Living a 3-D life?
Cindy on June 8th, 2009
Build a campfire, write your own song, dance your ass off, hike 10 miles — be something that’s not just part of a machine.” — Robert Downes
Visiting Traverse City, Mich., this spring, I picked up the April 20 issue of Northern Express Weekly. I always enjoy the “Random Thoughts” column, penned by Robert Downes, the paper’s publisher and managing editor. So I wasn’t surprised when Downes’ column, “Going Natural — Offline,” hit me where I live and prompted me to reach for the scissors. I clipped the piece and saved it.
In his column, Downes opened with an anecdote about Jack Hicks, a retired Chicago-area librarian who cancelled the Internet because he thought it was “a time-waster” and a mere “imitation of real life.” Downes went on to say that he understood where the librarian is coming from — and wondered if our lives are “being twittered away” when we spend so much time online.
“Those of us who were born long before the digitalization of childhood can recall a time when kids spent as little time as possible indoors. You ran around barefoot outdoors all summer and only came in when your parents yelled themselves hoarse, long after sunset,” Downes recalled. He also pointed out that we shouldn’t be surprised that we now battle the issue of obesity among four-year-olds.
But today’s kids aren’t the only ones losing touch with reality. Too many adults have taken up permanent residence in cyberspace, and I wonder if there’s a correlation between Internet use and the worrisome rise in adult ADD. Though I’ve not been diagnosed with it, I’ve noticed lately that I’m not as focused as I used to be. I jump from project to project — as if I’m merely Web surfing. A lot of my friends complain, too, about feeling vaguely distracted or hollow — and unable to read as many books as they used to.
Out of touch?
Summer is approaching and I’d rather be outdoors as much as possible — and not on my laptop or cell phone. Yet I know that veering off the information superhighway is akin to Thoreau dropping out of society for his Walden sabbatical. Regardless, it’s tempting.
Back in the day before e-mail, blogs, and Facebook, I spent A LOT more time moving around in the real world. (And kids, it really wasn’t that long ago.) I lunched with friends at the outdoor cafes downtown, interviewed people “in person,” finished the books I was reading, took my son to the park and played with him, met with editors at the newspaper office, took long walks with friends or my husband, worked in the garden until dusk. When I did work online, I focused on getting more assignments and polishing my own writing. I didn’t spend time commenting on other writers’ blogs, and didn’t check for new Facebook messages every 15 minutes.
Today I’m nearly compulsive about my time on the computer. I’ve barely poured my first cup of coffee before I’m in my office checking my e-mail. And I never travel without a laptop on vacation. Thanks to all the hours I spend online, I finish reading fewer books, newspapers, and magazines — and have let many of my subscriptions lapse. And whether I’m in town or out, it seems, my friends and I send e-mail or send Facebook messages more often than we chat on the phone or visit in person. This can’t be such a good thing.
Recently, a couple of my neighbors and I decided to establish a weekly dinner date at a local restaurant — within walking distance — for some real community contact. This is long overdue. While I’d never cancel the Internet or disconnect from the online friendships I value, I need to devote more attention offline to the people and things that mean the most to me.
As Downes suggests, “It might be good for the soul to take an annual vacation from your iPod, Internet, cell phone, Twitter, MySpace, and all the other electronic strings attached to your life for a week or so, if only to reboot your sense of humanity and become a ‘real person’ once a year.” My only question: Why just once a year? –CL
– Garden photo copyright by Cindy La Ferle –
June 8th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Good Morning Cindy,
Luckily for me I have two good dogs who sit and stare at me until I move away from the computer and grab their leashes for outside time. They also enjoy supervising my playing with the flowers. Thank goodness for smart doggies!
June 8th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Cindy,
How wonderful to find this post here, giving voice to exactly what I am struggling with right now! As an author with a new book out, I am feeling increased pressure to be on Facebook, Twitter, and Stumble all over the place. I know that good PR is vital to a book’s well-being, but what about the person’s well-being?
Truthfully, I am with you. I do not want to spend even more time at the computer. I want to do what I do well there, and live in the “real world” more often, dance under the stars and hold chorus with the birds. It is up to each of us to decide how much time to spend in cyberspace. Guess I am still struggling with finding that balance… Hugs!
June 8th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Like Jan says, I think it is important to be selective and effectively use technology. Carefully. There are so many options to choose from … but that doesn’t mean we have to choose them all. I blog, but do not Twitter, Facebook or MySpace. Interesting too, I was watching a segment of Book Expo America with a panel of major publishers CEO’s. They said that regarding marketing, it still has not been proven that social networking online increases book sales. Still, to this day, (they say) the most effective way to sell books is to have your book on the front table in the bookstores. Interesting when you hear it straight from the publishers’ mouthes!
