technology, namely, I was exhibiting some of the symptoms of technology addiction…
I have to admit that I was pretty anxious at first about our trip. Not only could I not check my email or send or receive calls on my mobile phone on the two-and-a-half-hour drive , but on arrival at the small coastal town where we were staying, I wasn’t able to log on with the netbook I brought along (just in case I could steal a neighbor’s unsecured wireless signal) or be on line for THREE WHOLE DAYS! My technology jones was so ingrained that, all through the first evening, I would begin to reach for my phone and realize that there was no signal…
But then I noticed a strange feeling slowly coming over me. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but then I figured it out; it was…relaxation. We had a low-key dinner without my phone ringing or the little chirp of incoming emails emanating from the netbook in our kitchen at home. I didn’t feel the need to rush to get my kids to bed just to get to my computer sooner. And my wife and I watched a movie together instead of going to our separate corners of the house to do email and search the Web…
That revelation turned into a New Year’s resolution. But, having a Ph.D. in Psychology, I knew that resolutions rarely stick. I also knew that I just didn’t have the willpower to resist the allure of technology if it was staring me in the face. So I decided the best way to stay off line away from work was to avoid temptation completely by removing the cake from the counter (metaphorically speaking)…
So the summary is relaxation from not continually being connected – the exact opposite of what many phone/consumer electronics manufacturers are telling us we need. I’d have to say I agree with Dr Jim, and cannot wait to try my own experiment in the near future!
In the meanwhile though, check out Dr Jim’s full post here.