I admit I’m an addict, a middle-aged social media addict. How do I know? Because of two things I did while on vacation last week with my husband and youngest son.
- It’s our 25th wedding Anniversary and we’re checking into a nice hotel on Pensacola beach, Florida. The first thing I ask before we get our room key is, “What’s your Internet access code?” Then I start thinking, perhaps we can order a bottle of champagne and say cheers in front of our laptops. The good news is my husband is an addict too, but not the BA kind (blogging addict), no he’s an FA (forum addict) the kind where people discuss cameras.
- My husband finds a great restaurant within walking distance from our hotel to celebrate our Anniversary. He’s dressed and ready to go and I say, “Let me just finish commenting on this friend’s blog and then we can go.” Is that sad or what?
Now that I’m back home, with no excuses to not get back in the swing of posting, I discovered this article, “Scrap holidays, bring on the ‘worliday’,” which made me realize that perhaps I should quit criticizing social media, and those who participate in it, and simply accept that, old-fashioned holidays are gone forever, and we now have to call them “worlidays.” Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times, invented this word. Another term is the “workation.”
“Worliday is a bit like holiday and a bit like work. It’s the future for most professional workers – and actually, contrary to what most people would have you believe, worliday is really rather nice.” says Lucy Kellaway.
I think most of us are programmed to believe that vacations are about de-stressing and spending time with family, not checking our FaceBook, Tweets, or whatever else we do. Some experts believe we cannot recharge our batteries unless we “disconnect,” completely from work.
But Kellaway brings up a great point by claiming that we don’t:
” always respond well to a sudden cold-turkey immersion in idleness with the family in a strange place.”
I feel better after reading her article where she points out that prior to Internet days, it would take a good week to “unwind,” and relax and stop worrying about work. Since most Americans take a week or less off, I guess they never have enough time to “unwind.”
Benefits of taking worlidays
- There is no stark transition between work and holiday
- You can get away more often, since you’re still (sort of) working
Obviously this more flexible system may not work for professionals with fixed holidays and hours, however, certain companies like Netflix, allow their employees to go on vacation when they feel like taking one- no-one keeps records.
So are the good old-fashioned board game days of family vacations gone forever?
I think so. When people sunbathe with their i-phones and eat breakfast with their laptops and tablets, perhaps the newspaper is the only thing left of the good old days.
Are you in favor of worlidays or the traditional pre-Internet holiday?
Are you capable of a complete disconnect? If so what is your maximum time to stay away from the Internet?
Love the new word and I agree with the philosophy. I’ve always felt that when I was doing something I loved I didn’t need to completely disconnect from it to unwind.
The fact that I can do what I do wherever I am is a blessing. I do try to take a day or two and not connect to the world, but to stop and check email or facebook takes only moments. It’s not like work at all.
Still wondering why you were in Mobile tho…
b
Barbara,
We went to Mobile, AL to see the USS Alabama and submarine. You know my son just graduated from 9-weeks of Army Basic Training in Fort benning, and we visited the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, in Columbus, GA, as well as the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL. A very stimulating vacation.
Social media and the internet have made it possible to stay connected, work, play and be informed pretty much whenever and wherever I am. Attached maybe, addicted no. Like Barbara said, it takes only moments. Funny, my last post was more or less my justification for time spent online 🙂 Thanks for a thought-provoking post.
winsomebella recently posted..A Wedding Dress, Bad Karma and Friends
I think it takes more than moments to check my e-mails, and catch up. Perhaps I’m slow, but I can easily spend 3 hours a day on vacation, if not more.
Commented on your post too. Thanks for the visit.
I know exactly what you mean! ha
I’ve Become My Mother
I’ve Become My Mother facebook
Kelly Lininger recently posted..If You’re A Mom To A Teen – You May Want To Read This
Kelly,
Thanks for stopping over. Glad you can relate to this post.
I think it’s individual. I was away, needed the disconnection of being away from anything and just enjoy the environment I was in.
I stayed in sporadic touch via brief messages and phone and had no desire to join social media.
Antares,
Good for you. I wish I could be that way too. I guess I’d have to live a life like Tom Hanks in “Castaway” to truly disconnect.
Antares,
I’m happy you enjoyed being away from social media and enjoy your vacation.
I wonder about the attitude behind each individual who “works” on holiday. If work is something the individual HAS to fo, it is definitely work.
But what if someone truly enjoys their “work” so much that it becomes indecipherable from play? It’s obvious that you enjoy reading and writing in your field- as do I. I find professional books as engaging as novels.
The friends who vacationed with me didn’t work because their jobs included late-night conference calls and business cases. They didn’t mind me reading professional books while they swam. We were all relaxing and prone to sudden bursts of laughter.
