Our normally efficient high-speed internet was not working. We had been away from home for two months and counted on this means of communication to stay in touch with family. It was also necessary for keeping up-to-date with other commitments in our lives.
Our apartment in Mexico had a landline so we hadn’t bothered to get a Mexican cell phone. Unfortunately, the landline was connected to the internet. The result was a breakdown in all but face-to-face communication.
Our service was down for over a week, back up for a few days and then down again. No one else in the building had this problem. To say we were frustrated would be a gross understatement.
On the plus side, in the evening my husband and I talked or played cards instead of surfing the internet or watching Netflix. We hadn’t realized how much time was spent online until we were forced offline.
I know checking my email and social media can be addictive and have been working hard at curtailing this habit. It is easy to get caught up in the virtual world, with ‘friends’ I don’t even know. This comes at the expense of those I want close relationships with. There is something drastically wrong with this picture.
Emails and texting are convenient and often necessary. Spending hours online scrolling through Pinterest or Facebook leave me with little to show for my time. In order to create more of what I want in my life, I need to focus on personal interaction.
I find it ironic that it took an online communication breakdown to help prevent a breakdown in personal communication.
Amen!
Once in a while, I need a reminder!
Very good thoughts and decisions dear Tandy. I honor your honesty and putting it out there what we all need. It’s a subtle way of the world squeezing us into its mold. I have just unsubscribed to some very good ministry sites that I just don’t have time or energy to take it all in. I have kept a few like Time with Tandy. 🙂
Pete and I are reading together more, less TV and more playing games. I love it when he reads to me.
Thank you for keeping Time with Tandy. I have had to unsubscribe to several sites recently as well. I discovered while we were away how much comes into my inbox that I don’t read. Instead, I read books and it was wonderful! I wasn’t happy when Brian beat me at every game of Scrabble, though!
This is why we always loved our car rides I have to sort of agree with you but I sure do enjoy my pc and keeping in touch with everyone. Now I am in here I find it fills many long hours and when I play my games I tell my self that is keeping my brain working so I can be as alert as mom Nicholls and I am sure not smart enough to do crosswords and my husband is not around to keep me on my toes
Earleen, your situation is totally different from what I was describing. You use your pc to keep in touch and not to avoid other responsibilities. I have found myself going online when I should be spending time with the people who are in the same room. I don’t want to waste precious moments. That time cannot be regained when those I love are no longer with me.