This last weekend I took a Cyber Detox. I heard about the concept on the news and thought that is would be worth trying since I had spent a lot of time on the internet lately. I was also a little concerned after hearing on the news that people are starting to get addicted to it. Could I be one of them? We live in a society that revolves around technology. The number of people in North America who use the internet has increased by 152.6 % since the year 2000. What are the outcomes? Well, like all things, time will reveal all the positive and negative outcomes but one thing is for sure, people are addicted to the internet and have their lives completely wrapped up in it. Banking, weight loss, hobbies, parenting, social media, you name it, there is an App for it! Just like any addiction, it will have an effect on your life.
I did not expect any results other than having more time to spend with family and to do a few things around the house. I knew that I would not miss Facebook or email – it was only going to be for two days. I also knew that I would be able to get back on line Monday just as usual. Time spent was watching Scooby Doo with my daughter, finishing a few projects, shopping with daughter, took the dog for a walk with daughter and just hung around the house with family. It was a wonderful weekend and the energy in the house seemed mellow. Just as I thought it would be.
The component of the cyber detox which surprised me was how often I found myself saying, “Oh, I will look it up on line.” What was it I felt I needed online? Our bank account balance, a recipe, the weather, parenting advice, health advice, and I had the urge to search Norse Mythology. I should also mention the numerous times I wanted to check in to Facebook. The realization on how connected my life is to the internet was, and still is, overwhelming. While I am probably the least connected person, as I only own a PC for internet use, I am just as connected as the person who sleeps with their iPhone. Perhaps more so because I also use the internet for work.
A friend of mine will sit and argue with me until no end about how Facebook is allowing Mom’s to “check out” which is creating a generation of kids (and families) who are completely disconnected. Pun intended! I never saw what she was saying because I am so connected to it myself. I see the good in it; and am aware of the bad. Now, I have experienced the bad in it. I can see what my friend is saying about how technology is shaping our lives, our kids and our future.
This makes me want to preserve what life was like before internet. What was life like before the internet? I was forced to pick up books to find the information that I was looking for. I was prompted to turn to my family for communication. I made myself wait for the weather until the 5 o’clock news came on and I survived without Facebook. I got a few small projects done and the house was clean ALL WEEKEND! My life was no way affected negatively by not being online; in fact, more positive came from it than anything.
Fact is most of us are way to connected to the internet and not connected enough with the things that really matter in life like family, our health, Mother Earth, our spirituality, our neighbors, our friends. Sad. It really is.
It is as strange to me to deliver these findings to you online as it may be for you to receive them. Truth is the only way to capture anyone’s attention is through the various sources of media that we have available to us. What do you do? It is the age that we live in now, we have to adapt. Overall, being on line is just like every other thing in this world besides air, it is best in moderation. Anyway, this is definitely food for thought.
Onward & Upward!
~Sarah
Taken by me, Sarah Herbert
Spring of 2002
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