Going Off The Electronic Grid

Is there a Benefit for Going Off the Electronic Grid?
Going off the electronic grid would mean many different things to different people; we lead a fast paced life. With tablets, smartphones and computers, we can use the Internet to keep in touch with everyone, everywhere and every second of everyday. Using Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook and many other social networks, a person can take a picture and, within seconds, it can be on the Internet for the whole world to see. The Internet seduces us into a world of information that separates us from human contact by alienating us from physical activities and human contact.
It is impossible for us to keep up with everything that is going on in the world at all times. This has created some very unique perspective on why people want to go off the electronic grid, if only for a day. This would include giving up things like Blackberry’s, laptops and cell phones. In today’s society it would be hard to imagine not going on to the Internet or checking email every day. This is a HUGE problem.
Most of us panic if we can’t find our cell phone for more than two minutes. The panic is caused because we are afraid of the amount of information that we might lose or miss. We have become so attached to electronic devices and the instant gratification that they provide
through the information flow that we feel at times that they are physically a part of us. A part of us that is as important as our eyesight or hearing. Could one imagine going off of the grid for a day, or even much longer? Can you imagine missing a best friend’s birthday on Facebook? That can be an incredibly stressful event. If a person has enough of these stressful events, it may cause them to want to go entirely off the electronic grid for even longer than a day. Exploring going AWOL for an even longer period of time would raise some unique questions. One of them being: what situations would make a person want to go off the electronic grid for a longer period of time? For example, there are people who are in the witness protection programs that go off their old electronic grid forever. This allows them to not be found by their former associates that would want to cause them harm. There are still many different levels of going off the electronic grid. The people that go in to the witness protection program are an extreme example.
Another extreme example would be the Amish people. They believe that with all of the electronic conveniences comes temptation. The ability to spend beyond your means or the ability to find information of a devious nature causes them to shun this environment. This is why they have chosen the lifestyle that they lead, without the use of most modern technology.
One other extreme example would be the people who prefer complete solitude. There are many people who are living in primitive conditions in caves in the Grand Canyon who don’t have access to the electronic grid. The do not even have electricity. These Grand Canyon Cavers do this, because it reduces the amount of stress in their lives and simplifies their existence.
According to Amanda Dickson, a more common example of why people should go off the grid would be to give their families a break from the stress that is induced by the electronic world and the constant information barrage that families suffer in that environment. In her article she quotes former Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Coradini as saying, “We need to go off on the weekends. And I am equally guilty. We need to just shut it down and really get rested. I read an article about a woman who wrote about how she and her husband were going to take a day a week and just shut down the stimulus (C6).”
The downside to this is that the ease of making contact we have with our children these days, through the use of cell phones, pagers and texts makes it so possible for us to communicate with our children anytime, anywhere. Because we now have this instant ability to communicate with our children, it is hard to imagine how we got anything done in the past. In looking back it is hard to imagine how were able to coordinate rides home from a child's soccer practice as recently as 10 years ago. Even kids that are 5 years old have their own cell phone these days. If we are going to stop using phones and go off the electronic grid, even for a day, this would be very hard because we are so electronically dependent due to the advancements in electronics. Without electronics our children would not know how communicate with us. Amanda Dixon also quotes another individual that likes the ideas of electronic dependence in a positive manner. Lisa Walker, a certified athletic trainer shared, “I can’t be without my cell phone in my line of work (Pg 2)”. Most people can’t be without a phone or computer (the electronic grid) and effectively do their job. The amount of useful information that phones contain these days can include emails, phone numbers, pictures, calendars, appointments and much more. The thought of losing this useful information causes most of us get that anxious feeling that is similar to what we get when we lose our wallet or an airline ticket while we are standing at the gate to get on an airplane for example. Nowadays, losing a cell phone or laptop is as traumatic to some as losing a limb. It can cause a catatonic state even in the most durable of minds.
In the article it talks about how the advantages of taking time off the grid to have valuable family time. The personal interaction that a family can have from not being absorbed in the electronic world can strengthen individual relationships, create greater understanding between family members and increase individual knowledge about the other person that an electronic message cannot convey: emails are emotionless. They are not able to transmit the feelings behind the words. Emails do not fluctuate in tone the same way verbal communication does. Emails are not able to express the countless emotions that a person can convey with their body language or facial expression. It is said that a person’s eyes are the gateway to their soul: emails have no soul. So much of the human experience is lost due to the electronic grid. Going back to the idea of the family and the electronic environment, there is a down side to allowing children to have access to all of this advanced technology. It is easy for a child to become too involved or absorbed into this electronic world which creates a “non state” of personal interaction, which is outside of the human experience that was discussed in the previous paragraph. This creates a generation of kids with the social skills of a door knob. This makes them ineffective in dealing with the interactions they have with their family and peers. In addition to making kids socially ineffective the electronic grid is also having an impact on their learning ability. How can a teacher compete for a child’s attention when their friends are texting them a joke at the same time? What would you want to listen to, the latest juicy gossip or a monotone lecture? Some kids send and receive over ten thousand texts in one month. Some carriers show the date and time that the texts are sent, and a lot of these texts are made during school hours. Adults have just as many issues with the lack of discipline in the classroom environment. Having a ban or going off the grid during school or during these learning hours would make our children and our adults in these learning situations more productive.
Yet in the business environment there are adults who if they go off the electronic grid could have catastrophic consequences to other humans and their professional career.
They absolutely cannot go off the electronic grid. From this standpoint there are careers that are tied in to having up the most up to date information and instant communication in order to be successful in their job. This includes professionals such as EMT’s, Police Officers, Soldiers, Doctor’s, Sales Representatives and firemen. Then there are those careers that are enhanced by the electronic grid. These professions include news casters, analysts or stock market investors just to name a
few.
In conclusion, to answer the question of “Is there a benefit of going off the electronic grid,” According to this article and common information found on the internet and many other places the answer varies. Many people such as the Amish, Grand Canyon Cavers and witness protection individuals have created a better existence for themselves by decreasing their footprint on the electronic grid. Other individuals can benefit from the stress reducing vacation that is created by a temporary one day AWOL from the electronic grid. Amanda eloquently sums up the pros and cons of going off the grid with this final statement”
“We will go, if only temporarily, off the grid. And I’m quite sure we will live to tell about it when we come back (C6).