William Deresiewicz, “End of Solitude” article made me reminisce about how different things used to be growing up in the 80’s and 90’s. I can remember the wireless and internet free days when after school I could find my friends in one of three meeting places; the baseball field (where best of seven series were often played in one day), the sandbox (I used to win everyone’s marbles and sell it back to them for their lunch money, so they wouldn’t have to take a beating from their parents for losing a $3 pack of jumbos) and the community center (for playing indoor hockey, but it was also the negotiation grounds for trading baseball, hockey and basketball cards). Wow, how I wish I had a mouthful of bigleague chew as I type this. On Saturday's, after I got my fix of the morning cartoons I would hop on my BMX, gather the troops and venture through the city for miles on end exploring new places. For a kid in the 80's (who's only distraction was a 16 bit Nintendo that used to always overheat causing the screen to turn an excruciating black and blue when I was on the verge of rescuing the princess ) weekend excursions were the norm. Most communities felt safe and neighborhoods had “block parents” where you could knock on the door to use a phone, get help, or in my case grab a sandwich when I was hungry. Today that world seems like a distant Eutopia. Technology has isolated us from our neighbors, so how can we possibly trust them?
I decided to start my blackout Friday night knowing that it was a slow sports weekend and I was going to be cruising the Bahamas with my family the next day. Saturday morning, I woke early to pack and be on my way cellphone and ipod free. I was in such a rush I had no time to think about my morning ritual of watching ESPN and catching up with the Olympics. Once we were on the cruise ship it was relaxing being able to spend quality time talking with the fam without nodding my head down to send a text message about my current activity or creep facebook. The cruise itself was rough due to strong winds, so my cousins and I decided that getting drunk and hitting up the Casino would calm us down...and it definitley did the trick. We had a great time just joking around and enjoying each others company. The only piece of technology I couldn't escape was the camera. My family was like the paparrazi getting us to smile for pictures whenever they could.
At no time did being without technology or news make me feel anxious, bored or even wanting to have it. On the contrary, it made me feel free and reflective. At one point I was sitting alone staring out at the ocean and it reminded me of my minor league baseball days; when I would often spend 8 hours a day on the diamond focused and in "the zone"free of meaningless outside distractions and thoughtless news. Damn, I need more of that focused tranquility in my life. Now a days the only time I get in "the zone" is when I'm at gym the for a couple hours 4-5 days a week (even then I have my ipod knocking Phoenix or Kid Cudi)
After a full day without access to information or technology I began to realize that being in the know 24hrs a day isn't as important as I thought it would be. For day two of the blackout I decided to head down to the Coconut Grove Art fair with my mom who had been visiting me from Canada for the week. I wasn't sure what the weather was going to be like so I stepped on my balcony and realized that a long sleeve shirt would be best suited for this occasion. The art fair was cool and I got to meet and talk to some interesting artist like Michael Delgado. I love his latest artwork as it's full of colors and unique characters. It immediately caught my eye and I hope to be able to buy one of his paintings by the end of the year.
Overall, I enjoyed the blackout experience. Although there were times where I wanted to check my favorite websites out it made me realize how important spending time away from the t.v. and computer really is. We'll never get the good ol' days back, but I'm still in control of the technology and news mediums I have access to and can "choose" to turn it off and disregard it whenever I want.
I think you are right, here. We are in control of the media and how often we encounter it! I wonder if people can be addicted to media? Sometimes I have to put my computer down and say "No more!" It's so easy to be connected all the time! I am old enough to remember not being connected all the time and can't imagine how I'd get along today without the internet. How would I discover movie times? Or shop? Or how did people find places before the internet?
ReplyDeleteI remember how--we used maps!