by Lori Cunningham
I remember the day I received an email from the SHOUT team asking me if I would be interested in participating in an Unplug & Play weekend. UNPLUG???? Did they mean not using my gadgets while they are charging??? I could do that. No. They meant no tech the whole weekend…seriously? Why did they have to ask me, a tech blogger? I don’t typically write about household cleaning products…unless there’s a tech bent. So why me? Do they realize it would take me nearly 10 minutes to shut off all my gadgets? Well, a slight exaggeration…but only slight.
I had a similar sick-to-my stomach feeling a couple of years ago when AT&T approached me with the idea of “losing the laptop,” not using my laptop for 4 months…and instead use the new Tilt 2 phone with sliding keyboard. I thought they were crazy. But I did it, for the most part. Mind you, using my desktop PC was Kosher. My hard work paid off and won me the $5,000 grand prize, so I’d say it was worth my effort.
To be honest, I don’t know why I said yes…I guess because of the challenge…and to see if I really could “unplug” for an entire weekend. There’s no cash reward prize, no bonus, only the delivery of SHOUT product to help clean up any grass stains from the park during the unplugged weekend.
Now mind you, I’m not the only ultra-plugged person in my family. My kids consider themselves well connected as well. At a recent visit to my brother’s house, the first thing that popped out of my 5 year old son’s mouth was…and I quote…”does this place have WiFi?”
I’m always sharing time on my iPad 2 with my kids. After all, they are running a hotel for pets, a pet store, a zoo, managing 26 Smurfs and their gardening efforts, and taking care of a couple of online dogs. My kids are busy. So you see, if we all unplug, who will feed the pets? How will I break the news to them that they can’t visit their pets for a whole weekend? It’s bad enough I have to deal with my own feelings, but the kids detachment emotions too? Uggghhhhh. And my husband, does this mean no TV? No easy feat.
As it is, the challenge is supposed to be from Friday – Sunday, but I cut it back a day. Tech bloggers shouldn’t be held to the same standards as other subject bloggers when it comes to unplugging tech, don’t you think? (OK, I know I’m going
to get some flack for that!)
When I started to think about how I would unplug, I figured it would be a good time to go outdoors and review the new WiFi helicopter I saw at this year’s Toy Fair that allows you to control it with your iPhone or iPad. But then I thought about it, darn. Even though it’s an outside activity, it still uses technology. OK, hopefully we can try out the new kite in the garage we’ve had for a couple of years.
At dinner, I broke the news to my family. I tried to break it to them lightly by promising fun activities we would do together like flying a kite (admittedly, my kids have never flown a kite…I know, bad me), riding scooters in the park, going on a family hike, etc. My daughter was sold right away. My husband didn’t say a word, just smiled. My 5 year old son broke the male silence by saying, “are you crazy?” He did not want to participate.
OK, I know many of you are thinking, enough already. You’re kidding, right? Well, sort of. I’m pretty… well…connected…hence the name of the blog. Nonetheless, I’m up for the challenge and looking forward to “unconnecting” with my family this weekend. Wish me luck!
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Just say no.
Well said from another tech mom! My daughter is REALLY looking forward to this weekend. I just hope we have enough wind. The cool "3D" kite we bought years ago requires wind at 7mph.