Where’s the OFF switch?

This post has not been written from the bathroom – but it’s probable that there’s a previous Facebook status update of mine that has been.

With the news that by 2016 at least 90 per cent of Australians will be using the internet – not to mention the six per cent who will be Facebooking from the bathroom – we’re more connected to each other and the online world than ever before.

Telecommunications companies sell themselves to us on the promise that they will enable us to be more connected, more contactable and, in reality, always ‘on’.

But at what point do we switch ‘off’?

Having lived in rural WA, there were patches (but only patches) where I couldn’t pick up a Telstra signal (the only choice of provider in Cue, the speck of a town I called home).

Going on holidays to these middle-of-nowhere towns used to mean a proper holiday: no internet connection. Not so much now. Mobile reception is even offered by some airlines for passengers’ convenience during their flight.

The final straw for me came recently when I was instructing a Les Mills BodyBalance class at the gym. I had invited a friend (who also works in advertising/marketing) to come along, after she admitted that she never had the patience to stretch properly after a workout. Every BodyBalance class finishes with a meditation – otherwise known as a rare opportunity to doing absolutely nothing – where participants relax in shavasana. As I began to bring the class back into a fully conscious state at the end of the meditation, I noticed my friend already putting on her shoes and checking her phone… It wasn’t until after I’d left the gym did I work out that, during the meditation, she’d checked both of us into the gym on Facebook!

Amusing as this may be, it’s concerning how many people now whip their phones out as soon as they sit down for a coffee with a friend. It seems FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is still very prevalent, particularly in the twenty and thirty-somethings of today.

So how can we switch off and more to the point, why should we? It would be great if it was as simple as pushing a button – hang on, wait, it can be!

Sleep. Nothing is as valuable as quality sleep (as many new mothers will tell you). And there’s nothing like getting a text message from a friend who’s in a different time zone at 4am to disrupt that precious sleep. My phone sleeps next to me, on the bedside table, and sleep it does (thank you Airplane mode!) until it wakes us both up with its’ weekday 6.30am alarm.

Young children have little problem disconnecting from their ever-changing world. Primary school teachers will be well familiarised with the game ‘Sleeping Lions’ – turning nap time into a game, brilliant! Even still, it is surprising the see the increasing number of children who find it very difficult to lie still and listen to music. When I was a child, my Year Two teacher did regular meditation with our class – she remains ingrained in my memory as one of the best teachers I ever had.

So next time you’re out with friends try leaving the phone in your handbag (not on the table), exercise without using it as your iPod (who knows who will make conversation with you beside the cardio machines), remove the ‘Push’ notifications from your email, Facebook and Twitter, turn your phone to Airplane mode at night. Disconnection can be a wonderful thing – two decades ago it used to be known as peacefulness, not panic.

And please, please, please do not use your mobile while you’re supposed to be meditating.