Monday, October 7, 2013

Detox


You ever feel a niggling suspicion that perhaps you spend just a wee bit too much time online? That you're more distracted than you used to be, and that social media seems way more important than it should be?  And that perhaps not every moment is something to photo just to put on Facebook or Instagram?

Nora and I spent last week watching the 1900 House and Frontier House on YouTube.  We've since moved on to The Victorian Farm (all BBC or PBS true reality shows).  She's incredibly into them, which cracks us up a bit.  But watching them I was struck by a few things said by those on them.  First, that they used to think they understood the term busy.  Secondly a teenager, after going back to her normal life, commented that she was now bored so easily because there really wasn't much to do.

Our first winter here we spent a lot of time in candlelight, watching movies, cooking, baking, and playing board games.  We didn't have smart phones.  We didn't watch a lot of t.v.  And I hadn't quite discovered so many awesome websites.  It was cozy.

Four years later we both realized we rely too much on the internet.  Between reading websites and blogs to social media to watching t.v. online it can take up too much time.  We don't have enough time to read, play games, clean/organize, or just relax.

So for 1 month we're doing an experiment of sorts.  For all intents and purposes, we're giving up the internet.  There will be exceptions to that.  I am going to blog about our experience once a week (usually Sunday).  I will still be posting photos of Nora to facebook for the grandparents (so I don't get phone calls asking why they haven't seen any photos in 2 days!), but not looking at anything on social media.  We will still use the internet as a resource if we need to look up a recipe or how to do a task around the house, as well as checking e-mail once or twice a day.  And once a week we'll technically be using the internet to catch up on 1 show we both like as well as having our Friday night movie night through Netflix.

But otherwise, no Pinterest, no Facebook, no Instagram, no blogs, news sites, comedy sites, etc.  No distracting ourselves from life with a pretty screen.  My hope is that we become less dependent on these things and more intentional about working hard and enjoying life.  That we will read more, play more board games, and connect a little better, both with each other and friends.  Because honestly, it's so easy to feel disconnected in this modern age, wouldn't you agree?

5 comments:

  1. You are my hero. Seriously. I have been so torn with all the social media outlets...do I or don't I? And I think you've just answered my question. Sometimes it feels like cyber peer pressure to participate in everything and It truly is a waste of time. I have trouble focusing on cultivating my own life when I'm reading so much about other people's lives.

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  2. I am no longer on FB for several reasons one of which you mentioned above. It is interesting how many people are doing the very same thing. For me, I have found a renewed interest in cultivating my own life, as Stephanie mentioned, by visiting my local art museums, starting my own book club, attending events I would normally not have time for and normally wasted away on social media outlets. I am looking forward to hearing about your detox journey and the discoveries you find.

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  3. I am totally in love with this idea. Please, please let us know how it goes! I am (now) a writer, though have to confess a lot of my "writing" time is "faff around online" time. Something needs to change. And I adore your candlelight evenings playing boardgames. Definitely something to take up!

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  4. I'll take the contrary position. Social media and the like have let me reconnect with people i had not talked to for years, some I had quite frankly forgotten and others who after discovering we had a common connection discovered we had more. It allows me to seek diverse opinion and conversation that I would not get at home, I don't always want to talk to those who agree with me. There are many positives to being connected as there are negatives but it is what YOU make of it. I wonder how people would react to living the 1900's life style if they REALLY had to, all of it?

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