Blackberry, Iphone, Ipad, Computer, cellphone, smart phone, text, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, SMS, social media. Is there any point in your day when you are not connected? We have been spending the last few years learning how to connect through our tech gadgets and social media.
Now we have to teach ourselves to disconnect!
Our need to connect has made us more disconnected
I was walking down the street the other day, and was passed by, oh , I don’t know , 50 people, 70 people. 80% of those people had their heads down and were looking at their smart phones. ! 10% were wearing earbuds for music, and only 10% were walking with someone and talking. What happened. Our desire to connect through social media has actually resulted in a disconnect.
Smart phones are not really that smart
Smart phones, phones that do everything for you, are taking us from the physical world and putting us into another world. This is not really that bad, as connection with people who are not with us is important. But smart phones are making a lot of us unsmart. We are spending too much time on our super duper smart phones and not enough time in our surroundings. This is going so far that some people are tripping, crashing and bumping into other people and things while we text, post and watch our oh so smart phones.
Smart phones are only as smart as the user, and texting while walking, or posting while sitting on the beach, is not so smart.
March is disconnect month so that we can re-connect
Facial expressions are now understood better through symbols 
or shortforms, LOL, OMG, ROTL, than through our actual facial expressions. WTF?
The official day for disconnecting or unplugging is March 23rd, the 3rd National celebration for disconnecting so we can re-connect.
By disconnecting you will do the following:
1. Save electricity
2. Do new activities
3. Take a look around, as you can not look at a screen
4. Do all those things that you thought you did not have time for
5. Breathe and notice your breathe, a great way to reconnect
Make a plan for Disconnect Day March 24, 2012
Let people know that you are going to disconnect. Turn off your devices and put a message explaining what you are doing. Your message could inspire many and get them thinking. Plan what you want to do for the day, spend the day at home, take a walk, take a vacation, go for lunch, try something new.
Hours are spent on our super duper smart phones, more hours than I think we realize. It is ironic considering the whole idea behind a super smart phone was to save time, not take away time…hmmmm
Tulum is the city of disconnect to get that reconnect effect #unplug
If you need wifi, internet, electrical and devices, you can have this while in Tulum. But lets share a customer comment that was shared a few weeks ago. His backpack ended up in our guest storage unit for the night. Long story short, he did not have his smart phone for 12 hours. When he came back to retrieve it, he commented that this was the first morning he was not woken up by his smart phone, and did not reach for his smart phone first thing in the morning. He woke up naturally, had breakfast, went for a swim and then came looking for his smart phone. ‘Nough said, his smile said it all. And the smart phone was looked at once a day after that while he was in Tulum. He reconnected with his kids and had a true vacation.
Digital vacation is the best vacation #unplug
On March 23, 2012, have a digital vacation. No matter where you are, what you do, disconnect. We are disconnecting on March 23 and will send you the photos to prove it. What do you plan to do for your disconnect day March 23! remember to let your twitter followers know you are unplugging using the hashtag #unplug!
If you can not participate on March 23, 2012, pick your #unplug day and disconnect to reconnect!
