Going offline
So this week has been pretty hectic. A lot of things had to be done for my new job, this class, and things around the house. So on Tuesday I decided to take a little time off of social media and took a step back from the computer. I do this often in the summer because I need to recharge my battery so that I can get ready to deal with 120 students for 180 days. There are some great reasons to go offline and other times it can feel overwhelming. So I am going to share with you some of the pros and cons of going offline.
Cons- Going offline can be hard. Most of our lives are on some sort of online platform. If you are not the social media type you still have a lot of communication through online areas. Email is one of those things that can really hurt you if you do not check it or reply quick enough. This is the hardest for me. I communicate with colleagues the most through email. I have to check it everyday or I might miss something important like a training or a meeting. Social media disconnection can be a problem as well. This is how I keep up with a lot of the family. Last summer for example I decided to do a little purge of getting online and the day that I did it one of my great aunts died. I had no idea and had to get the news from my brother who called. This was one of those times I felt so bad I did not know.
Pros- Going offline is one of the best ways to improve communication at home. My wife and I have a rule that we do not get on our phones when we go out for dinner. This really helps us with communication and lets us talk to each other and become more connected. It is also great to get out and enjoy nature. There are so many parks and outdoor activities here in Tallahassee that there is no reason why we should not enjoy those things that God has given us. It can also give you a minute to think. I know that sounds dumb but if you think about it our minds are conditioned now to be stimulated at all times. It is nice to take out that stimulation and just enjoy the quiet.
Hope you guys enjoyed some of the pros and cons of disconnecting. What are the reasons that you guys go offline? List some of them below!
Cons- Going offline can be hard. Most of our lives are on some sort of online platform. If you are not the social media type you still have a lot of communication through online areas. Email is one of those things that can really hurt you if you do not check it or reply quick enough. This is the hardest for me. I communicate with colleagues the most through email. I have to check it everyday or I might miss something important like a training or a meeting. Social media disconnection can be a problem as well. This is how I keep up with a lot of the family. Last summer for example I decided to do a little purge of getting online and the day that I did it one of my great aunts died. I had no idea and had to get the news from my brother who called. This was one of those times I felt so bad I did not know.
Pros- Going offline is one of the best ways to improve communication at home. My wife and I have a rule that we do not get on our phones when we go out for dinner. This really helps us with communication and lets us talk to each other and become more connected. It is also great to get out and enjoy nature. There are so many parks and outdoor activities here in Tallahassee that there is no reason why we should not enjoy those things that God has given us. It can also give you a minute to think. I know that sounds dumb but if you think about it our minds are conditioned now to be stimulated at all times. It is nice to take out that stimulation and just enjoy the quiet.
Hope you guys enjoyed some of the pros and cons of disconnecting. What are the reasons that you guys go offline? List some of them below!
I go offline primarily for the last reason you listed, to allow my mind to rest and process what is in front of me, and what I have experienced. I just began a book called The Self Driven Child by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, which makes the case for greater autonomy for kids. They begin with a digestible discussion of the brain and describe the Default Mode Network, which only activates when "doing nothing." Being on a device interferes with our ability to engage that highly important, but little understood system that according to research uses 60-80% of the brain's energy.
ReplyDeleteGreats points on both sides of the discussion, Chris! I agree that going offline can cost one in terms of important communications with family. I live away from my family and therefore, if I cannot talk to them on Skype/Whatsapp for a day, they get worried. At the same time, you are right about the mind needing some rest. There is so much noise out there online, especially on social media, that you need to take a break every now and then, and relax. I always go out in the nature to take a break from the digital noise. During the semester, do you have students who would email you at 10 pm on Sunday marking them as "URGENT". How do you deal with those? Do you respond to them immediately or wait for Monday morning (thinking from the students' perspective, of course!). Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI feel it is so critical to go offline regularly and to not let the online world (and alerts and updates) rule your actions. I find that I'm refreshed when I come back online, and it's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteVaibhav asks an interesting question about handling student requests and not always being online. I try to be up front in my syllabus and announcements and such that I will not always be online. I won't necessarily see that message at 10 pm Sunday, and if I do I won't feel compelled to reply until Monday morning. I have to wait for replies, too. There have been times when I perhaps waited too long to ask a question or get frustrated by how long it takes to get a reply, but that's just part of how life and communication work. I kind of want to preserve that way of life, rather than set the expectation that responses will always be instantaneous and if they aren't then something is wrong.