By nature, I am not a technology geek by any means. I do Facebook begrudgingly, I don’t do twitter at all, I have a clapped-out laptop and own a knackered Sony Ericsson phone which is years old – about six years old, I think. I rarely text and prefer to phone people to have a natter. Yep. I’m technology dinosaur. My phone is a PAYG and I spend about £10 every two months. I only use that because school uses this system to inform parents of events and certain reminders. I like that idea. I think mobiles are a great idea for getting in touch in an emergency and that’s all. I’m really not interested in its other uses. I already have a landline phone, I have a laptop for sending emails and I have a very nice camera; these all do the job for me.
However, I like surfing. I really do. I love keeping in touch that way (but not Facebook), and I like finding out information. When I had Postnatal Depression, the ‘WWW’ was fantastic for me to keep in touch with people who were suffering too. It was a godsend to be honest. I loved it. I now have a lovely network of friends because of that.
I love blogging and looking at other blogs too. As a result of my constant surfing, I have found Yoga, meditation, old friends, support and information when I wanted to Home Educate my oldest son. So you see, I am not all together adverse to geekiness. Not at all.
However, I noticed some things when I need a break from the laptop: I get cranky, my eyes hurt and I don’t notice things which I should. Time passes far too quickly and I feel as though I haven’t achieved anything during the day. Don’t get me wrong, I am not on the laptop constantly but even two hours is too much for me, on a daily basis, anyway. Things become a bit ridiculous when you message your husband to see if he’ll make a cuppa or your son Skype”s you to tell you he needs some money for Sea Cadets.
With all that in mind, I am going on a fast: my laptop and WiFi will be turned off for 24 hours. That might not seem a lot to some people, I know.
I’ll do this instead.
Make some tasty treats, weather permitting, take them in the garden with my boys and enjoy.
Hello Diane, Those treats look really yummy!
I also have similar experiences with spending too much time on the internet. Going away camping this weekend got me away from all the technology and it has made me feel much better
I think that it is a good idea to have 24 hr breaks, I will try to give it a go myself.
xHelen