Walking down the street, hand in hand, we stopped in the middle of the road to hug and look out over the mountain view. I quietly said to my husband, “It feels like we are more in love here.”
He kissed me on the forehead and said “Honey, it’s because we don’t have our laptops back at the hotel waiting for us.”
I hadn’t even realized it, but it was true! When we left on a 3 day trip to Pai in northern Thailand, we wanted to just go and enjoy it without the burden of our computers and electronics – so we left them all behind. It’s not until you take a step away from it that you realize the importance of unplugging and enjoying what’s around you!
It really made me stop and think.
Are we too immersed in social media and online “work” that we can’t discipline ourselves to set it down and just live in the moment sometimes?
The Importance of Unplugging
Here we were, after almost 7 years of marriage and feeling more in love than we had felt in years! Knowing that we had no work or social media hanging over our heads had us strolling along without a care in the world! It was then I understood that technology hangs a burden on us that we aren’t even aware of. And I know we’re not the only ones! When we are traveling on public transportation, people are so engrossed in their phones. They miss the opportunity to even just say hi to the person next to them!
And in turn, that affects our relationships.
I’ve seen husband and wife sitting on opposite sides of the room never saying hello after a long day of work – on their phones. I’ve seen kids arriving home after being gone a long time and not getting a welcome hello because everyone is on their phone. I’ve seen little children get ignored because their parents are busy tapping away on their phone. The list is endless.
Simply put, technology can easily rob us of our relationships.
Is it worth it? I’ve tried to examine my social media habits and think about what value I actually get out of my “internet surfing.” Usually, it’s nothing. A random cat video, a check on my families latest posts, Pinterest, and just endlessly scrolling on Facebook. I wonder if we all extensively looked into our surfing habits, would we be embarrassed? I honestly think that people don’t realize their online addiction.
The Addiction of the Internet
Last week, we were having dinner with a friend and she got her phone out and started scrolling through her Facebook. We thought she was looking for something specific to show us but then it turned into 5 minutes. Five minutes of us feeling very awkward and getting upset about how rude it was. Finally, we called her out on it and asked her to look at her phone after dinner. She apologized and put it away quickly and our conversation resumed as normal. She was embarressed because she didn’t even realize she was doing it. It was just normal. Why do we have to go through awkward situations like this?
Because social media and internet surfing has become an addiction.
The other day we were discussing the new cigarette boxes, how they have disgusting and repulsive pictures on them to warn people of the danger of smoking. People still buy them! People still have the habit, and people are still addicted. Why? Because they think, “That will never happen to me.” “That’s a worst case senario.” “I’ll never get that bad.” We humans think we are invincible or an exception to the danger.
The sad truth is, it’s very similar with technology, most people are addicted to it and can convince themselves they aren’t. Or, they are just blind to the way it is overtaking their life. We can all relate. We’ve most likely been there ourselves.
During our travels, we’ve seen people go way out of their way and even put themselves in danger just so they can get the perfect selfie for showing off to their Instagram followers. They are so wrapped up in their pictures that they don’t even enjoy their vacation! We’ve gotten to the point where we don’t even grab our camera anymore for every little thing we see. Sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and soak it in!
The key is to take time to just leave it all behind.
Just Go.
Just go somewhere together with your loved ones and don’t bring your phone. Don’t worry about getting a picture, sharing it on social media, or anything to do with technology. Just leave it all behind and enjoy a few days totally and truly unplugged. It will give you a whole new perspective on your relationships and even your own self-reflection. We need to do this often, or the ones we love may be gone by the time we manage to take our eyes off the screen.
After feeling the love and happiness of being alone with my husband on our little getaway, I’ll always value the importance of unplugging – especially while traveling! I love being in love but being in love without the burden of technology hanging over my head is even better! It’s all about finding a balance that works for your day to day life.
Don’t lose out on love with those closest to you! It’s not worth it!
I love this post. Just last night, I mentioned to my husband that I think I spend way too much time scrolling mindlessly on my phone. An unlimited data plan will do that to you. I’ve honestly considered just not even being on my phone anymore in the evenings unless someone actually calls me! Its so easy to waste time without even realizing it. And you get literally nothing out of that time.
Hi Abigail! The phones make it hard when everything we use is on one device! We’ve even stopped using our phones as alarm clocks so we don’t get sucked into the phone thing right away. I’m guilty of using the internet a lot a night too. It feels relaxing but when I finish I usually find myself anxious – wondering what I got out of it! So glad to hear I’m not the only one! Here’s to a more disconnected new year! Cheers!
I am guilty of not unplugging as much as I should. Maybe 2016 will be the year to change that!
Hi Jess! It’s so hard to change a habit once you are used to it! I hope the new year will be more disconnected for me as well! Thanks for stopping by!
We’re doing an internet disconnect next week as well, heading off on a US road trip. Of course we will have our phones, but unless we are on wifi at the hotel we don’t plan to be online for a few days. I’m interested to see how it “feels” to be disconnected.
Sounds like fun Shelly! It’s such a good idea to this every once in a while! Enjoy your trip and time together!