Unplug Challenge

Blog

  • Madame Noire

    January 3rd, 2013 by admin

    What with all the social media networks we try to keep up with on a daily basis for work and for pleasure, it is no wonder your mind goes into overload. In fact, according to CNN, Americans spend at least eight hours a day staring at a screen. And more than one-third of smartphone users get online before they get out of bed.

    Some experts say everyone should take a  tech vacation  from time to time for several reasons — to reconnect with family and friends, to stop missing special moments of real life, to relieve the stress of trying to maintain your various social media accounts and even to do physical activities such as exercising.

    Toi Barnhardt unplugs on her own regularly —and she’s in the tech industry.Unplugging is basically me taking control over what I like to call ‘social media saturation.’ Almost every facet of one’s life has some aspect of social media or social networking intertwined in it. It has us constantly checking for the latest deal, or the latest status update every hour almost. It allows us to falsely feel connected to people, places, and things when in fact we aren’t physically,” says Barnhardt, who is the associate publisher of the Women of Color in Technology STEM Conference. “By unplugging, it forces me to connect with people the traditional or dare I now say the old fashionedway! The main reason however that I unplug is when I feel that the constant social media interacting is making me unproductive i.e. work, home, and even (I’ll admit) while driving.”

    Read the full article here

  • SF Gate

    November 6th, 2012 by admin

    Can true solitude be found in a wired world?

    CHICAGO (AP) — When was the last time you were alone, and unwired? Really, truly by yourself. Just you and your thoughts — no cellphone, no tablet, no laptop.

    Many of us crave that kind of solitude, though in an increasingly wired world, it’s a rare commodity.

    We check texts and emails, and update our online status, at any hour — when we’re lying in bed or sitting at stop lights or on trains. Sometimes, we even do so when we’re on the toilet.

    We feel obligated, yes. But we’re also fascinated with this connectedness, constantly tinkering and checking in — an obsession that’s starting to get pushback from a small but growing legion of tech users who are feeling the need to unplug and get away.
    Read the full article here

  • Jweekly

    September 24th, 2012 by admin

    Is nothing sacred? Even at funerals Rabbi David Booth has found himself fixing a baleful stare on some mourner fumbling with a cellphone.

    The spiritual leader of Palo Alto’s Congregation Kol Emeth, Booth decries what he calls “the culture of interruption,” typified by ringing phones, pinging video games and other noises of digital life. And he wants to do something about it. Something Jewish.

    As Booth points out, Judaism has long offered a cure for the common call: Shabbat, a time of unplugging.

    Resting on the seventh day is a biblical commandment, but in today’s high-tech culture, the practice of shutting out the world may offer additional health and emotional benefits — for Booth, another illustration of the timeless relevance of Torah.

    Read the full article here

  • Chutzpah

    August 24th, 2012 by admin

    Reboot is a different paradigm of a Jewish organization, founded to use culture to reawaken Jewish feelings among the religiously unaffiliated. Young thought-leaders from media, technology and Hollywood gather at its annual, invitation-only retreat in Park City, Utah to brainstorm about how to reinvent Jewish traditions for the modern age. Attendees have run the gamut from New York Times reporters to Weeds creator Jenji Kohan and writers for Saturday Night Live and Six Feet Under.

    One of the more attention-getting ideas incubated at a retreat is the National Day of Unplugging. A global concept open to everyone regardless of faith, it’s a big picture translation of the core concept, the Sabbath Manifesto Project, that encourages Jews to power down every Friday night and observe the weekly day of rest (those who do so kicking and screaming can find some comfort in using the free Sabbath Manifesto Smartphone app to “shut down technology with technology”—it lets you post a Twitter and Facebook message announcing when you’re unplugging).

    Read the full article here

  • MediaShift- PBS

    June 14th, 2012 by admin

    I only have to look at my 3-year-old to see the impact of my use of technology. He walks around the house saying, “Where’s my iPhone? I have a call in a minute.” And he has two toy phones he carries around in his pockets in case an “important call” comes in. I know all too well whom he is modeling.

    That’s one reason why I’m passionate about the National Day of Unplugging and am working with Reboot, the non-profit organization, to help people carve some tech downtime into their lives as a weekly ritual.

    Read the full article here

  • Moment Magazine

    June 11th, 2012 by admin

    This past Friday, I turned off my iPhone at approximately 7 pm and prepared myself for three days of being disconnected. Shavuot happened to fall on Sunday and Monday, which meant that Shabbat led directly into the holiday, allowing no time to catch up on missed emails on Saturday night.

    While I am used to unplugging for one day a week, the three-day holiday always poses a greater challenge: It’s a lot harder to deal with three days of unplugging than one. But ultimately, I found the three days to be more beneficial than bothersome. I was able to catch up with high school friends, play basketball with my younger brother, go to synagogue, and even read some George Eliot. Granted, I don’t think I’d be able to do it every week, but once in a while, it’s actually nice to disconnect for three days.

    Read the full article here

  • PBS

    June 11th, 2012 by admin

    Our increasing connectedness — the always-on smartphone, the ever-present social networks, the daily media deluge — is affecting our lives in ways we can’t even yet fathom.

    So this week, as summer kicks off across the U.S., MediaShift is looking at how and why people are choosing to “unplug” from technology. And within that scope, we’ll be exploring how our constant connection is affecting us, our relationships, our work, our minds, and even our bodies.

    Read about the special series here

  • The Sydney Morning Herald

    June 11th, 2012 by admin

    WELCOME to your newest holiday fad – the digital detox.

    Close behind a recent academic study suggesting social media is harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol, US travel destinations are marketing digital detox holiday packages. They promise respite from the devices which have beeped, pinged, tingled, trilled and tweeted their way into the digerati’s every waking moment.

    Not that you need to go on holiday to log off. The Twitter microblog site is increasingly peppered with detox notices, the digital equivalent of a ”gone fishin” sign. Swedish web designer Jens Wedin posted a simple one this week: ”DIGITAL DETOX: See you in September”.

    Read the full article here

  • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

    March 27th, 2012 by admin

    Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: Jimmy Fallon unplugged everything for the National Day of Unplugging — his computer, his TV, his grandma…

    Watch it here

  • The Voice of Russia

    March 27th, 2012 by admin

    Did you know that the United States celebrated “National Day of Unplugging” last Friday? It’s what it sounds like – those that came up with the date urge potential participants to unplug themselves from computers and any other digital devices that are hooked up to the world wide web. Those that took the pledge to go offline had to stay away from Tweeting, checking in of Foursquare, sending emails and watching YouTube starting Friday sundown – they were allowed to go back online Saturday evening. So why would someone voluntarily cut off themselves from the information superhighway, the cyberspace that is often more important that the real world, the medium through which a lot of people work, play, sell, but and communicate these days. Well, here’s the whole pledge: “Shut down your computer. Turn off your cell phone. Stop the constant emailing, texting, tweeting and Facebooking to take time to notice the world around you. Connect with loved ones. Nurture your health. Get outside. Find silence. Avoid commerce. Give back. Eat Together.

    Listen to the radio broadcast here

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