The National Day of Unplugging (March 3-4) came and went without much notice. Ironically, it must not have been trending on Twitter. What does appear to be a micro-thing is millennials voluntarily giving up their devices for short periods of time at parties and concerts in order to immerse themselves in the experience of “being present.” Into boxes where in earlier, pre-Uber days we would have tossed our car keys, people stow their Android and iPhones and confidently, courageously begin to make eye contact and take a temporary vow of selfie-abstinence.
The temptation to snark is strong. But can I summon the strength to do the same? We’ll see. Starting this week, I’m going to be observing the Digital Sabbath. From sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, I’m going off the proverbial grid. No Facebook, no emails, no podcasts, no IMDB to tell me who was that guy who starred in that thing directed by the guy who did House Party 2. I go into this experiment with no FoMO, but I do have some FoGL (Fear of Getting Lost), so I reserve the right of a GPS dispensation if circumstances dictate.
Will this be a juice cleanse for the frontal lobe? Doubtful. But I am hoping to maybe listen a little more and appreciate the tactile world around me. I’m posting this on Friday morning. So see you on the other side, Brother.