And so it begins....

Back in December, I bought a smart phone—an android. Prior to that, I had a cell phone for about a year. No bells and whistles but I could send texts.  Up until that point, I was part of the ever-shrinking minority of telecommunication "hold-outs", one of those neanderthals with no cell phone whatsoever.

The smart phone changed my life, in many ways for the better. But in many (more?) for the worse.  I had internet power at my finger tips, and was able to retrieve all manner of information in mere seconds.  But was I tuning out of life by tuning into technology?

Everywhere I go people are plugged in. On their phones. On Facebook. Twitter. You Tube, and a multitude of different web sites and applications.  We as a society seem to always want to be somewhere other than where we are by escaping into a digital playground.  I have spent many a red light sending texts.  Stood in a line at the grocery store playing a turn of scrabble against my friend on Vancouver Island. I have been on the web while my parents were talking at a family function. I am, for all intents and purposes, constantly plugged in.

On top of that, I drive everywhere. I buy most of my food at a supermarket and have never been so far from civilization as to risk succumbing to the elements. Because of technology my life is extremely comfortable. But at what cost?  I, like most, am reliant on the current infrastructure that props up most of North American society.

I have come to the realization that my mindspace is cluttered. This shouldn't be surprising since I'm of a generation that grew up in front of a TV. I'm not blaming my mother. It was what we, my brother and I, WANTED.  But in doing so, I have accumulated so much mental garbage. So much useless information and clutter. The result: pop culture eruptions surfacing spontaneously in my mind. Things I haven't seen or thought of in years emerge unexpectedly. Commercials from the eighties or quotes from Simpson's characters. Sometimes the references cross-pollinate, coming out as weird hybrid impressions, like Terminator meets Napoleon Dynamite (Gruff Austrian/American drawl bellowing: "it's a freakin' 12-gauge, what do you think?!"), among other things. 

It's cluttered in there, and now it seems that the information coming at us in these modern times is even more pervasive and insidious. I mean, I get ads on my phone. My phone! An intimate object of communication I use to engage with friends and family dozens, if not hundreds, of times in a day. 

Using this technology has become an addictive habit. Yes, it has its benefits, saving me from using a map via my GPS, or helping me win (or lose, as the case may be) arguments (like how many Stanley cups the New York Islanders won in the 1980's...according to Wiki, it's five) and allowing me to check my yoga studio's schedule on the fly. But more often than not I'm slavishly using it to disassociate from the present by playing games or looking up information that really has no significant bearing on my life.

We might think that this constant stream of data and marketing has no effect on us, but the subconscious mind is collecting data constantly, meaning that we are under a constant barrage of info stimulation.  

I want my mind back.  

And so, I'm unplugging from the digital world for one month.  I want to see how my perceptions change and how I change when I remove some technology from my life. Hence, this here blog, and my own personal Techno Fast.

There will be no more Facebook or Netflix. There will be no TV or PVR or smartphone. There will be no car. 

Ipod :gone.  Xbox: adios.  Spell check: sayanara. Laptop: disconnected.

I want to reconnect to something I hypothesize we have lost over the years—a connection to natural rhythms of nature, and each other in so many ways. I want to read more and digest my mental food without being told how I should do so.

My body will get some exercise too.  I plan on biking rain or shine and will only be in a car as a passenger.

I will only do 4 loads of laundry the entire month.

I will have access to a phone with basic features and will check my voice mail twice a day only.

I will not use my personal computer but will need to use one at work to perform basic POS transactions.

I will not watch anything on a screen, no movies, or prerecorded videos or TV. 
Live performances are allowed.

As the term technology is broad (considering that fire could be called a technology), I am for the most part primarily interested in abstaining form media-based digital technology, and other technologies that in my opinion are limiting the full expression of who I am and want to become.

From this point onward this blog will be handwritten and a digital photo will be taken of my writings for the purpose (appearance?) of authenticity. To spare me from techno-temptation, my lovely girlfriend Shannon will be assisting me in taking care of the technical/administrative side of this blog. She may also be co-authoring, as well as adding her own personal observations, while she watches her crazy boyfriend live a hobo-like existence for the next 30 days.

I am in no way advocating that everyone should do this. It's just something I'm doing to challenge myself, and break out of habitual behaviour.  I don't think we can change and grow without shaking things up every once in a while.

Thanks for checking out my latest experiment,

With much love and trepidation,

Your Pal, Robin.

Pre-Techno-Fast.
So immersed in gadgetry,
I didn't even know this photo had been taken.