on disconnecting

i've come to a realization, and it's left me little choice but to walk away from my "smart" phone.

the addictiveness of ubiquitous information accessible via a slick interface tucked away in my pocket has, whether i like it or not, crept into, and obscured the world i love.

i enjoy walking down the street taking in the world around me, i enjoy just sitting there watching my daughters play, even if they aren't interested in playing with daddy for the moment.

i'm sure it's not this way for everyone, but at least i can admit it - when you spend your life filling all the formerly empty and quiet moments with check-ins, +1s, comments, and 140 character partial thoughts, you start to speed things up into a frenzied blur of non-stop activity… no quiet moments to reflect… no time to just sit, think, and be washed over by the world around you.

that's a tragedy, for me at least. the allure of new marketing (and don't be confused, the success of almost all of these things centers around marketing) is strong, you feel like it's a great game - letting your friends know where you are and being able to know where they are, finding other places to get a bite when your out of town or exploring your home town, finding out if the capital of Djibouti really is Djibouti (it is).

the pull is immense - and it reminds me of MUDs back in the early to mid 1990s. what's a MUD? for those who don't know, think of a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) but all text based. i lost *far* too many hours while at university because i felt like i needed to play, i wanted to play, and i was potentially letting other users on the system down when i wasn't there to help fight a battle or just troll around. of course, it didn't help that initially the courses weren't challenging enough for me to feel the need to study, but that rapidly changed, and i walked away.

this really isn't much different. consider me the canary in the coal mine for when things get a little toxic for actually living life - i'm not abandoning google+ or plurk for that matter, but i really want is to spend more time with my family, and more time writing. in the end, i won't care about the deals i got at [chain restaurant] for checking in there frequently (and therefore advertising for them), i won't care about making sure people know my immediate thoughts on an event, i won't care about capturing and sharing photos immediately, but i will care about staring into my daughters eyes and letting them know that daddy is here for them, is present in their lives, and that no beep or ping is more important than being in the moment with them.

so yeah, i'm sending back my current android phone after evolving through the path of the original iPhone all the way to the Nexus S. i feel like i'm insulting Nokia a little bit, but the N8 i'm getting is a little rough to use and enough so that i hope i don't turn to it for much more than checking my calendar and mail if i need to. i spent months looking for a phone that would give me 3G connectivity, allow me to tether - the main reason i want the data speed, see work email (i work remotely), and be an old non-touch screen style device. sadly, i couldn't find one, so the N8 is the next closest thing. i'm hoping the clunky old interface will give me a chance to stop if i start unconsciously fiddling with it. i just don't think it all really matters that much to me, and i know my brain will miss that instant gratification, but we all need to work on patience anyway.

i'll keep on reducing it until it goes back to the background. my family and my life comes first, and your advertising and social networking are beyond insignificant in comparison.

take care, and try to keep your eyes open. i hope this finds you well.
.jason