24 HOURS OF ELECTRONIC SILENCE
Last week I talked about moving from country to country, whether you are working abroad or going on holiday. I wonder if you’re crazy like I am in that before you leave you just have to clear all your work – I don’t know why we do this. Maybe we secretly believe we’ll be kidnapped or get lost. I am one of the worst offenders, again it’s crazy because wherever I am, I am always contactable via my beloved Blackberry, I always leave it on day or night, is it because I am so diligent or just can’t miss out on what’s going on? Or possibly a bit of both?
There have been many surveys undertaken which compare how much easier life was 50 years ago with today and amazingly enough with the explosion of technology and automation we actually work harder and longer hours. Women it seems especially suffer, one to two generations ago if they were to have a child they would stop work and stay at home. Not now, many are shared breadwinners and are under great pressure to return to work, and a number of those will maintain continual contact even during maternity leave.
You know I have always been obsessed with my mobile phone and we have discussed before the huge demands they make on us. Instant messaging has added even more pressure to our lives, giving our friends, family and colleagues instant access to us 24/7. Twitter now alerts us to what our friends or heroes or others are doing, Facebook pings to bring us up to date with all the news including our exact status of the moment... in a relationship, not in a relationship, wish I was in a relationship and so on...do we really need to know this?
Well I have made a momentous decision. As from this Friday I intend to try (and I know you won’t believe me) but from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown I am turning everything off including the television and radio!! I am beginning to twitch and get withdrawal symptoms at just the thought of this. I intend to let my family know my arrangement and the world will just have to continue spinning, electronically speaking, without me. Will I keep it up? Well make sure you read my blog next week and you’ll find out....
There have been many surveys undertaken which compare how much easier life was 50 years ago with today and amazingly enough with the explosion of technology and automation we actually work harder and longer hours. Women it seems especially suffer, one to two generations ago if they were to have a child they would stop work and stay at home. Not now, many are shared breadwinners and are under great pressure to return to work, and a number of those will maintain continual contact even during maternity leave.
You know I have always been obsessed with my mobile phone and we have discussed before the huge demands they make on us. Instant messaging has added even more pressure to our lives, giving our friends, family and colleagues instant access to us 24/7. Twitter now alerts us to what our friends or heroes or others are doing, Facebook pings to bring us up to date with all the news including our exact status of the moment... in a relationship, not in a relationship, wish I was in a relationship and so on...do we really need to know this?
Well I have made a momentous decision. As from this Friday I intend to try (and I know you won’t believe me) but from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown I am turning everything off including the television and radio!! I am beginning to twitch and get withdrawal symptoms at just the thought of this. I intend to let my family know my arrangement and the world will just have to continue spinning, electronically speaking, without me. Will I keep it up? Well make sure you read my blog next week and you’ll find out....
