Digital Detox

I’m a HUGE fan of the internet. Actually, “fan” isn’t the right term, it implies spectatorship. I’m on the internet far too much to be just a fan.

There have been periods in the last 2 years where I have taken extended periods of absence from the internet, during which I deliberately monitored if there was any change in my thoughts, habits or personality.

I can say with confidence that during those periods I didn’t see any major change, which is encouraging as it reassures me that the internet does not seem to be harmful, in spite of the many articles which seem to suggest its buggering up our concentration spans and human relationships.

However, it’s often useful to break a habit for a while, and perhaps things have changed, which means I should be re-checking if the internet is affecting me negatively.

I’m not the only one who spends great amounts of time on the net, on my phone, or on a PC.

The challenge is to have a whole lot of others join in for a period of reduced online time. You can do it for whatever reason you like, on whatever scale you like. The period is 31 August (Tues) to 9th September (Thurs).Ten days.

I suggest we don’t do it too lightly, else it won’t be of much use. I will be using a phone that has no net access for the ten days, and will not access FB,twitter or chat at all, but will access my email from my PC, but at intervals as opposed to keeping the screen open all day.

Some of us may need to be online to promote events, or for work, or other reasons, so evaluate your own situation and customize the challenge to fit you, in terms of the period or the process.

Please try and keep track of your experience, perhaps write it down in a book, if you can remember how to write.in.a.book. Also watch your thoughts, moods, relationships with others to see if its any different.
That way we can share experiences afterwards.

I’ll be preparing by keeping some beads on hand, for those times I usually am browsing on my phone, and a stack of books/magazines for reading in place of net time.

Who’s in? Any other thoughts or suggestions around this?