The Dangers of Technology…and Why I’m Offline for the Next Week

Technology can be awesome.  The very fact that I log into this WordPress.com account and use social media to publicize these blog posts is evidence of my technology use!  I’m at that age where I still remember using the card catalogue at the library, the game ‘pong’ which was really exciting, carrying around my WalkMan (the newest, coolest invention), and learning to type using old typewriter textbooks.  I remember my first email sent, my first ICQ conversation, and the very first journal article I could access from my pyjamas at home.

Technology is awesome.

How did I get to be so lucky?!?!?! 

But it’s also the reason why we are often staring at a screen rather than the sunshine, replying to work emails when we should be eating our dinner, and taking a picture with the purpose of sharing rather than capturing.

You can imagine what this does for travelling…we see individuals through our camera lens rather than our eyes, we spend more time capturing beauty on film rather than sitting, enjoy, and discovering.  How many friends have gone unmade because we were too engrossed in social media or conversations with those back home?

Some interesting info for you:  more students now go home early during overseas internship placements now in comparison to pre-email times.  Why?  Because rather then engaging in the host community, these students spend their time thinking about home.  A new home cannot be made when we spend all our time focussed on our old perceptions of ‘home’ (a blog for another time!)

So I love technology.  I use technology.  My work revolves around technology.  But I also recognize the dangers of technology.  The way we stare at a screen instead of each other; the way we keep ourselves attached when we are trying to disconnect.

 

On May 3rd, Ken and I are celebrating our second year anniversary.  Ken is the absolute best person in the world: he makes me laugh harder than anyone else, he’s my number one encourager and support system, he offers the wisest advice, he listens, he’s kind, he’s the best travel partner, he makes the most mundane task (i.e. house cleaning) fun, he’s brilliant, he’s talented in countless ways, he’s the handsomest…the list goes on…

So on our week away I am doing what I encourage everyone to do from time to time:  I’m completely unplugging.

No blog. No email. No Instagram. No Twitter. No Facebook.

Just me, Ken, and the Maldives.

So dear readers have a wonderful week!  When I am back my first post will be an update on travels through the Maldives…and all the ways that unplugging helped our time away and our travels together!

Happy travelling,

Leah