Time to disconnect

We live in a technology driven world and it has forever changed the way we perceive life.

I remember growing up with just a television, family, friends and the outdoors. I don’t want to turn this into one of those posts. You know the ones: back in my day... but I do want to just take a moment and appreciate the time period in which I grew up. Moment over.

My kids will never know what it means to wait for anything in life. Technology has made it possible for many of our needs to be instantly or close to instantly met.

We are all so wired to technology that we have all developed overly active brains. I hear so many people complain about being tired or having the need for coffee multiple times in a day. I, myself suffer from an overly active brain. I blame a lot of it on my PTSD and unending brain creativity but some of it has to deal with my interactions with technology.

Over the past year or so, I noticed that my children played less with their toys. It wasn’t that they didn’t want them (trust me, I tried to donate what was unused), it was that they were so, dare I say, addicted to their tablets.

This summer, I made it my mission to minimize their use of technology. I. took. away. their. tablets! They were very upset but after a week of asking if they could have their computers back, they did the most unusual thing. They played with their toys!

I wanted my children to increase their creativity through imaginative play and by taking away their tablets, they went back to having moments like I had from my childhood. It also gave us opportunities to be together and actually have engaging conversations.

Technology is great! I am an IT professional so my career depends on technological advances. But some times, it is great to unplug and disconnect from our electronic devices.

Today, after you read this post of course, I hope that you turn off your devices and look around at everything you have been missing. Take a walk; be with nature; be with family and friends; be with yourself.

I wonder what being unplugged will inspire from you!