Tech Free #Fail

My experiment in tech freedom ended shortly (as expected). To be honest, I didn't have much intention to go without technology the entire day. I couldn't. In the midst of a year's worth of PhD coursework in one summer, as the managing editor of an online publication, and as a father and husband away from his family--going tech free requires too much that I am unwilling to give. I recognize that such reasons may simply be excuses for not giving up something that has come to redefine who I am and how I interact in the world around me. Such an endeavor must begin with a vibrant definition of what technology actually is and from what exactly we must be freed. When I heated up water for my coffee in an electric kettle, did I break my tech fast then? What about the hot water heater that feeds my shower? And God forbid I go without toilet paper for the day--a technology that has remained unchanged for decades. Yes, those are all forms of technology that have become somewhat essential to how we as a species live and breathe and interact with one another. When we speak of going tech free, the assumption is freedom from technological devices--smart phones, computer, tablets, video games--that seem to steal our attention from the here and now, the physical reality of the present. Tech freedom isn't about abstaining from the scourge of technological advancement; it's about embracing a life in the present, a reminder that real friends will always be better than Facebook profiles, that quality time with family is infinitely better than FaceTime. But while I'm sequestered away in western Pennsylvania for the summer, tech is the only semblence of my life back home. So how did my tech free day play out? I woke up at 8:00; I checked Facebook at 8:05; and I FaceTimed my wife and kids at 8:15. I think I did pretty well.