Unplugged

Have you ever thought about how connected and plugged in you are to technology? I know I have a minor obsession with instagram and pinterest and my form of relaxation is going through blogs... but I didn't exactly realize the extent of the obsession until my dorm lost Wifi for three hours yesterday. Not only could I not check my go to sites and apps but I couldn't do homework (everything is online these days) and I couldn't let anyone know that I was disconnected from the world because the only way to connect with them is through Wifi. Haha. 

Everyone in the dorm was in a panic and ironically people who I have never seen leave their rooms were walking about because they couldn't be planted in front of the computer if there was no wifi. It was both hilarious and horrifying to see how attached we all were and how adamant we were about plugging back in again. 

After about 10 minutes of panic, I  decided to get back to reading my textbook for class and to be honest I got the work done so much more quickly because I didn't have any distraction. I didn't and couldn't check instagram every five minutes to see what model was walking down the NYFW runway, or the adventures that my friends were on at that exact moment. It occurred to me that sometimes disconnecting (or being forced to) from the social media centered world is necessary and more beneficial at times too. 

I was talking to some of my friends on the program here who are in dorms that don't have wifi or in host families who have a 3G plug that they have to share. I expected every one of them to be freaking out about the lack of connection but so far, all of them have said that they like being able to disconnect when they go home and focus on the people that are actually in front of them instead of the ones that are thousands of miles away. Its certainly something to think about... perhaps disconnecting more often is both necessary and beneficial! Clearly I got my work done much faster that way. 

What are your thoughts on disconnecting from technology for a bit every once in a while? 

Have a great day! xox