Took A Break...But Now I Am Back

Although I did post a couple of times over spring break I eventually stopped, I wish I could say it was because I tried to unplug myself, but in all honesty that did not happen. However, I did somewhat unplug from the computer. I still had my phone on me at all times, but I rarely turned my computer on. Although I wish I could say I did this because I have the will power to do this, it is simply not the case. The real reason I stopped going online and updating my blog was because the hotel we were staying at didn't have wireless. It had an ethernet cable to plug our computers into, but it didn't have wireless and therefore I found it way too tiring and annoying to go online. I couldn't just open up my computer and be online, instead I had to walk over take the ethernet cable and plug it into my computer (it's true I have really become the lazy). It's actually sad, but it made me think that maybe part of the reason why we have become so dependent on technology is because it is so simple and always there.

Over break I read a lot of Turkle's book Alone Together and she talks about what the word "vacation" has come to mean. I found this interesting and relevant because I was on a vacation. Turkle talks about how "on vacation, one vacates a place, not a set of responsibilities" (165). The norm and expectations of people is that while on vacation they are really just "working from someplace picturesque" (165). People are able to work because places where people vacation now make it easy for them to access ways for them to work. Turkle explains that, "advertisements for wireless networks routinely feature a handsome man or beautiful woman sitting on a beach...Now they are often implied" (165). That's why it was so interesting that the place I stayed at didn't have wireless and how that impacted my use of the internet. It was harder for me to stay plugged in making my break much more relaxing. But, alas back to school and back to the being constantly plugged.


Works Cited:

Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together. New York: Basic Books, 2011.