Like many of you, I am invested in technology. I rely on it to make sure my life functions with the promised ease of the 21st century. I take immense pleasure in being able to document my life and look back at it fondly through a touchscreen device. Video calling is no longer classified as a sci-fi element – it’s very real now. (Read: Facetime) This is it! Like, we have totally arrived in terms of pursuing the futuristic a la Total Recall! We just need to make chicks-with-three-boobs-barging-into-the-room a thing and we’re all set.
Sometimes, these grooves of the tech persuasion start to feel tedious and wearing. One morning, you wake up and there are 993 unread posts in your feed reader. You are bummed out by every iPhone announcement of messianic proportions. You find yourself hauling not one, but two laptops across an international airport as you do the full marathon of security checkpoints because the PA system is basically addressing you. Whew.
We need to take a step back and ask ourselves, “… the hell is this tangled web I weaved?”
Mind the items you carry.
Busy, on-the-go people have a tendency to bring Shit They Don’t Need wherever they go. No, you don’t need to hold on to your phone while a masseur breaks down your back knots. That’s just sad. Think of how much more pure your daily experiences will be if you didn’t feel the need to bury your nose in your iPad when you’re riding the bus. You’ll probably have something to write about later in the day.
I’m the kind of person who has a tech version of the “what if” kit and so I usually bring a lot more than I get to use. E-reader: for when I get bored. Camera: for when I meet a celebrity. Film camera: In case my memory card fails. There was a time in my life when I carried three different cameras with me on the daily. Those were darker days and I AM NOT EVEN A PHOTOGRAPHER.
This can be surprisingly inconvenient when traveling. Some of us are natural flashpackers in that it is unacceptable to travel without our tech paraphernalia. Before we know it, half our suitcase is comprised of wires.
My advice? Invest in gadgets that are multi-functional and travel-friendly. If you already have a laptop, it wouldn’t really hurt to put the music player and e-reader aside. It’s okay to leave some behind, they won’t mind.
Whether you’re going out for slam poetry or embarking on a twelve-hour intercontinental journey of a thousand yawns and unnerving turbulence, you need to keep electronics to a minimum. Think about it: The less gadgets you bring, the less chances of chargers you forget to bring.
This is the first of three posts from the mini-series, Your Inner Tech Connoisseur, which lays out some ideas on how to transform our troubled relationship with technology into a seamless, harmonious one. Stay tuned for the next installation: Mind What You Share And How You Share.
Image from Flickr.
[...] relationship with technology into a seamless, harmonious one. Check out the previous installations: Mind The Items You Carry and Mind What You share and How You Share [...]