Life Without Technology
It’s hard to realize how isolated your life can be, how different you are than the rest of the world, until you experience what it’s like to live on the other side. It’s nearly impossible to deny that we live, breathe and experience cutting edge technology in our every days life.
After spending 12 hours , yes 12 hours as I thought 6 hours wasn't quite enough, in fact it showed me how we are so dependent on technology that 6 hours sounded like a lot away from technology. While spending Thanksgiving with friends I have discovered just how fun it can be to live without relying so much on technology in my daily life. There is a whole world out there, waiting to be explored. There are thousands and thousands of species of trees and plants and animals that don’t use an ounce of electricity. There are even people out there that don’t own a computer and their lives seem to be going great.
I considered life to be a limited small bubble, that we find ourselves entitled to and trapped inside when we keep killing our precious time on technology. Inside the bubble, life is so predictable, so boring, ordinary, planned and stressful. I feel pressured to tweet about what I’m doing at all times. I feel obligated to stay up to date and read Mashable, Engadget, The Apple Blog, 9 to 5 Mac… (the list goes on and on.) I feel like my friendships are defined by Facebook. I feel like knowledge of startups and new gadgets equates to importance in life. I feel pressured to always buy the newest things when they come out. I sometimes mistake the internet for the universe and I can’t possibly imagine life without access to the internet.
When I was getting ready for what I consider a life changing experience, I was thinking about how hard it would probably be for me to survive without an internet connection. At first, I couldn’t believe what I had gotten myself into. But then, I realized that I had to make it through the 12 hours, it’s not like I was going to literally die because I couldn’t read Mashable or update Twitter. So with that attitude I went to on with my life, where I did things like make French fries, keeping this in mind last time I tried cooking rice I ended up nearly burning the house down, ok maybe I exaggerated a bit but you get the point. Went hiking to discover the beautiful nature. I came to realization that I needed the tonic of wildness, at the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, that's because we are trapped what I like to call “the Bubble”. We can never have enough of nature. All of this without an internet connect.
It turned out okay. Actually, it tuned out amazing. I couldn’t believe that I had done it. I am now back at home where I have the internet and technology once again. But now, I don’t find the internet as amazing as I did before. When I first got home I went straight to my room and grabbed my laptop. I thought there would be so much for me to do. After all, 12 days without internet means a whole lot of Facebook notifications and unread articles, Instagram feeds to go through and catchup on. Sure, I was right. A lot had built up while I was gone but I just didn’t care. What I really wanted to do was go outside and have fun in the real world.
So, perhaps the best way to live is in the middle. Technology is something that I am passionate about. There is no use ditching it. I just don’t need to be so addicted. So, next time I experience a power cut or Internet goes down, I don’t have to feel like the world is coming to an end. Maybe it’s just a sign.
By discovering nature, you discover yourself…