June 8th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I made an interesting discovery when I started turning computers off each night to save energy ~ I had to think about turning the desktop or laptop on in the morning, so it wasn’t always the first thing I did. Some days I waited to go online until afternoon or evening. I actually wish my sons and my mother used email more to keep in touch.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Great comments! And Sharon, I think e-mail is absolutely wonderful for keeping in touch with out-of-town friends. What did we do without it? What I am finding is that I end up emailing friends who live nearby instead of picking up the phone to talk or meet with them. Several people complain about this. Another friend told me, “I don’t want to read about your life or your opinions in a blog. Come on out to lunch with me and let’s talk!”
June 8th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Great post and as was said, very timely, too. In 2 weeks I am going to be at the beach with my sisters and nephew, and although it’s a tourist spot (Virginia Beach), I’m looking forward to being unplugged for a week (although I did tell my office I would leave phone numbers).
I got my new issue of Ladies’ Home Journal today, and the cover looks like any other magazine…anti-aging, your best body, make peace with your flaws. Sigh, time to re-consider not renewing if that continues.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
And may I add as an English major, what twittering is doing to the English language must be turning some folks over in their graves!
June 8th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
My sentiments exactly. The web has an addictive quality for all of us. Although I will say I am in touch with some people more overall because of it… so it’s good in that regard. Sometimes you just have to unplug, though, and seriously remind yourself that there is a real world out there.
Personally, I’ve been somewhat distracted by real life the past month or so actually am trying to gear up to get back online at least w/ more regular blog posts.
Great read, as usual, Cindy!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Perfect post! Online sometimes hinder some fun times with “real life” when not controlled.
But reading your posts has always been inspirational – lovely and creative, that’s why I have 2 gifts for you.
(No pressure to swing by immediately…
Have a great week!
June 9th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Gayle — Enjoy that trip to Virgina Beach, and let me know what it was like to be “unplugged” for a couple of weeks!
Re: your comment on Ladies Home Journal … I think magazine publishers have finally figured out that we Baby Boomers have “outgrown” the stuff and content they were featuring for so long. Sadly, to appeal to us now, they keep trying to tell us that older women need to be repaired, hence the focus on “anti-aging” in LHJ. Along these lines, I find I read fewer magazines in my fifties, generally speaking, because I am not buying as much new furniture for my home and don’t look for decorating advice as much as I used to when I was starting out. Now that my son is grown, I don’t need “parenting articles.” And as for fashion, I have found my own style, feel confident in my own look, and don’t need editors in New York to tell me what to wear here in the Midwest..So that leaves AARP magazine
I plan to post a blog or column about this sometime in the future.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Ellen — looking forward to your new post. Keep me posted, as I won’t be online as much this week. CL
June 10th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
When I retired last year and turned OFF my Blackberry email account, I did a little dance at the idea of being “disconnected” from the non-stop emails…. And then reality set in followed by withdrawal. I’m sad to say, it was really hard not having my one time constant companion with me vibrating every time someone “needed” me. It was a hard adjustment. Although I now often feel “chained” to my laptop, I find that I spend much more time having real conversations with people instead of emailing or texting them in shorthand. That said, if I still worked full-time, I can’t imagine being disconnected– Not because I wanted to be, but because it seems, no one works 9am-5pm anymore. The Internet has made us a 24/7 equal opportunity employer.
Terrific post Cindy, and one that I think speaks to all of us– At least all of us with a email account. Is there anyone left on the planet without one?
June 10th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Great points Cindy and all! I spend time away without my computer (I’m not wireless or have a laptop) and it is a nice rest. There is a mildly addictive quality which could really send certain folks off of the deep end. And I keep my focus on blogging- can’t even imagine trying to keep up with the rest. Camping is a great way to do it. Perhaps restricting to x amount of hours per day or only a few days per week? Whew- tough one…
June 16th, 2009 at 8:47 am
wow cindy you hit a nerve with this one. more “three dimensional” is exactly what i need. for me, writing all morning in my office, an then checking in with internet, is too much time in that room of my own. there has to be a balance between the writing life (and the added distraction of the net) a total disconnect from my real life. maybe i will take a notebook and write on my patio today…
June 21st, 2009 at 9:00 am
I’ve been thinking of taking a sabbath, unplugged, once a week. It’s a bit scary to imagine, but I think I can do it. I wouldn’t give up the phone (I’ve got elderly parents), but with TV and email I can take a 24 hour break. I’ve also been thinking of putting an alarm on while I’m doing the Twitter, blog-reading thing. Before I know it, I’ve fallen into the vortex and the (analog) clock has done a cartoon-like fast motion spin to one hour later. Thanks for the reminder Cindy, especially now the first day of summer, that there’s a big world out there too.
July 5th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I looked out at my hammock yesterday and realized I’d spent very little time in it this summer.
The two hours I spent out in my hammock with a couple of entertainment/music magazines yesterday were pretty blissful
I struggle with this issue a lot, and I’ve been trying to train myself to turn off the computer at night (for the same reason Sharon cites) in an effort to keep myself from staying on it ’til all hours of the night!
May 28th, 2010 at 6:22 am
[...] summer, I try to limit my time online to less than an hour daily, mainly to check e-mail for work-related issues. (I still work on other [...]