Plugged In

Yesterday afternoon, my boss' college team won their conference tournament and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. I grabbed up my cell phone and started sending him a text message. The comment from the other side of the room was "What is it with you and your gadgets? The computer, your music, your cell phone, all your electronics. Could you survive without them?" "Of course!" I answered, with something of an attitude.

And just to prove it, I sat there the rest of the afternoon. I didn't Twitter, didn't tell Facebook what was on my mind, didn't send or receive email. I didn't even play Monopoly on my BlackBerry. I just watched television and started reading a magazine. Even dozed off for a while.

But I'll admit, though it was nice for a while, I missed it. I guess I have turned it something of a junkie. My emails are forwarded to my cell phone so I don't miss anything. I've reconnected with over 100 friends on Facebook so I don't want to miss an update now. I could spend, and have spent, hours with my Wii. I'm in love with my iPod so it stays handy if I need to block out the world. I've previously confessed to my YouTube addiction.

(I'm not as addicted to Twitter. I guess there has to be a silver lining in all of this. I get on there sometimes and see all the updates - waiting on a bus, brushing my teeth, going to bed, yada yada yada - and I do think that I really don't need all that information about folks.)

I am old enough to remember the world - clearly - without all this stuff. I remember the first Radar Range (AKA microwave) that took up half the kitchen counter. Our first "computer" was a Commodore 64 that plugged into a small black and white TV. We had a Pong game, then Atari. I started on the Nintendo craze after I moved into my own apartment. I remember when cell phones were mounted in the cars or carried in a bag the size of a small suitcase. I can still feel how the weigh of the first one I got that could be carried in my purse.

But I also remember spending Saturday mornings at the library and coming home with a stack of books. That stack was supposed to last all week but it often times it didn't. I could curl up in a chair and get lost in those other worlds with the characters. Playing at the pool all summer long in the fresh air and sunshine. Setting up Barbie's dream house and creating the stories for her.

On the plus side, and there is one, I have used all this electronic gadgetry to make and maintain family and friend connections. A few years ago I reached out through email to my five oldest cousins. Three responded and I'm in fairly regular contact with them now. And I'm glad for that. I can see pictures of their children and grandchildren and hear about what I missed not growing up close to them. I think, sometimes, there is something to be said for establishing relationships as a adults, even for people you've known since childhood. The same is true for my Facebook friends. We've been able to have a virtual 25th year class reunion online. And I'm learning so much about these people that I didn't know before. I have a lot in common with many of them and we never knew it. High school, for me, was very structured so if someone was not involved in a group I participated in I didn't have much opportunity to really get to know them. Those boundaries and limitations are down now. Now we are only limited by how much time we can spend online.

So, everything in moderation. I realize that I need to step back a few paces and re-evaluate how much time I spend plugged into the outside world. Make sure it isn't taking precedence over something more important - like having the Magnificient 7 slurp my face or curling up to watch a movie with my better half.

Life can be good, unplugged.