buzzbishop
on - last edited on by
JS
This week i’ve seen updates from Paris, Egypt, the UK and Vegas in my facebook and twitter streams. The updates are not from locals, they’re from friends on vacaction using Foursqaure to check-in at the canals Venice, Twitpic to post camel rides in Giza and Facebook for poolside pictures in Las Vegas.
First things first, I’m wondering what kind of roaming data plan my friends have to be able to afford those tweets, then my next thought is - why? Unplugging is good, you should try it.
Personally, I relish vacations across the border. There’s no way I’m going to pay $50 for 5MB of roaming data, so the phone stays off. The trip becomes a digital detox - until I find free Wifi. But for most of the trip, anyway, I put the phone down, I keep the computer turned off and I engage with my family and appreciate my vacation.
However, the trend to sharing (and over-sharing), even when we’re on vacation, is not going to slow down anytime soon. A new survey shows we’re smartphone obsessed, checking it up to 34 times a day.
Once the brain becomes accustomed to this positive feedback, reaching out for the phone becomes an automatic action you don't even think about consciously, Frank says. Instead, the urge to check lives in the striatum, a part of the brain that governs habitual actions.
Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neurologist at UCSF, sees another cost: Whenever you take a break from what you're doing to unnecessarily check your e-mail, studies show, it's hard to go back to your original task.
[source]
That includes vacation. Check that phone once and you'll want to check it again. And then again. And the cycle will be started.
What will you do when you whip that phone out for the 3rd time in 9 minutes and DON’T see a message? You’ll try to seed the cloud by sending one to your friends - even from vacation, just to try and get a ‘like’ for the next time you check in 2 minutes.
Then there's the whole burglary angle. Yes, some bad guys will monitor your social media sites to find out where you are and when you'll be back. Check in on Facebook at the pool bar in Montego Bay and it's fair to say they'e got a few hours to go through your stuff without you coming home.
It’s true, we’re addicted. Become aware of it and try to moderate your behaviour, at least when you’re on vacation.
It's okay to unplug. We'll still be here when you get back and ask "what did I miss?"
Chances are you won't miss a thing.
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