The Importance of Unplugging

I love the thoughts and ideas that you discussed in this post. I did actually try to “unplug” for a day and enjoy life outside of the virtual world. I realized this: it is SO difficult to go without technology, even for just a day! I saw just how much I relied on my dumb little iPhone to stay in the loop about the latest information in the world. I noticed that I did actually have about 8 tabs open on my computer (Netflix, Facebook, Pandora, Pinterest, etc.) and would switch between all of them. What I found the most challenging was not checking my updates, emails, apps and things before I went to bed. Checking social media was a habit that I subconsciously formed, and was challenging to avoid. Sometimes we really do not see how dependent we are on our technological devices throughout each and every day.

Although, it was really nice to be able to enjoy what was happening around me without publicizing it for the world to see. Looking around, I saw several people posting their food on Instagram, Snapchatting every little thing that their friends were doing, posting exactly what they were doing every moment of the day on Facebook, and I noticed couples texting while hanging out with each other. It was a little saddening to see how much technology, in a sense, controls our lives. I try to make it a point to avoid texting or using my phone while I talk to people or when I am with friends. Sometimes it can become hard to stay away from my devices when the friends who I am with are attached at the hip to theirs! I am not saying that I am perfect. I do check the latest soccer and baseball scores on my phone for a second and I have responded to texts, but I feel more connected to whomever I am with when I disconnect my electronics. I did not realize how much of a difference pushing the power/silence button can make!

I really enjoyed your article! You did an excellent job ☺