Summer Vacation: Plugged or Un-plugged?

Disclaimer: This article was originally posted in June 2013. When I re-read it recently, I thought it was worth re-posting.  I was also struck but just how much MORE we are all plugged in these days – just four short years later.  Who knows where we will be four years from now – but my hope is that we all retain the ability to unplug and connect with the the people and things around us. At least once in a while.

Have you taken your summer vacation yet? If not, you may find yourself pondering this very question: Should I stay plugged in, or go all-in and un-plug the world? I was having this debate conversation just last night.  Are vacations better if they are completely un-plugged? Is it even possible?  Will my vacation be more beneficial if I don’t check my email, voicemail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and beyond?

What about when I return: Will the re-entry to my “real” life be more difficult if I have a week or two worth of messages waiting for me?

Here’s my take:

Vacations come in all shapes and sizes.  There’s the quick weekend getaway, the family reunion trip, the sightseeing/cultural trip, the boy scout camping trip, the Disney World trip and the long, lazy summer trip.  It might be no big deal to stay plugged in (meaning checking voicemail, email, etc) on short trips like weekend getaways.  In fact, staying plugged in to the “real world” might be the only thing that gets you through kid-focused trips (like to Disney) and can provide excellent excuses for escape on family reunion trips.

Camping trips and long, lazy summer trips are different in my book.  These vacations should most certainly be experienced un-plugged.  These types of trips are meant to be savored and should be a complete change of pace from your normal life. We can’t be expected to truly un-wind, re-group, and relax if we are constantly updating Facebook or responding to customer inquiries.  Sand castles and s’mores are meant to be relished – and who can do that while responding to email?

Social Media 101: Parent Edition

I think parenting has always been a tough job, but these days the blistering-fast changes in technology have made it more (at least intellectually) challenging than ever before.

I often talk about the dilemma like this: When I was growing up there was no such thing as cell phones, the internet or Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat so I can’t call my mom and ask her questions like…

At what age did you let me get a Twitter account?

Did you “friend” my boyfriends on Facebook?

How much time is too much time on YouTube for a 10 year old?

…to help me make good parenting decisions for my own family.

And it’s a huge bummer that I can’t ask her because that’s how so much of parenting is done: remembering how we were parented and/or asking our own parents for advice.  But that doesn’t work anymore because technology changes so rapidly that the parenting rules of just a few years ago now seem antiquated.  Remember when we used to say…

Keep the family computer in a public place like the kitchen so you can monitor your kids’ usage.

…Ugh. That’s so 2004. And totally irrelevant.

It can be hard to keep up with the changes and the apps/sites/outlets that kids are frequenting.  I just saw this sort of funny, sort of serious description of the tops sites and how kids use them.  Take a look:

Technology and Mental Health

I am excited to share the footage of the television program I was a part of earlier this week: Studio 12 What’s New in High Tech.  I had a great time hearing from Denver Post writer Andy Vuong and Google Glass expert Rob Rusher about all the cool new gadgets available.  (Who knew you you could program your sprinkler from your phone?)  I provided some insights into how technology affects our mental health, including our social and emotional well-being.

Host Tamara Banks was smart, warm and delightful – I felt right at home in the studio!

Click on the photo below to watch the segment (caution: it’s a hour long)!

Thanks for having me Colorado Public Television – I hope I get to come back soon!

Video Game Detox

peaceful
There has been a lot in the news about video game and internet addiction.  From the controversy surrounding internet/technology addiction NOT being included in the latest edition of the DSM (for the record, I think it should have been), to the first inpatient treatment program for internet addiction opening in Pennsylvania, to this most recent video showing a boot-camp-style detox program for “internet addicts” in China.

The video is worth watching, it literally brought tears to my eyes watching these young men suffer.

But the real question is, is it necessary? Do we really need detox programs for internet addiction?

China seems to think so…and that makes me wonder if the US isn’t far behind.

What do you think?