Would you disconnect the tech if you could?

[A.Nonymous]

I'm trying to plan my vacation this year and am still debating about where to go. Where ever I end up going, I was considering leaving all the tech behind. No smart phone, no tablet, no laptop, nothing. Get a dumb phone. Put my service on there and go. But then part of me thinks being disconnected for several days would drive me nutty. I don't think I could do it. Could you turn off all the tech for a few days? Would you want to?

 

[Kelmar]

I've done it and it feels great!

I'm taking a vacation next week (postponed because of CES) and plan on being "unreachable" during that time.

 

[novox77]

I've unplugged completely before. Typically overseas vacation where I don't have cell coverage, and I'm too busy with the vacation itinerary to stop at an internet cafe to check mail.

So.... if you brought your smartphone and used it as a reader, would that count as being completely unplugged?

 

[B2L]

I definitely don't think I could, it's way too hard for me to do that. My online life is too important to me.

 

[A.Nonymous]

To me yes. To me, to be disconnected, you'd have to leave the smart phone, tablet, laptop, etc..... at home. Ideally, you'd leave the phone at home as well. If I decide to go to Cooperstown, I might do that as I won't need the phone for any reason other than to post about the awesome stuff I'm seeing. That defeats the purpose of being disconnected though.

 

[Hrethgir]

Last time I went to Vegas, I didn't have a smartphone yet, but I left my laptop at home, only electronics I brought with me were my flip phone and my PSP. It was awesome. Trust me, you get used to not being tied to the internet faily quickly, especially when you're on vacation. I was in vegas, why would I want to camp out on Facebook?! There's blackjack to be played and booze to be drunk!

 

[Roze]

depending on how many pictures I'll take. I'd bring a netbook or something that I can upload the pictures from the camera. I think when I was Asia, I was pretty much 'unplugged' I had my phone but used it mostly as an ebook reader and a game console. My friends and I took over 5000 pictures in two weeks, so...we needed the netbook to upload all of the photos to, lol.

 

[A.Nonymous]

Last time I went to Vegas, I didn't have a smartphone yet, but I left my laptop at home, only electronics I brought with me were my flip phone and my PSP. It was awesome. Trust me, you get used to not being tied to the internet faily quickly, especially when you're on vacation. I was in vegas, why would I want to camp out on Facebook?! There's blackjack to be played and booze to be drunk!

Last time I was in Vegas I was glad I had my smart phone with me. I was down in the MGM/Luxor area and decided I wanted to see the Phantom at the Venetian that night. Rather than hike all the way up the strip, I got on the phone, popped up a browser and ordered a discounted ticket online. Come showtime I just picked it up at the will call window.

 

[El Presidente]

I'd say no at this moment in time, but if I was forced to, I'd probably get used to it after a few days.

 

[mikedt]

I'm trying to plan my vacation this year and am still debating about where to go. Where ever I end up going, I was considering leaving all the tech behind. No smart phone, no tablet, no laptop, nothing. Get a dumb phone. Put my service on there and go. But then part of me thinks being disconnected for several days would drive me nutty. I don't think I could do it. Could you turn off all the tech for a few days? Would you want to?

If you're visiting a foreign country as a tourist, I think having just a dumb phone may be too limiting and cut-off, e.g. who are you going to call? Unless you know anyone in that country, international calls can be extremely expensive using a mobile phone. Before the internet and mobile phones were everywhere, that's pretty much all we had, just payphones, post and out-of-date newspapers, e.g. sending "Wish you were here." postcards.

I've already done it many times, just by living and travelling in rural China. I can quite happily live disconnected from the interwebs for extended periods with just a phone, a laptop for work and entertainment, and a short-wave radio for listening to the BBC and VOA in the mornings. Been connected makes it nice to be able to read forums and blogs, do email and IM, download movies and music, but it's not essential for me.

TBH I think cloud computing sucks. Don't think much of online storage either, now that Apple is pulling the plug on MobileMe, with no good alternative for online photo backups available in China.

