The National Day of Unplugging starts tonight at sundown.
On the first Friday in March, this day of disconnecting marks a 24 hour period from sundown to sundown, to unplug, unwind, relax and do things other than using today’s technology, electronics, and social media.
is a term coined In 2010, Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg used the terms Technology Shabbat or Tech Shabbat to describe a day of rest from the use of all technology with screens: smartphones, personal computers, tablets and television. Shlain introduced the concept, modeled on the traditional Jewish Shabbat, after having participated in The National Day of Unplugging. The National Day was an event sponsored by nonprofit think tank Reboot.
The aims and benefits of this unplugging are pretty obvious – an opportunity to reset, more real-world human connections, eye contact, better sleep, possibly more physical movement (from just getting up and moving to going outdoors for a walk) or reading that book you never seem to have time for, visiting a friend, having a long conversation with your mate, spring cleaning…
Can you do it? Can you handle 24 hours disconnected from devices? If you’re reading this before sundown, you have a chance. On their website, you can make a pledge to do it.
Of course, you don’t need a special day to unplug for a day or weekend, or just for a part of a day. It might be a lot harder than you imagined – and that just might scare you.
I’m going to give it a try at sundown. We’ll see how that works out.
Weekends in Paradelle 