I was attending a conference last year, and one of the speakers, when asked by an owner of a deluxe hotel in the middle of the mountains of Mexico if there was any way he could get away with not providing access to the internet, gave this response: “Taking the internet away from people or not providing it is going to give them withdrawal. It’s no different than a hard drug, in terms of its effects on the brain.”
And this guy would know. He works for Google.
It got me thinking. Specifically, it got me thinking about my brain, and what might be happening to it with all the digital noise I blanket it with on a daily basis.
So I took some time off over the holidays. I put away the laptop and ignored it. It was not easy. Especially when I was given a tablet for Christmas. (Speaking of Christmas, stay tuned for my well-reasoned argument on why it’s time to move it to January 25th.) I put away my cell phone, which is always beeping and buzzing and chirping and vibrating and trying to get my attention all the time.
For several days I would hear phantom beeps and feel vibrations on my hip. I would reach for my phone instinctively, even though it wasn’t there.
I was basically falling to pieces.
Someone would ask me a question, and, if I didn’t know the answer, suggest I Google it. I realized how helpless I was without it. I use apps for just about everything: to check if my plane is on time, to call a cab, to check the weather, to read the news, to watch sports, to read books, to wish people I don’t want to talk to Happy Holidays, to open and watch e-cards from major corporations who won’t leave me alone, to find out Jack Klugman died, to learn the Latin word for Christmas Tree, to know where I’m going in the car. Not using technology made me realize all the things I don’t know and all the things I’d forgotten, and all the things I can no longer do. Like sit still or spend hours reading a book or pay attention. To be in the moment.
I found myself antsy and restless, like something vitally important was missing from my life. I went on hikes and tried to calm my mind down.
Finally, after a few days, sort of like when the caffeine wears off, my body and mind relaxed. It felt great! I realized I was on vacation!
I also realized why I love to travel. When I travel I detox naturally. I’m so enthralled by all the novel sights and sounds and smells and languages and people around me that I naturally forget about all my devices and the so-called Real World and enjoy the moment. Travel is all about being in the moment. It forces you outside of yourself without you even realizing it. You don’t need to know who won the ballgame because you’re too busy trying to figure out how to cross the street without getting run over by a donkey. You don’t care about checking Facebook, because you’re too busy trying to figure out how to order food in a strange tongue.
I’m looking forward to more travels in 2013. It’s the perfect detox. And it’s good for your brain.