 

[Snedd]

No. I spent some time working abroad last year and had my smartphone nicked. It was insured but I couldn't claim until I was back in the UK. I really missed being able to browse the BBC news and stay in touch with my emails in coffee shops and restaurants.

 

[Member243850]

I can easily answer this question.

Here in SA our power goes out for hours on end because our country is crazy and doesn't care about anything or anyone.

Yesterday we were out of power for about 5 hours about maybe 4 times this week and this happens A CRAP LOAD of the time so yes I can go without tech for a quite a while I guess.

And also I can go without a hot shower too because the geyser shuts down from no power and I can also go without cooked food because of no power... no hot coffee too...

Also no TV because of no power.

But right now we have power luckily.

So yes I can go without electronics for a while... not by choice though.

If I had the choice I would be on electronics 24 / 7 like a crack addict though so maybe it is good that we go without juice for a while everynow and then?

http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/south-africa-facing-electricity-crisis-for-next-two-years/6678/

 

[mikedt]

No. I spent some time working abroad last year and had my smartphone nicked. It was insured but I couldn't claim until I was back in the UK. I really missed being able to browse the BBC news and stay in touch with my emails in coffee shops and restaurants.

That's why I bought a cheap short-wave radio, can listen to BBC World Service on it, NO internet required.

I can easily answer this question.

Here in SA our power goes out for hours on end because our country is crazy and doesn't care about anything or anyone.

Yesterday we were out of power for about 5 hours about maybe 4 times this week and this happens A CRAP LOAD of the time so yes I can go without tech for a quite a while I guess.

And also I can go without a hot shower too because the geyser shuts down from no power and I can also go without cooked food because of no power... no hot coffee too...

Stinky Slinky mind me asking, have you got any possible alternative sources of energy, like gas, oil or solid-fuel? The power goes off here sometimes, although not as often as yours. But I've made sure I can still get a hot shower and cook my food OK.

If I had the choice I would be on electronics 24 / 7 like a crack addict though so maybe it is good that we go without juice for a while everynow and then?

I often have to teach without fancy Powerpoints, laptops, screens and projectors...using just a blackboard and chalk.

 

[NYCHitman1]

I'm trying to plan my vacation this year and am still debating about where to go. Where ever I end up going, I was considering leaving all the tech behind. No smart phone, no tablet, no laptop, nothing. Get a dumb phone. Put my service on there and go. But then part of me thinks being disconnected for several days would drive me nutty. I don't think I could do it. Could you turn off all the tech for a few days? Would you want to?

Having a kid and all, I kind of have to carry my phone on me at all times for emergency purposes, but when I went on vacation to Mexico last year, I had no other tech with me and I really didn't care. It won't be as big of a deal as you may think once you are gone.

 

[zuben el genub]

I can - but I would worry about all the animals. Built-in petsitter moved and had to hire one.
Also being slightly insomniac, reading a book on a tablet doesn't disturb the other person in the room.

 

[Flaviu]

I did it a couple of times and it's not that bad without tech if you have something else to do,. But if i'm bored as hell then i wouldn't live without tech for more than one day.

 

[jraskell]

Two of my yearly vacations are wilderness retreats where we are completely disconnected from civilization. Days away from any sort if cell phone service. I always look forward to those getaways.

On the other hand, I always look forward to my other vacations as well.

 

[dan330]

i totally understand .. why you would want to get disconnected.. and I do on vacation.

but i always take my Laptop and smartphone with me. they are off or in airplane mode. several times... the smartphone has saved my bacon!!! safety first!

 

[Vinsanity93]

It gives you a lot of free time thats for sure lol. I enjoyed the 3 week break I had from technology.

 

[330D]

To me yes. To me, to be disconnected, you'd have to leave the smart phone, tablet, laptop, etc..... at home. Ideally, you'd leave the phone at home as well. If I decide to go to Cooperstown, I might do that as I won't need the phone for any reason other than to post about the awesome stuff I'm seeing. That defeats the purpose of being disconnected though.

