Creating a technology-free zone for yourself

These days there are lots of articles on the www that tell you how important it is to 'log off' and tune into your own personal self and reconnect with the person you are. Oh it is very important. Ironically you end up reading these articles when you are online and you get sucked into reading more and more of such ones till you have been online for much more time than you had allotted for yourself.

I think if we are much more realistic with ourselves, we may actually log off in the real sense rather than if it is some artifical punishment. I feel instead of marching up to everyone and saying that 'Hello, you cannot use the ipad or the laptop right now because we are having a log-off time'; it is important to introspect and see why everyone at home thinks it is important to be logged on always. I am a self-confessed social media addict and I love my phone and checking updates on it. A lot of my work happens online so that's one of my big reasons. But heck, we would always have big reasons, right? And if nothing works, the forcibly-setting-a-log-off-time would be a lovely thing to do.

In our home, we don't get the wi-fi signal in a couple of bedrooms and it was never a conscious decision. It just happened that way. We have a very powerful router but the signal is weak or almost a zero in those bedrooms and that's where I disappear if have any serious work to be done.  I leave my phone in the living room and vanish to the bedroom with my art or craft projects and guess what, I actually get a lot done without any buzzes or beeps from my device to distract me.

Another fabulous thing that works for me is that I don't have a data plan on my phone. When I am out and about, I am totally disconnected unless I can hook on to a wi-fi network. If there's a chance I am going to be out all day on a working weekday (which is very very rare), I do avail of one of those per-day data plans so that I know I am only using it for urgent reasons.

Share your experience with me :)

Online communication!

So, of late I've been facing a little heartache when people have been very inconsiderate in the words they have used during online communication (via online forums/chat/email).

That prompted me to put up this post. Well, those who don't care will not care anyway, whether they read this or not. But at least I get to say what I want.

1. Never say anything online; that you wouldn't say to a person's face. This is so important because in face to face communication there are other factors such as facial expressions / tone of voice that would imply if you were joking / sarcastic. But online, there's nothing except smileys. And many people don't even use it, if they meant no offence.

2. Think before you press the 'send' button or 'comment' button. Even though nowadays you can always edit posts online; you can't recall messages sent to an inbox. And hurtful words once said, cannot be taken back, whether they were said verbally or written.

3. Be nice to people who are nice to you. If you have any personal frustrations, try not to vent it on others who have no connection to it. This is a rule even for offline social interaction. It is crazy when someone would do that online, just because the people you are writing it to are powerless to hurt you back then and there.

4. If you have a problem with someone, take it up privately with them. Refrain from writing indirectly insulting and sarcastic comments that are meant to hurt a particular person or group. Be mature and write to them directly instead of beating around the bush.