I may have been overeating a bit, but I’ve been doing a pretty good job of limiting my diet of electronic media during the holidays. I haven’t tweeted or checked Facebook (or blogged, obviously) since leaving town for my wife’s ancestral home in Indiana on the 23rd. I’ve limited e-mail to once or twice a day, and my news intake has consisted mainly of reading the Indianapolis Star (on paper no less!) and occasionally checking the New York Times homepage, along with maybe one or two blogs.
As with the other times I’ve managed to unplug a bit, I’ve been struck by how conducive it is to more reflective thought and by the triviality of most of the informational clutter that pours into my brain from various online sources on a daily basis. I’ve also gotten a fair bit of real reading done–I’m about halfway through Melville’s Typee and I’ve taken a sizable bite out of Elizabeth Johnson’s Quest for the Living God (the latter was a much-appreciated Christmas gift).
Otherwise I’ve been occupying myself by visiting with family and friends, playing with my daughter, browsing at my favorite local bookstore (Half Price Books ! Woo!), watching a little football, taking long walks, and–did I mention?–eating too much. Not a bad way to spend a few days. And a salutary reminder of what inhabiting the real world–as opposed to the online one–feels like.
A Thinking Reed 