Dude, I live in upstate ny. You will be lucky to have cell service in Cooperstown... Lol

Seriously, though, I went on vacation to Panama last January and brought only my iPod touch to connect to wifi when I had the off chance... It was nice being mostly off the grid so to speak. I used a pay phone to call home a couple times...

 

[Snedd]

That's why I bought a cheap short-wave radio, can listen to BBC World Service on it, NO internet required...

I often have to teach without fancy Powerpoints, laptops, screens and projectors...using just a blackboard and chalk.

Old tech - reliable, cheap and easy (or easier) to replace!

 

[SUroot]

I could for the right holiday but I really would like my smart phone for emergencies. It's all very well wanting not to be reliant on tech but I think purposely not preparing for an emergency as much as you know you could is just a bit.... silly

 

[A.Nonymous]

If you're visiting a foreign country as a tourist, I think having just a dumb phone may be too limiting and cut-off, e.g. who are you going to call? Unless you know anyone in that country, international calls can be extremely expensive using a mobile phone. Before the internet and mobile phones were everywhere, that's pretty much all we had, just payphones, post and out-of-date newspapers, e.g. sending "Wish you were here." postcards.

I've already done it many times, just by living and travelling in rural China. I can quite happily live disconnected from the interwebs for extended periods with just a phone, a laptop for work and entertainment, and a short-wave radio for listening to the BBC and VOA in the mornings. Been connected makes it nice to be able to read forums and blogs, do email and IM, download movies and music, but it's not essential for me.

TBH I think cloud computing sucks. Don't think much of online storage either, now that Apple is pulling the plug on MobileMe, with no good alternative for online photo backups available in China.

I can easily answer this question.

Here in SA our power goes out for hours on end because our country is crazy and doesn't care about anything or anyone.

Yesterday we were out of power for about 5 hours about maybe 4 times this week and this happens A CRAP LOAD of the time so yes I can go without tech for a quite a while I guess.

And also I can go without a hot shower too because the geyser shuts down from no power and I can also go without cooked food because of no power... no hot coffee too...

Also no TV because of no power.

But right now we have power luckily.

So yes I can go without electronics for a while... not by choice though.

If I had the choice I would be on electronics 24 / 7 like a crack addict though so maybe it is good that we go without juice for a while everynow and then?

South Africa facing electricity crisis for next two years

Both of these posts make me think of how spoiled we are here in the States. In most parts of the US you can count on at least a reliable cell signal (unless you're with ATT) and with VZW at least you can get data just about everywhere you can get a cell signal. Wifi is prevalent and you can get it in any McDonald's pretty much and there's one on every street corner. You take for granted that, if you wish, you can always be connected. You can buy a laptop with a built in 3G modem (might even have 4G these days) and have pretty fast and pretty reliable Internet pretty much anywhere you go where there's any civilization. Get off the woods some place and you'll get no coverage from anyone. That's about it. Anywhere you find more than a few hundred people living in one place you can usually get reliable cell coverage (unless you're with ATT) and fairly reliable data (at least edge speeds in most cases if not 3G).

Same way with power. Unless you're in a rural area, you never have power outages. Power may go out once a year where I am (urban setting) and it's only 2-3 hours at tops and we consider that a bad outage. If there is a very, very severe winter storm, power might go out for a day or two. That is considered catastrophic. We are spoiled here.

Dude, I live in upstate ny. You will be lucky to have cell service in Cooperstown... Lol

How can I go to baseball mecca and not tweet about it??? That's insanity. Babe Ruth would not have stood for such a thing.

 

[330D]

Well it was a joke... But it's a tiny town in the middle of no where. My mother used to work at the hospital there. I remember when there wasn't cell service there.

 

[Hrethgir]

I could for the right holiday but I really would like my smart phone for emergencies. It's all very well wanting not to be reliant on tech but I think purposely not preparing for an emergency as much as you know you could is just a bit.... silly

You don't need a smartphone to be prepared for an emergency, a plain old flip phone will work too. Angry Birds and iMDB won't be much help!