Janet | Expat Educator and Expat Sisterhood
Janet,
Thanks for pointing that out. Since I enjoy social media, but claim that it’s changed me and my lifestyle, perhaps I need acceptance rather than “punishing” myself for my addiction.
After working quite hard to build a regular readership, to walk away from a blog for even a week could set the whole process back quite substantially. When I go to Hawaii at the end of September for almost 3 weeks you can bet my laptop will be with me. Like you, if I let e-mails stack up for more than half a day, it becomes a real chore to catch up.
Years ago my idea of a perfect summer vacation was to sit on Siesta Key Beach in Florida for 4-5 hours at a time, reading a book, gazing at the Gulf, and napping. Now I can’t imagine doing that for more than 60 minutes without at least checking the phone.
Am I an addict? Maybe. But, I’ve entered an exciting new world that I don’t want to disconnect from.
Bob Lowry recently posted..What Do I Do After Retirement: Start a Business?
Bob,
I think you and I have similar concerns about our blogs and staying connected. I did let Twitter slip, mainly because I haven’t used it sufficiently to connect, plus I haven’t figured out how to do the automatic Tweets, plus I like to read first, and then comment. All very time consuming. My kids make fun of me, as though I’m the teenager addicted to my laptop. I’m curious if this affects time with your family while on vacation. Three weeks in Hawaii sounds like fun, and I know you’re organized and prepared, as far as your posts.
Great picture of you & your husband!
And great post too!
I’ve been away from the internet for as long as a month and I did miss it but also enjoyed my time away.
I’ll be leaving for Nova Scotia in early Sept. and have no intention of being online.
Guess I’m not an addict …LOL!
margie recently posted..SURPRISES
Margie,
It seems like there’s a good mix of people who can still remain “disconnected” during their vacation. I’m envious.
It is not sad, it is just how life looks nowadays:) This means a technical progress
Ola recently posted..Odrobina kultury tym razem/A bit of culture this time:)
Good way of looking at it Ola.
Though my wife has made wonderful use of FaceBook to keep in touch with what is happening in the family, my daughter has her face buried perpetually in the i-Phone… to the extent that the kids (grandkids) have to act up to get her attention.
THIS particular commercial really sums up my feeling about these devices.
Thanks for explaining the situation through the example of your video.
Almost without realizing it, worlidays or such have become common for most of us – unless we trek off into the back of beyond.
On a 10-day trip through southern Mexico, every hotel where we stayed had a “computer room” as we couldn’t connect in our rooms. Guess where I was while others went to the beach?
In some ways, it’s sad that we’re so wired into our FB, blogs, forums, businesses, groups, etc. that we can’t stop even when on holiday. I spent a week making up for a 4-day online absence.
Sometimes, I resent this social media addiction since it is detracting from some other important aspects of my personal life.
Penelope J. recently posted..My Seven Deadly Links
So you feel like I do? Pennie, I hatted myself for sitting in the cold air-conditioned hotel room rather than go out on the beach. Although, sun-damage isn’t too great either.
I guess I’m one of the lucky ones: I work as hard as I play “on vacation,” but the two are seamless for me. I love my work as much as I love the travel, cultural immersion & social media connections it requires. I’m as addicted to FB as you are, Sonia. Without it and the Internet, my laptop is an inefficient box that won’t allow me to interact with colleagues & editors, check facts and work when I’m away. Yes, technology has changed the world, the way we live in it and the way we connect with others. So much so that a few friends of mine who are not online have fallen by the wayside. That’s just the way it is…keep up or get dropped, just like on a BCI ride. I like it this way!
Melissa,
What concerns me is when we’re 80, if we live until then, or perhaps 90. What will exist then, and are we going to continue being Gutsy and learning? Of course we will! HAHA!
Great topic, Sonia!
As you might guess, I am not a fan of the idea of “worlidays.” I think we have become a culture of addicts and that it has negative consequences for the way our brain’s work physically and for our degree of true happiness.
Sure, there are lots of parts of being online that are fun. But if we are unable to detach and let go, that’s a form of attachment that will only bring suffering at one point or the other.
Of course, timing is important. If you’ve just built up a business you don’t necessarily want to drop it all at once. But I haven’t seen any blogs die when their writers went on a month long digital sabbatical. So I think we are all safe!
Thanks for the stimulating topic.
Sandra / Always Well Within recently posted..On The Quiet Theory of Influence
Sandra,
I love the peace you bring to your blog posts and comments. I think my problem is living in Orange County, California, a highly competitive environment and it’s tough to relax. I need my 6 months of living in Belize again. Thanks for reminding me.
Great post Sandra, and thanks for the link.