OBSERVATION
Technology. My best friend and worst enemy. It can make me feel brilliant and completely ignorant in the same minute. Ever since my first experiment with Facebook, I have really started to assess my technology usage and how it interferes with my family time(assssssssss, I type this and my son is yelling, "watch this mommy!" five hundred times as he rolls on the ground in the exact same way every. single. time.). My husband and I sit on the couch after working all day and getting our almost four year old and six month old bathed and to bed; me enjoying the occasional glass of wine, him a glass of bourbon, with the TV on and both of us on our phones. Not. Good.
Technology is obviously not going anywhere. And I am glad for it. I love it. I can't even remember how we found people's houses pre-GPS and I don't even know my parent's phone numbers anymore. I have checked the weather channel app while huddled in the hallway and have found great coupons and deals using online programs. But I hate that it can consume so much of my time. It is a must at work (the power went out a few months back and our office literally stood still...like, we stood still and talked in the halls!). But it doesn't have to be that way at home. And in my opinion, it shouldn't be that way. My family is the most important part of my life. And I need them to know that and for me to be reminded of it.
RESEARCH
Let me clarify what I mean by technology too...I mean smartphones, iPad, computers, streaming videos, etc. This is mainly entertainment technology and not say, the air conditioner or car!
If you Google, "technology free day," countless blogs, initiatives, and funny enough, a Facebook page pop up. There is even a "Technology Free Day." (And yes, I see the irony in blogging about researching online how to reduce my technology time.) How many of you had ONE computer per hall or grade at school that you were allowed to play Oregon Trail or some math game on once every few weeks? Did you have a computer in your home? Nintendo? VCR?? And when was the last time you called or wrote a letter/card to a friend?
Technology is amazing. It has completely changed politics, health care, news, marketing/advertising, commerce, warfare, crime fighting, entertainment and education. There isn't enough room to summarize all the wonderful technological advancements over just the last five years, let alone during my lifetime. You can read about a few of them here, here and here if interested.
Did you hear about that April Fool's Day prank played by the mayor of Philadelphia? They jokingly created a fake lane on a downtown sidewalk for people talking on their phones, surfing the web, or texting! An article from the BBC states that there will be more cell phones than people in 2016. And I love that there is a book titled, iDisorder: Understanding our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us (sold as a Google eBook, mind you), that discusses technology obsession and the creation of narcissism, OCD, paranoia...basically a pharmaceutical company's dream. In The Prometheus Complex: Man's Obession with Superior Technology (Enzo Press), Hans van der Braak argues that like Prometheus, man is obsessed with limitations; what he can't, and in his case, shouldn't have. We build faster, smarter, lighter, cheaper, sexier...all for our own psyche. Technology is seductive and a sign of power and wealth. (If you don't know, Prometheus was a Greek Titan who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to people. His punishment? Being tied to a rock and having a giant crow eat his liver every day, over and over again. Do NOT piss off the Gods. Noted.)
HYPOTHESIS
If I have one technology free day a week, then it will simplify my life.
EXPERIMENT
I will not use my phone, iPad or laptop to check email or social media sites, read the news, play games, text, or watch movies, etc. every Sunday for a month. Phone use will be kept to a minimum so we can be reached in case of emergencies or talk to parents/grandparents (a Sunday norm). And to make this even more fun, I will drag my family into this with me and make them comply (famous last words?).
RESULTS
Week One - What better day to start this experiement than Earth Day! But was it serendipitous that the power went out at 6pm? I was doing pretty good until that point, although I had to stop myself half a dozen times from checking email or the news. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't access it, but I panicked a little that afternoon. I also cheated (insert shifty eyes). I print a lot of my coupons and load coupons to my Kroger card electronically and forgot to plan ahead. My husband also wasn't too excited about his participation and my son whined about not being able to play a bug creator game on the iPad or being able to watch a streaming viedeo, but we survived. 4/22/12
Week Two - I did much better and my husband and son actually participated (somewhat willingly). We only used the phone to call family. I again forgot to plan ahead for coupons, so I cheated. But it was much easier than week one. 4/29/12
Week Three - I finally learned my lesson and printed coupons on Saturday as well as loaded up my Kroger card with the iPhone app. My husband was much less defensive when I would yell, "technology-free Sunday" every time he picked up his phone! We did use the phone to look up a phone number, make a few calls and take some pictures of the kids on the playground. My husband did text a little and email the pictures to family, but I let it slide since this is really my experiment. It is definitely getting easier and I am starting to look forward to Sunday. 5/6/12
Week Four -
DISCUSSION
COMING SOON!!