Unplugging and reconnecting

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On a recent international trip, I misunderstood my cell phone’s data plan and ended up exceeding my limit. The result? I was marooned on wifi, my internet reach limited to the distance the nearest network gave me.

My initial response was dismay and, I’ll admit, a bit of angst. I’ve had a cell phone for only six years, but it took less than one weekend, back in August 2013, for me to be hooked on what was, for me, an extraordinary new toy tool that put the world of information and inter-connection into my hand. I don’t understand how it works, but I surely understand the benefits those invisible points of cellular connection grant me. 

Sure, sometimes I dislike being so easily ‘getable’ — by those who have my number and by those that have my meta data. But, mostly, I love being able to access information that I want (and sometimes genuinely even need) whenever and wherever I am, and I really love being able to take a photo and share it via social media or email it to my friends, followers and associates. 

So, marooned as I've been on wifi this past month, I've rediscovered the peace and calm of being offline unless there is a wifi network to hook into — and that’s not everywhere, folks; it’s not everywhere. On the bus, I've done more reading of my book than usual. Out in the world, I've done more observing of my environs and contemplating of my fellow humans (not always fun or pretty :(…). And at home, where wifi is always what I use anyway, I've found myself getting more bored more quickly scrolling through Facebook or romping through Twitter. I still do it, but I get bored more quickly. 

This month’s intermittent access has made me realize how swiping my phone’s screen has become a reflex, a time-sucking habit. And I can’t say I like that aspect of the internet: it entices, it entraps, it exhausts the mind’s resistance. 

I’m not giving it up, don’t get excited, but I am going to try to discipline myself more, troll less mindlessly, and bring myself to a more intentional way of consuming data.

With Clifftop Cottage Art Camp starting up again soon, I might even succeed! 


Photo credit: John-Mark Smith on Unsplash


Comments

  1. AnnJuly 1, 2019 at 7:54 AM

    25 years ago I first heard about this communication tool called Prodigy. And I thought how useless it was, requiring a computer, which no one had, not at home anyway. Just another thing all those academics played with.

    How wrong I was.

    ReplyDelete

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