Announcement: Two weeks ago, I officially graduated from college. Feel free to send me a congratulatory e-card, particularly any of the ones with Hoops and Yoyo. They're my favorite.
As I assume many of you have also graduated from college, you know that after your final year you're ready for a break. Well, ideally, I would like to have flown myself to the Pacific Northwest
for a week of isolation. Just me, the rain, a book and the delightful smell of Seattle's fish market lingering in the air. But, as a broke college student, I do not have the luxury of whisking myself
away to a relaxing remote location.
So, you ask, what is my solution? Technology boycott, I say.
Allow me to elaborate. Although a technology hiatus was especially necessary after
graduation, this has not been the only time I've taken one. In fact, looking back, I've discovered a pattern in my life over the past four years. After every 16 week semester, I refuse to check my
email for as long as possible. I remove my cell phone from its proverbial hip clip, leave it on silent and out of temptation's grasp. I spend most of my days reading and fighting off the guilt of
ignoring some VIPs in my life.
All in all, I usually last about a week. During this time, I feel refreshed. I allow myself to be selfish and off of the "electronic leash." Now don't get me
wrong, I love the conveniences of technology. But those very conveniences consume my life from time to time. We are so readily available to everyone that I find it exhausting. These days if I do not
respond to someone's email, phone call or text message within an hour or so I suffer from immense self-imposed guilt.
As a result, the idea of having a phone with internet capabilities, along
with about a million other features, terrifies me. I don't want to be connected 24/7. I don't want to be able to check my email whenever and wherever I am, because I know I will. I have come to enjoy
the quiet moments in my life and am convinced that Blaise Pascal had it right when he said - "All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit quiet in a room alone."
So my question is:
Have we come to expect too much from one another? Granted, I do not want to return to the days of the pony express, but if we have the technology are we allowed to turn it off? Sometimes I feel
pressured socially and professionally to be connected at all times, primarily so I do not offend anyone. Perhaps I am simply ignoring the reality of a changing world and should hop on the fast track
before it leaves me in the dust. I think the next several months, while I work in a media-heavy atmosphere, will greatly change my perspective of technology. I'll be tracking my change of thought
regularly through my blogs, so if you're interested, stay tuned for more.