Here's How We Roll: 1979 Saturdays

That's right.  1979.  That's what I'm talking about.

(Photo courtesy howstuffworks.com)

Of late, I've posted about my burgeoning love-affair with technology and the social network.  My iphone crush.  My happiness making connections for Beans via Facebook (and coming soon, Twitter).

I am starting to get "those looks" from my family.  The very same looks I've shot at them over the past couple of years, when they were spending more time on their screens than with those of us who were actually with them.  

And now they're even making snide remarks.  The kind of snide remarks I used to make to them.

Uh-oh.

Time to, as the song says, check myself before I wreck myself.  

Luckily, there's a fabulous leader regarding what to do here:  William Powers . . . a man who loves technology, but who also realizes it's necessary to take a break from it so that our brains can unplug, slow down, mull things over, and be creative in a different way.  In his terrific book, "Hamlet's Blackberry," Powers chronicles humans' adaptation to technological changes, and he offers a great way both to embrace technology, and to give it time to sink in:  taking a regular "sabbath" away from technology.

So here's my deal.  Every Saturday, I'm rolling it back to 1979.  No smart/cell/whatever phones. The only way you can reach me is on my good old-fashioned land line.   (You, of course, are free to use whatever technology you want.)

(Photo courtesy dustygizmos.com.)

What if there's an emergency and I'm not near my landline?  You know what?  Somehow, some way, way way way back then, we survived even emergencies without the use of mobile phones.  So I'm thinking it's probably going to be okay.  

And no computer screens.  No laptops, no desktops, no computer turned on all day or night on Saturdays.   

In short, the only screens I'll be looking at are in movie theaters.  Or maybe on TV.  But without the remote.

(Photo courtesy tvhistory.tv.)

I'll let you know how it goes.  And if you've got frustrations, suggestions, ideas about how to corral your technological time, please post a comment and let us know!