That best describes our past month largely unplugged.We have a few more days until our regular internet connection is established. Meanwhile we have been using a mobile broadband stick which has allowed us a few minutes each to check mail, look up train/plane schedules, google maps, and to check in with our son in Korea. It has been a mixed blessing.
My Flickr and photography networks are sorely missed. Sorely missed. I have used up a few of my minutes downloading more tutorials to work through offline which greatly inspires and stretches my imagination, hones some skills. On the flipside there were also some deeply embittered bloggers, right where we left them weeks ago, having found new subjects to attack, fixate, and expound upon. I don't miss that. As Jane Eyre says,
“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.”
Much too short.
Coincidentally, during this low-tech period, I came across a recent issue of Newsweek. (link to article) The cover sports a distressed individual with the word "iCrazy" overhead. Having some Luddite tendencies myself, it caught my eye. What I learned though is that while the ill effects of social media have been hypothesized since the get-go, there is now solid clinical evidence that our smart phone world is not making us smarter. In fact, it is shrinking our brains. As in, mri's of heavy internet users mirror those of drug addicts with "fundamentally altered frontal cortex's" "abnormal white matter" and a shrinkage of up to 20% of gray matter. In lay terms – that is the part of your brain that controls memory, senses, speech and emotion.
Emotions, it seems, don't fare well at all with regular internet use. Particularly vulnerable are those who are prone to depression and anxiety. Doctors now find there is a "direct link" between internet use and depression. It is not just technology users who suffer. Do you surf while you nurse your baby? Psychologist Sherry Turkle warns that "a mother made tense by text messages is going to be experienced as tense by the child. " That tension is interpreted by the child as coming from the mother- child relationship. Think about that, new moms. A lot.
This is not strictly just an emotional appeal however. In Tel Aviv they are they have published the first cases of internet related psychosis. They believe internet communication to be capable of causing true psychotic phenomenon. In Asia they have resorted to treating teens with gaming addictions through electric shock therapy. A Stanford doctor found that executives with heavy internet usage failed the official test for multiple personality disorders. This may be more common than you imagine.
"We could create the the most wonderful world for our kids, but it's not going to happen if we're in denial," warns a pharmocology professor from Oxford. It's not going to happen.
I am making this article and the book mentioned, iDisorder, required reading for my teens. I am reading and considering myself. I love beauty. I love being able to step into a virtual art gallery in a few free moments and be refreshed, to walk away with new ideas for photography techniques or compositions, to download notes for the current novel we are reading. But this is serious stuff and I think that surfing may needs be limited to a couple days per week where I can load up my blog and download tutorials.
We need to model for our kids. We are responsible for forming those little brains and it pains me to think we, collectively, are sending a host of children into the world with 'altered' brains, or attempting this great vocation of parenting them with less than full working capacity in our own. So instead of attempting some days off the computer periodically, perhaps scheduling a few days on is wiser.
It is a tool. We probably need it for everything from reserving tickets to paying bills to receiving children's homework assignments, just as we need vehicles and so on. But, since this particular tool has far more addictive qualities than others, just as we don't need to be strapped into our cars all day and night or shackled to our microwaves we do not need to be at the beck and call of our Facebook account or our Twitter feed.
* Much of this information was asserted in Simplicity Parenting years ago where they urge anyone experiencing anxiety or depression in their children or themselves to take concrete steps to simplify, to unplug (tv, cpu, news), to quiet their world. It is a highly recommended read.
Starry Sky Journal 
Beautiful, Kim. And thank you thank you. I feel that it cannot be overemphasized: the internet and all its attendant appendages is a fabulous tool: a tool with addictive and damaging qualities. Should we erradicate it? No! Do we need to be mindful and wary and chaste and circumspect in our usage? Yes!
Yes, yes, and yes. A little while ago I made the commitment to never be online while nursing my baby, and I just mentioned on my blog (yesterday!) that it has made a big difference for me. It also means I’m online drastically less often, which is ALSO making a huge positive impact in my personal, emotional, and family life. I have no doubt that copious amounts of time online wreaks havoc on my emotions, especially on my post-partum emotions.
Thanks for the link. Have a lovely week!
This has been on my mind a lot lately. I am working on weaning myself. I actually have stopped blogging and cut the service to my smart phone. BUT then I realized I still could use my smart phone with WiFi. So, that was not a big help. I turned it off and it is hiding in a drawer in my room, lol.
I have been the “techno-watchdog” in our home for years. I will continue to be. The line between “tool” and “recreation and/or distractive decvice” is so very subtle and blurred. Our kiddos have to earn their time, and it usually averages 30 minutes every 10 days or so. I cannot tell you if their lack of time on the computer creates more desire in them to have it — or if they would crave it more if they had it more frequently. Let’s just say, I’m not willing to find out. ha. 🙂
Kim- I am just rereading Simplicity Parenting. You and I have discussed the time online issue in the past. I can tell you, when I am not connected and only use the internet as a tool (when I actually need it as opposed to when I find myself chasing someone else’s dreams) EVERYTHING runs more smoothly. Add to that the research you site and the example I am setting and I am glad to say that I have drastically reduced my online time. (Now to maintain that reduction.) Of course, staying settled into a homeschool routine is essential for me. I have been able to justify (to myself) lots and lots of lost hours “researching curriculum.”
I am in another simplifying mood. Even the books are getting another go-around. I really see so much value in maintaining a smaller number of really great books. I would rather reread fabulous books to my daughter over and over again than read those really boring picture books that you just cannot wait to finish (and then want to hide). And really, how many reference books does a person need?
As always, I continue to be a work in progress. I am finding the simplifying is great fun (when it is done)!
And I cannot end without saying again how much I LOVE your new home and surroundings. I hope you will continue to provide glimpses as you are able.