I noticed the other day when I was on the E-Train towards Manhattan that most of the people on the train were glued to their smart phones scrolling through news, Facebook, Twitter as if they are going to miss the next “big thing”.

It’s as if we are slowing going to stop talking to each other in person. I then started imagining what relationships will be like once my 5 month old son would be my age.

I then quickly stopped judging all the people around me and slowing looked down toward my lap and noticed that I haven’t stopped pulling my thumb down from the top of my Facebook timeline refreshing in hopes for reading some “big news”, its quite pathetic.

I am just as addicted to my device as anyone else.

Finally, I see a new post from one of my 1,500 “friends” whom most of which I couldn't tell you a thing about! A picture of a grossly dismembered victim of Islamic Extremism. Just what I want to see at the beginning of my day.

This seems to be a new trend to share on Facebook. Yeah, Its good to draw attention to the most pure evil on the planet today but early in the morning it makes me sick to my stomach.

Wham another post, what do you know?! The 50 thousandth person to to do an ALS challenge. What a genius campaign to raise attention to a good cause.

Then an old friend calls me, I noticed in mid conversation that I am also surfing the web consuming more and more content. Not giving the attention my friend deserves.

I feel my brain getting numb. It was time to take action. A change was needed. I started to analyze and track how much time I was spending on my devices.

It was disgusting. I spend more time on the web then dates with my wife. This was a realization that crossed the metaphorical “red line” in my mind. Thank G-d, for Shabbat. The one day I can detox.

One day off of my addiction is not enough. I have slowly started to limit my time on Facebook 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. I turned off all email notifications and set a time in the morning, afternoon and evening to check my emails.

I am a huge believer that the internet is here to make our lives easier, more impactful and fulfilling by connecting people and ideas at lightning speeds. I work in the hi-tech industry I have an internet start-up. But we cannot forget that there is a “real” life outside of the web and sometimes we need to unplug and enjoy whats around us.

If anyone has any advice or suggestions on how to unplug and be more connected to “the now” please leave comments. I am sure that I am not alone when I say I need a “digital detox”.