My digital detox {ash of wit citing behing a smal patch of tres, backlit sun, Crouching down net to Ate, cur tweny-one-month-o1b parnerWilland {watched the unmistakable shape of a bam Ul lsoppeared ito the wood. Te look on Aly’ face wos tof bret moment of magic th Kind of memory that we ve fr ay, my next thought would have been to pul out my phone, ot Or video and send a meszage. Connecting is something ‘We were camping ata rural site called walt il in England, which offers vistors the option of leaving al ther nic devices in the safekeeping ofthe ove or the duration of hil ork that explores reactions to new technologies throughout hilt andthe lessons we should have learnt from ther. Blessed ‘Module 4 Information ¥ = By breaking away from my connected if, however, came to apprelata just hw much it had nemeated my way of being. So-called ‘sary contr. the heavy technology uses who throw themselves at every new devce and serio, wil ai W an unconizaable impulse lo check et ea accounts socal networking sites. Researchers have caled this ‘variable interval reinforcement schedule’, Suoh people haven effect been craw into digtl- message addiction because ihe most excing rewards are unpredictable A sui he vers of Califo conc that sch orsant rmultl-asking gradual erodes short-term memory. also dscoverod that interruptions t any task equiegconcenvaton ae a masse problem, os itakes us uch nero get ack ino them than its fo dea ih he ineruption isa. a Incite wors, what was once exter nd faraway snow easly aooessle ats cats a sanso of bigaten ody. He ses th eoirg that wo oui he reaching out, obe avaiable to te reached out 0 edt he se afmaton hate irtmet, and al hat oes wht proves us wth F777 (One practic! euggsetion for axample is o use paper ae a more eficent way of organising our thoughts. The theory of embodied interaction’ asserts that physical objects fre our minds to think because our hands and fingers can do ‘much ofthe wrk, unlike screens where our brains are constant in demand, responsibly for ox cig obsession — magnetic 25 am. any Sen tat can fed my adicon. Nonetheless, fy cbjctans of min oe spc vi are uaaly sity deontos jan explanaton of the importance of dealing wth whatever ts ugh reer seams anyting tat cou wala an hou. youve, we ad hie ulatanton wal aot Thre Sa noment when he was dsaced by a buzing sensation and aly reached for is phone, boo reafsng it was a bee ‘A Athome, those concems about my digtal addiction ara most acute ‘when | catch my san ooking at me whim checking a screen's ‘enforcing ham much more important the screen i han him, asim tenchng him that obeying these mactiness what he neds todo B Intrth, ha wasn’ ale in such lapses Witt cu hand-held devions, nether of us had much idea what the time wes. Then, | reached for time nen | wongereasoout ora shopping facies ana weer is normal to sae a bam ov during the dy. And the magical moment hen Arty was being read is bedi story in roto an open fire, ye a yard eu to my on a es. C For those of us compelled to check emal evry few minstes, that finding account for those days which seem to ss So icy with Solitie gating done. And thsi prt of a wider trend, he more ie connect, the more ou thoughts lean outwar Powers wites. “There's a preoccupation wth whats going on “out there” inthe busting oer, rather than “in hee" with youre and those right around you. D Like me, ho isa true baler in the valve and potential of dtl ‘echnolagis. He condudes, haweve, that we need to find the Asciplineto restore cont by reintroducing a litle isconnecteness. G4 ] ‘As we left Swallowral Hil, we seemed to have achieved that. The real work was just stating, owever, tying to ut his and other ideas nto regular practic in an attempt to balance work and home life, Powers also talks about “vanishing fami trick, where a seemingly sociable family gradually issoWves ‘aay to Soreens in diferent comers ofthe house, I's clearly a situation to be ‘dad, Our digital detox had been something ofa wake-up cal. And guess what? When the owner handed back our phones, we idh't have a missed call ‘or message between us. Nore radical stil isthe dea of baning the internat at weckonds on the grounds that being aay rom ona regular bass allows us to «gasp stl end value moe fl, Hopeful tas rings about Ashita slower, ss ess way fining, where you can just be none place, doing oe part thing, and enjoy ‘The meaningful and the mundane have thus merged into one, all ‘ury ana naoatyrecarced ~ my enoyment spt between tat technological impulse andthe more decate human need to bein the moment. This is how we ve these days 6G What ci strike me though was the change in Wil’ behaviour I iy worst habits incessant messaging, hiss allowing his phone to take precedence over everything ese. Country walks, cnnet, bathing our son ~no moment is safe from the seemingly resistibe ‘inging, wbratog, nagging pone that demands ~ and wins ~ is attention wen he shoud be enjoying the moment wth us. 'H Whats mar, th hut thy develop as they stuggle to kooo up wth ‘he paco ofl that incaning information has produced a reste, _araious way of engaging with the wold Daoprae for efcincy, bis seeps ino people's physical ves. Perhags that's why | fee! competed to tidy while onthe phone, ool he wasting while brushing my toot and no single job has my unde atterton