How long could you go?

My dad sent me an article (at bottom) awhile ago that has had me thinking and there was a question it asked at the end:

1. How long could you go without being wired (or wireless) with your cell phone or PC? One week? One day? One hour?

I honestly believe that I could go a long time without my phone. There are days when I accidentally leave it at home and not once have I ever felt a panic when doing so. I like to have it on me in case of an emergency or when I am bored but I certainly don't need it. I have a hearing problem so the phone's not my favorite thing. Sometimes I can barely hear people on it.


Computers are altogether a different story. I could go (and have gone) a weekend without being connected but not much longer. I love being attached to the internet. You could call it an addiction. I like to see what other people are doing and I use the internet as my medium for most things other people do like watching tv (Netflix) and playing games (draw something). I make videos and upload pictures. I hate when people tell me to get offline and go do something because ummm rarely will you find me at a computer - it's usually just checking in on my phone. And I do lots of things... more things than most people and still manage to "do stuff". I am very good at multitasking. And I am very quick (with quality) at things so something that might take someone else 10 minutes to do, takes me 1 and something that would take someone else an hour to do takes me 5. 

Like for my honeymoon, I uploaded pictures every day. Know how long it took me? Thirty seconds to click "all" and hit a button. And some people were saying, "you're in Hawaii - get offline" but I wasn't really online. I wasn't sitting at a computer in my hotel. I was out learning to stand up surf, taking a helicopter ride around a volcano, watching the sunrise at Mr. Haleakala, learning to hula and watching a hula show, going to the beach, reading a book, spending time with my new husband, going parasailing, jet-skiing the Pacific Ocean, tasting wine at a vineyard, traveling to Haleakala during the day, jumping off the black rock, get Professional Honeymoon Pictures taken, driving the road to Hana and hiking in different spots, hiking Ioa Valley State Park, snorkeling around an extinct crater (and seeing a shark), and eating breakfast, lunch & dinner out every day. Not to mention the internet time was like 3a when I couldn't sleep. My point is not to brag about how much I did but rather point out that I was able to do alllll of those things AND be on the internet. And every vacation I go on is JUST like that. We do a LOT and I am able to do both. 


People who are bad at multitasking and/or doing things quick but efficiently don't get it... because they can't do it (or they would) so they see it as me wasting time online. 


Take these blogs I write, since I write fast, take like 5 minutes... It's not a waste of time to get thoughts down.

But I realize that I couldn't live life without the internet... probably. I guess we can do anything in dire situations. For me, I don't see it as a draw back.

Are you a techno-hermit?

Technology is everywhere these days. Can you remember a time before personal computers, cell phones and the Internet?

"Telephone Party Lines" connect friends

When I was very young, I can recall our family having a "party line." No, not that kind of "party line." A "party line" back then meant there was more than one household in town with the same phone number. There was a unique ring on our phone so that we knew the call was for us. Some might have called that early social networking.

"Slide Rules" replace the abacus

When I was in high school, being "high tech" was using a slide rule. Yes, I actually owned two slide rules. That was back in the "dark ages" before calculators.

"Community Telephones" enhance social networking

When I was a freshman in college, the only telephones were in the dorm lobby. The lobby became the gathering spot in the evenings to socialize. The next year telephones were installed in each room. After that, the lobby was empty at night.

"Pink Message Slips" remind us of what we missed

Some of you may even remember the pink "While You Were Out" message slips that we used in the office. Some of you will remember those notes with messages such as who called, who wanted to see you, and who returned a call. Voice mail - what was that?

"E-mails" speak without sound

When e-mail arrived, it was a revolution. We could leave messages by typing. No need to actually talk. I remember a day when an office mate sent me an email while sitting six feet away. He said it was more productive than talking.

Have "Smart Phones" Made Us Dumb?

Today, we have "smart phones" that have more computing power than the mainframe computers of the '60s and '70s. Everyone has a cell phone, including our children. While you and I may have multiple telephone numbers (office, home and cell), our children have just one - the one associated with their cell phones. But for them, the telephone is less about talking and more about texting.

Just the other day one of my friends recounted an interesting story. It seems his young 10-year-old daughter sent him a text message from her iPhone. (Yes, 10-year-olds have iPhones!) The text message directed my friend to open an e-mail on his computer. Upon doing so, my friend discovered a video of him and his wife. The video had been filmed moments before his daughter sent the text message.

So, "smart phones" and PCs have enabled us to stay in contact without seeing or speaking to others. And they call this innovation!

Pushing the Edge of Your Thinking  

• How long could you go without being wired (or wireless) with your cell phone or PC? One week? One day? One hour?
•  Do you prefer to send an email or a text message in lieu of having an actual conversation? Why or why not? 
• What communication skills are our children in danger of losing with so much techno-communication going on? What can we do to counteract this?