Pick a Day to Unplug

Mark Hurst, author of Bit Literacy brings awareness to a great article by Marc Bittman of the New York Times. "I Need a Virtual Break. No, Really" talks about how taking a day to be disconnected is not the end of the world and in fact brings some harmony back to your life.

According to the article, David Levy, a professor in the information school at the University of Washington, says “What’s going on now is insane,” ...using this term intentionally. “Living a good life requires a kind of balance, a bit of quiet. There are questions about the limits of the brain and the body, and there are parallels here to the environmental movement.” (Dr. Levy coined the term “information environmentalism.”)

The article notes because this is such a huge issue, (Hurst often talks about "information overload") that a movement of sorts to "unplug" is starting to happen.

Taking a day yesterday to learn about the art (and science) of Qigong, I definitely realized that a day to be introspective and "quiet" without the Web, without Twitter, without my cell, made for a Monday that was far more focused, creative and clear.

I choose Sunday to be my Secular Sabbath. Are you ready to pick a day to unplug?

Related Articles:

• On the "digital sabbath" - Good Experience
• American professionals overwhelmed with too much information - ConnectIT
• Unplug for a "Secular Sabbath" - LifeHacker
• Secular Sabbath - Think Macro
• CommFree Day - Scrutiny

Comments

[Dima]

Thanks for the link!

I think this is also important to emphasize that the idea of having a CommFree day is not about hating/rebelling/protesting technology. It's quite the opposite. It is about the appreciation of information technology and maintaining its healthy status in our daily lives.

[Marilyn]

Can I pick tomorrow?