Skip to main content

Internet Detox

I went on an internet detox this weekend. That is to say, I went camping. It was a much needed one too. We went to a place that has no signal on my carrier. This meant that I could not even really try to use the internet.

Chris' iPad uses a network that got decent signal which I did use to communicate with my parents so that they could come out to our campsite for a visit. Other than that five minute use though, I was free of the internet for about 60 hours.

I must say it was peaceful. I was with my children and my partner, so the only notifications I received were the important ones in realtime and face to face.

It meant that I had to find other things to do and talk to people without being able to look up the validity of claims. I would not want to do that all the time, but it kept conversation light and agenda free.

Our world grows evermore connected as we humans progress. From paintings on cave walls to the printing press to the ultra connected state the internet brings us to today, we sometimes take for granted how much less informed and less understanding of others we are without our connectivity. This weekend I was reminded of that. I think that taking oneself away from some of it helps to instill an appreciation for our ability to connect with others and all the positive change and understanding that comes of it. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tsunami Warning for Lincoln Nebraska

Tsunami Dawkins Augustine was born at 13:05 on September 26, 2011 at Bryan Hospital in Lincoln, NE. He weighed 8 lbs 5 ounces and measured 20 inches. Mother and baby are doing great!

Kid on a Leash

Has anyone seen these kid leash products around? Sometimes I see them at the zoo, farmers market, or other crowded areas. If a company can make a product that will make a parent feel a little bit safer, there will always be people out there to buy it. When I see one, it reminds me of that scene in Rise of the Planet of the Apes when a leashed Caesar sees a dog on a leash and turns to Will and signs, "Am I a pet?" The idea of the product is that it will keep the child safe and nearby. It is designed to subside the fear that a child will run off or get abducted. I think that if someone is out to abduct a child during the few seconds when a parent is looking away, a leash is a very small deterrent, and likely, not effective. All the abductor would need is a nice pair of scissors or simply their fingers. The latch cannot be that hard to work. If anything, having a leash might give a parent a false sense of security causing them to pay less attention to the child. In that case it

Uninvited Touching

Imagine a scenario where you are sitting in a public place where there are a lot of strangers around, such as a restaurant. You are minding your own business when one of these complete strangers comes out of seemingly nowhere and starts telling you about how cute you are, touching you, pinching your cheeks, and running their fingers through your hair. Or maybe they even start rubbing your belly. Perhaps after that, they start making assumptions about which sexual organs you have. Does this not seem like off putting and even rude behavior? Well, some people seem to think that doing these things to infant children and pregnant mothers is perfectly socially acceptable. I can understand friends and family wanting to touch a baby and most of them have the common courtesy to ask first and get some sort of non-verbal cue from the child, such as a smile or a warm look, that it is okay. But a complete stranger in a random restaurant? I was caught off guard when a fellow restaurant patron did