When planning this Sabbatical, I initially proposed that we go somewhere remote and take a tech break—no TV, computers, or pods/games. That idea proved to be unrealistic, what with work, communication, and building this website. But we DID live unplugged most of the time. It was easy, worthwhile, and offered many benefits, including these 11…
- For a short while—all of 69 days—our eyes rarely stared blankly at screens and instead we went outside, made things, and looked around with wonder at nature, new faces, and each other.
- The kids played together MUCH more instead of withdrawing into their own digitalia—and watched only about one hour of TV per week.
- The fact our cellphones didn’t work in the majority of islands we visited turned out to be a blessing. An initial sense of discomfort quickly shifted into a profound sense of freedom–and a realization of what unnecessary, intrusive beasts they can be.
- The inept internet reception (despite false promises from proprietors) at most BreakAway abodes helped force, or rather invigorate, a web-rehab Sabbatical and the opportunity to Be Here Now instead of Blog Here Now.
- When I asked them a question, my family looked at me and said, “Huh?” instead of staring at a screen and giving no reply at all.
- Wasted precious little precious time searching for lost digitalia.
- Rarely had to worry about dead batteries or missing chargers.
- OMG! Sometimes ROMBFAOTFLOL wasn’t inspired by a screen message!
- No news is good news. Saw virtually no US TV, web, radio, or newspaper updates. If downturn-worry is contagious and malignant, it was easier to avoid that dis-ease.
- Family DVD movie night, all three of them, were special and memorable events. (Recommended: “August Rush,” “Island in the Sun,” and “Wall E.”)
- In one place, the TV was broken. Nobody complained. In another the TV had a pink picture with bad sound; we enjoyed a great Superbowl game (and Bruce!) anyway.
