Nothing with a Face

Deciding what technology to do without on Technology-free Day is a bit like deciding how to be a vegetarian. It seems simple at first. No meat. Well, does fish count as meat? There are plenty of pescetarians out there who wouldn't think of letting a morsel of cow past their lips, but have absolutely no qualms about eating fish. And what about wearing leather? Is it ok to kill an animal to get a pair of shoes if you don't believe in killing an animal to get a hamburger? Some vegans don't eat honey because they believe the production of honey exploits bees. Followers of Jainism, an ancient Indian religion that preaches non-violence against all living beings, wear face masks so that they don't accidentally breathe in a gnat and kill it. And for those of you who thought peanut butter was a perfectly acceptable vegetarian alternative, read this article about food contaminants. Apparently the FDA allows an “average of 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams of peanut butter” before it starts investigating.

So, what's an animal lover to do? Some vegetarians draw the line at eating anything with a face. So animal products like honey and milk would be ok, but they won't eat anything that could look you in the eye. I tried adopting this policy for Technology-free Day, and decided to eliminate anything with a “face” or screen. So, no computers, no TVs, no cell phones, but then I realized {gasp} that clocks would have to go too. Well that threw me into a panic.

I tried another approach: nothing with an on/off switch. Pretty straightforward. Again, computers, TVs, cell phones, but what about lights? Lamps have on/off switches. So do coffee grinders and stove burners. Does a key in a car count as an on/off switch? Hmm.

Perplexed, I turned to Judaism. Jews, as I mentioned previously, have been going “technology free” for hundreds of years on a weekly basis to rest and observe “Shabbat”. They have very specific rules for this stuff, and strictly forbid 39 different categories of work. It is also forbidden to get someone else to do the work for you, so even though you can't cook, you also can't just get take-out. Making fire is forbidden, and this rule has been adapted to the modern age to ban turning on lights and even starting cars, since the spark plug lights a fire in the engine.

I realized that like vegetarians, I would just have to draw the line somewhere. And that the line could move. I could start out by banning the biggest offenders: computers (which for us includes TV since we watch movies and shows on our laptop). Next, I could expand the list of contraband to cell phones, clocks, cars, and eventually all electricity. I probably won't miss some of these things at all for 24 hours (the car), but some I cannot imagine living without. Embarrassingly, clocks are high on that list. So are coffee grinders. This is pretty telling about how I live my life and what I am a slave to. I think this experiment is going in the right direction.

Taking a Break from Technology

After snarling bitterly at my husband as yet another oblivious pedestrian sauntered into the crosswalk in front of my car, paying more attention to the little electronic device he was holding than to oncoming traffic, I snapped. Enough! Enough staring into screens every waking minute. Enough knowing what the girl you hated in high school ate for breakfast because you saw her post on Facebook, but not knowing why your grandmother moved to California in 1921. Enough playing “Save the Rainforest” on the computer instead of getting outside and picking up trash on Ocean Beach.

Mobile devices, computers, and maybe even Twitter are here to stay. And they are not necessarily a bad thing. But sometimes, it's good to take a break. This blog is going to be about taking a break from technology. How I do it. How you can do it too. What happens when we turn off the laptops, the phones, even the car for 24 hours? Come along and find out.

I get the irony of using a computer and the web to talk about this. I really do. I also get the irony of doing this in a city just north of Silicon Valley, where most of this stuff was invented. Let me re-iterate that I am not anti-technology. I just think we all might benefit from unplugging every once in a while, re-connecting with each other through real conversation and touch.

Jews know all about this. They've been taking a day off from technology every week since before computers were invented. It's called “Shabbat” and instead of watching television, families come together to eat leisurely meals, talk, nap, play games and generally enjoy each others' company. Doesn't that sound relaxing?

Looking back on when I have been happiest, I notice that I am most relaxed after spending a few days or if I'm lucky, a week, outside. It doesn't matter if I am rock climbing in the Sierras, backpacking through the Alaskan wilderness, or checking out the art at the Burning Man Festival, all that matters is that using technology is not an option for several days. (It doesn't hurt, of course, spending this time in some of the most visually stimulating places on earth.)

It must be possible to re-create this relaxation and feeling of connection without heading off to the wilderness for a week, and my goal with this blog is to keep me accountable to do just that. Every month or so I will declare a Technology-free Day in my household and we will experiment with living without computers, cell phones, cars, maybe even electricity if we are feeling adventurous. I'll chronicle what we did, and how it went, here. Eventually I hope to encourage others to do the same.

I'm primarily interested in the social aspects of this experiment, but there is a beneficial environmental impact as well. “No Impact Man” has that covered in his blog.

Like Mahatma Gandhi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” At this point, it's hard to see how not checking email for a day will encourage that guy in the crosswalk to hang up and take a look around him at this beautiful city, but I have to start somewhere.