Technology Free Time

I am fortunate enough to have grown up in a time where we didn't have a little device in the house and on nearly every person, certainly every adult, that could connect us instantly to almost anything we wanted. Yes it has massive advantages and is really a wonderful invention. There are however a lot of downsides to this technology, and it's increasingly important to be able to break free of this whenever we can, for a semblance of sanity in a lot of ways.

Technology free times while walking have been something I've been making it a point to undertake when I'm out with my son. There certainly isn't always a possibility for this to occur however more frequently I am purposefully leaving my phone in the house and just grabbing the keys when we go out for a walk or a scooter ride. Yeah I would love to bring my phone to take pictures of the things we see when we are out walking however there isn't always something to snap photos of. This also shouldn't be an excuse to have it on me all the time.

It's an interesting thing to experience, having grown up when there were no cellular phones, having used them every single day since I got one, and now specifically choosing not to have one around me. It's quite a journey that's for sure! haha.

There are a lot of damages that are being done, physically and mentally, because of this piece of technology. That doesn't even take into consideration the increasing privacy violations that occur on a daily basis without our knowledge and largely without our TRUE consent. The consent piece is a big one because they hide and obfuscate the nature of these things and what they do behind all kinds of fine print, doublespeak and even many places where it doesn't even let you know they are doing it. Overall not good!

I really enjoy that I am more physically present when I don't have my phone on me, have headphones in listening to a podcast or something while my son is playing or walking. I can certainly use the time to listen to something, lord only knows we don't have enough time during a given day for that stuff but at the same time, a theme lately for me is that I need to make it a point to give him more of my time and attention rather than myself. I'm not always the best about that part but I am making small steps in the right direction, and leaving my phone at home is definitely one of them.

There is always the fear of "what if something happens and I need to call emergency services?!?" well yeah, sure but there are also dozens of houses we walk by, filled with a hundred or more people along the way. If it was truly an issue, I could find someone to help me. Granted it wouldn't be a good thing if I had to wait until we got to a facility to call my wife LOL but this is such an unlikely scenario that it really doesn't warrant the obsession over it. We all dealt with this type of stuff as kids and the vast majority of us are still here living, breathing and otherwise normal and alive.

It actually feels good to leave the tech behind as well so I can reconnect with nature, see the birds around us, hear them chirping, watch the wildlife, see the flowers and people around. I've said hello to so many people and almost all of them have appreciated that I say hi to them instead of having my nose in a phone while my son runs off ahead of me. It's actually really sad that we are in such a state these days where something like as small as being present is a rarity and good thing to see.

What about you, have you tried to leave your phone inside while you are out to get away from the technology?