My First Internet Sabbath

Saturday I partook in my first ever online Sabbath. I went offline. For a whole day.

It is much harder than it seems. For me at least, one of the first things I do in the morning is check my e-mail. When I have 1o or 15 minute breaks my default is to go online and do some Twittering. The last thing I do at night is check sportsillustrated.com for scores and big news – I cant even wait to see it in the paper.

I almost didn’t know what to do with myself on Saturday. I woke and just kind of froze. I went and got some coffee, I read for a while, cleaned my room, did some of my RA obligations. I was incredibly productive. It was so freeing.

It’s almost like the online world has me on a leash, and I need to go back to it every so often to check in. This is part of the downfall of living in an instant culture. We want everything immediately. The most popular person is often the one who has “inside knowledge” about something, or is up on the latest trend.

What if the most popular person was the one who loved and served the most? Weird concept, huh?

I do not want to be on a leash. I’m going to try out this internet sabbath thing for a while.

Maybe you should too.

Think about it.

P.S. I got the idea from Anne Jackson, who has a great post about boundaries and technology.