Connection and Disconnection

Aaron Butler
Sep 9, 2018 · 2 min read

Our growing need for internet consumption and connective media technologies has sparked the concerns and criticisms from ‘self-appointed judges’ for us to disconnect, unplug and take a digital detox (Jurgenson, 2013). Are these concerns warranted and by switching off do we actually gain or learn anything from our ‘digital detox or does the idea of a digital detox “brings to it the false hope that unplugging can bring catharsis” (Jurgenson, 2013).

Paul Miller (2013) a writer at The Verge, wrote of his experience with disconnecting from the internet for a year. Initially he felt it made him more aware of his surroundings, but he concludes that in the end he was neither healthier nor wiser from disconnecting. DeBeor (2014) believes this is a common theme with others who have disconnected because they find that their concerns with the internet were misguided. This shows that the idea a detox stems from a fear of change rather than a necessary need for healthy living.

Coevolution is necessary in an ecology, by which we adapt and learn as these technologies grow with us (Nardi and O’Day, 1999). When smart phones first came out people were glued to their screens in many social circumstances. Now we have learned it is not socially acceptable behaviour and we put away our phones or use them sparingly when in company.

Like with any toxic personal or social behaviours in life, we must use “pragmatic criticism” to choose for ourselves if our own consumption of connective media technologies is a “healthy diet of engaged enjoyment” (van Dijck, 2013, p176).

Jurgenson (2013) describes ‘disconnectionists’ as people who believe that we are not our authentic selves when online. This is why we need to pull ourselves away to “reconnect with our deeper truth” (Jurgenson, 2013). But if we are disconnected, then we are not participating in the cultural practises of modern life. When we choose to not socialise online, then we are not being our true selves, instead we are missing the opportunity to influence culture (van Dijck, 2013). As Miller learnt form that year off “the internet isn’t an individual pursuit, it’s something we do with each other” (Miller, 2013).

References:

deBoer, F, 2014, Digital Breaks or ‘Breaks’, The Dish, 19 August 2014, viewed 1 September 2018, < http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/08/19/digital-breaks-or-breaks/>.

Jurgenson, N., 2013, The Disconnectionists, The New Inquiry, viewed 1 September 2017, <https://thenewinquiry.com/the-disconnectionists/>.

Miller, P., 2013, I’m still here: back online after a year without the internet, The Verge, viewed 5 September 2018, <https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/1/4279674/im-still-here-back-online-after-a-year-without-the-internet>.

Nardi, B. and O’Day, V. (1999) ‘Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart, MIT Press, pp. 49–58.

Van Dijck, J., 2013, ‘The Ecosystem of Connective Media’, Oxford University Press, pp. 154–176.