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Will you power off?Mar 22, 2012 (The Press Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Linda Ross often needles her college students about the amount of time they spend online or tethered to gadgets such as cellphones or tablets. But Ross, 55, said she recently realized how much time she spends on her own computer. "It's a habit," said the English instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College. Ross is planning to break that addiction, at least temporarily, during the National Day of Unplugging, which begins Friday at sundown and lasts 24 hours. The third annual event, which is rooted in the religious tradition of the Sabbath, or day of rest, encourages people to disconnect from technology and instead spend time in the non-virtual world. "It's a sanctioned day of rest, a brief respite from the technological tsunami," said Yoav Schlesinger, executive director of Reboot, a New York-based Jewish think tank that is behind the event. Yoav is the son of Rabbi George Schlesinger, who formerly led Santa Rosa's Congregation Beth Ami. The elder Schlesinger forgoes technology for 24 hours every week in observance of the Jewish Shabbat. His son said he'd have a hard time doing the same, primarily because technology has created the expectation that people should be available at all times. "If you send a text message and you don't get a response in a few minutes or hours, you begin to wonder what happened," he said. The National Day of Unplugging is an effort to hit the pause button on the endless cycle of status updates, texts, tweets and messages. Organizers don't state which devices people should specifically avoid, only that they commit to a "tech detox" for the allotted time. "My own personal prescription is nothing with a screen, which allows me to use an old-school landline, but not my cellphone," Yoav Schlesinger said. "I imagine that would work differently for someone else. Our general advice is put away the devices that most distract you from connecting with the real world." He said the Bible urges people to forgo the use of tools on the Sabbath, which in the modern context, he said can mean the tools of technology. But he stressed that the unplugging event is not intended for members of any particular faith. "So many of these principles are universal," he said. Accompanying this year's event -- which has the theme of "Unplug and Eat Together" -- are 10 suggested activities designed to reconnect people to their more natural surroundings. Among them: "get outside," "light candles," "eat bread." Ross, who has been an instructor at the junior college since 1991, said she won't be participating in another suggested activity -- "drink wine" -- since as a practicing Methodist she gave up wine for Lent. Aside from religion, Ross sees a philosophical basis for unplugging, in particular, Henry David Thoreau's warning that "life is frittered away by details." Ross is not a chronic user of technology. She and her husband, general contractor Michael Yates, disconnected their cable TV years ago and they only occasionally watch DVDs on their computer. Ross said she has a cheap cellphone that she uses only for emergencies. Nevertheless, she estimates that she spends about two hours every day on her home computer, checking email, getting updates on the San Francisco Giants or shopping on sites such as Amazon.com. She said forgoing all that for 24 hours won't be "hideous. But it's going to be a challenge." She said the couple are planning to go to a fabric store in San Francisco on Saturday to help ward off the desire to log on. Linda Kelly, Sonoma's city manager, said this week from her office inside City Hall that she supports the concept of unplugging every now and then as an antidote to the modern world. "I would welcome it. I have so many books at home sitting on my shelf," she said. But forgoing that technology for any length of time would create a different problem for Kelly, who as the city's top administrator is expected to be available at all times in the event of an emergency. "When you come back, there's hundreds of emails waiting for you. You spend a couple of days playing catch-up," she said. Underscoring her point, an audible "bing" signaling the arrival of new email messages interrupted Kelly several times as she spoke. "Just keeping up the pace is challenging," she said. Ken Silk said he'd have no problem unplugging because he practically swears off technology already -- an irony given that the Sebastopol man is a testing engineer for a major Sonoma County tech company. Silk said technologies such as cellphones are unreliable and have also led to a culture of narcissism. "People tweet about what they had for lunch," he said. "It's absurd." But others extol the virtues of such technologies. And they see no need to give them up, even for a day. "I can't remember the last time I didn't have a cellphone. It's like an extension of my arm," said Ross Johnson, who lives in Healdsburg and works for Chase Bank in Cloverdale. Johnson, 22, has an arsenal of devices at his disposal, including an iPhone, iPad and iPod. He said they'll be powered up as usual when the sun goes down on Friday. "They make me feel more connected to people," he said. You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or [email protected]. ___ (c)2012 The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Visit The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) at www.pressdemocrat.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |