I don't own a cell phone. (Anymore.) No, this isn't confession time OR complaining time... I'm actually okay with this little fact of my life. I don't have a blackberry or iPhone or even an iPod (again, anymore). (FYI: I gave the iPod back to my husband because it was annoying me.)
I was on Twitter for a while, but gave that up when I saw what a time suck it was. Fact is, I had better things to do than read the seemingly minute-by-minute updates of interesting people, some of whom I knew and some I didn't. I mean, do I really need to know what goes on in Ashton Kutcher's day? (I said need, not want. Big difference.)
Several years ago while I lived near L.A. I started paying attention to and counting how many people talked on their cell phones while driving. (This was before it was illegal--the talking on cell phones, not the counting of those people.) I noticed about 4 out of 5 drivers were on cell phones--interestingly enough, many of them in the "retired age" category... not just young punks. I often found myself texting and having some close "calls" while driving. (See how I did that?) :D
But it's addictive, this being plugged in to the network of communication with lots of other actual humans. Convenient, handy, even necessary... I thought.
In the end, I gave some of this stuff up and tried to focus more on my real life (RL).
I had some deep withdrawal issues when I went tech-free. Well, okay, so I gave up my cell phone and reverted to dial-up internet access, which, let's face it: is virtually stone-age technology now.
And now? I have my laptop. That's pretty much it. (But I'm back to high-speed cable access; after all I don't hate myself that much...) I check my blog and my favorite reads, my crackbook page (mostly scrabble because I'm a nerd and I like it), my email, and every now and then fool around with my photos--photoshop elements, flickr and picnik. That actually sounds like a lot. And I think it is. Without any of the extras, I find that I have more than enough to occupy my time on cyberspace.
Thing is, there's a trend that I've noticed around. It's been growing for quite some time... not a new thing, just a different facet of it that I haven't paid much attention to until the past year. Parents of little kids texting. All. The. Time.
I take Evan to the playground, hoping not only for some interesting exercise and fun time for my boy, but also to meet neighbourhood people and make some connections. You know, RL connections. Disturbingly, many parents bring their kids, let 'em run and play, and immediately become immersed in the world of mobile interfacing (whatever the hell they're doing: emailing, texting, checking messages and facebook/twitter updates... what have you). Every now and then there's a glance at the kids. When the parent/caregiver is done with whatever cybershit they're doing, they call the kids and it's time to go.
I honestly was just observing this behavior (I don't have any problem with cell phones and people connecting online, because hey, I do it too... and I hate being called a hypocrite, so I have to be okay with it)... not making many judgements... when I happened to come upon this article: The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In. And it honestly made me sit up and yell at the computer, "Yes! That IS happening! Wow!" because I'm just a really intense dork like that.
But it also made me think: yeah, it can be a problem. Evan already doesn't like it when I check my email once occasionally all day long. And that's just email. And of course I have to play a round of scrabble all the time because that's where I get most of my self-esteem from. (Yes, I rock on scrabble. Have I NOT been saying what a nerd/dork/geek I am? Oh. Well, I am.)
And I realize, I need to take even more time offline. Maybe in bigger chunks. Personally I think I feel better about things and myself and my relationship with my son when I spend quality time interacting and playing with him, not just being in the same room while I crush other people's dreams of being scrabble champions. (Just saying.)
It's important for him. It's important for me.
I like my time to unwind and goof off online. And I'm thankful I have that... when the boy's asleep. But daylight hours will, even more so, belong to us. Me and him. Playing and talking and being. It'll be hard at times. I'll fall off the wagon. But I'm making it more of a focus in my life.
For now.
I have a cell phone, an old fashioned cell phone that only has a phone. I want some kind of smart phone so bad - not because I need to be connected every minute of the day, but because I have to carry around 20 lbs of notebooks and calendars with me to keep track of appts and track symptoms etc. I just learned that the iPhone even has an app called myChemo that tracks all your chemo drugs and symptoms and then you can transfer the info to your computer and print out a report to give your doctor. Oh. my. goodness. What a help that would be! Oh, well. It's not in the cards for now. Of course my situation is a little different from that of someone who *just has* to comment on Justin Bieber's (whoever he is) new shoes while they're negotiating a three point turn on a busy road.
ReplyDeleteSo many people are on those blackberries at the park. My husband included. Drives me nuts.
ReplyDeleteI have a regular old cell phone, just enough to be easily reached by my kids when I'm not home, no special apps and no twitter. I think I waste enough time staring at the computer, I don't want to do it when I'm out. I've let facebook go dormant, only checking that once in a while and maybe play a game or two. (Remind me not to play scrabble!) Still... I've been trying to reschedule my computer time so I get more real stuff done. Guess I should get off and clean something... oh the joy of real life!
ReplyDeleteAmen, sister! We won't ever regret missing a few facebook status updates of people we don't even interact with in real life... but I don't want to regret not spending more time with my kiddos while they're little. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteI never text, facebook, play online games or post blogs on the weekends. I think if I stick to these "limits" it will keep my life in balance. ANd I try to keep my online work to the early morning before my crew wakes up! (Not always so easy, though).
ReplyDeleteSuch a good point about parents texting too much around little kids and setting certain examples. I'm amazed by it really. We got rid of our phones too for much of the same reasoning as you. Champ's family gave us a "family plan" phone because they said it came free- hmmmm. Anyway, we call it our "emergency phone" and on ly use it while traveling or for emergencies. i honestly haven't missed the thing. I find it's hard enough trying to balancing my cyber time, adding in anything else would drive me over the edge!
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