Time Magazine Columnist Joel Stein unplugged for 24 hours last weekend as part of the Sabbath Manifesto “Unplug Challenge” and — got lost because he had turned off his GPS, missed his wife’s friends at a party because he had gotten lost and couldn’t text to let them know and drove really fast to fill in the void of the radio — but he still found the notion of being unplugged addicting.
“Right before sundown on Friday, I used my printer more than I had the rest of the time I’ve owned it. I printed directions, calendars, phone numbers and notes for the book I’m writing, in case I needed to work on it. I clearly have lost all understanding of how long 24 hours is. And of the fact that I would never write anything longer than my name with a pen. A few minutes later, our babysitter showed up, and Cassandra and I headed off to dinner. We were 11 minutes into our experiment when, sitting in traffic, Cassandra suggested we call the restaurant to tell them we’d be late. Then she started singing Lady Gaga songs a cappella. Then she came up with a Twitter joke she wanted me to memorize so she could send it out the next day. Still, it was nice to talk, or sit quietly with the option of talking, without the other person typing. Or listening to Lady Gaga.
“When Sunday night arrived, I dreaded turning my computer back on. I knew it meant I’d have to do work or respond to e-mails from friends and family, i.e., more work. And while the main lesson I took away from my two days is that technology is a gift from God and should never be turned off — one simple text would have kept Cassandra’s friends at the party, which would have led to more drinking and Liberace-level candle lighting — I did learn that I’d rather hang out with my wife and son than find out every time someone retweets me. I don’t want to feel the need to respond to everything as soon as I can.”
That said, he’s back on the grid.
Read the entire column here.