The Personal Declaration of Independence of Technology

I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created unplugged, that they are endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are uninterrupted Dinners shared with Family and Friends, Vacations dedicated to Experiential – not Virtual – Activities, and offline Conversations and Relationships.

That to secure these rights, Technology created for my benefit, and deriving its powers from me, includes a Power Off button.  Whenever any Form of Technology becomes destructive of these ends, it is my Right to switch to vibrate or silence or even unplug.

 

To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world:

  • I have sat across the table from my children/friends absorbed in emails and texts.
  • I have spent less face time than I’d like with my family and friends in order to remain connected to my Facebook, Twitter, 4square… accounts
  • I have brought my smart phone/laptop into the bedroom and traded sleep and intimacy for work and news updates.
  • I passed up an evenings with friends and/or spouse to work from home via technology.
  • I have video-taped events rather than experiencing them in the moment.

 

In every stage of these technological abuse, I have Petitioned myself for Redress in the most humble terms: My repeated Petitions to find balance have been answered only by repeated injury of my own habits.  I must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, and announce that I solemnly publish and declare, that I am, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent of Technology’s stranglehold.

 

And for the support of this Declaration, I pledge the following:

  • I will live in the moment
  • I will meet face to face with my friends and family
  • I will trade in my emoticons for real hugs and kisses
  • I will avoid using technology while driving
  • I will unplug from technology one hour before I go to sleep (and when I am sleeping)
  • I will be Unplugging and Reconnecting™ on July 4th for:

___ 12 Hours – from 12pm – 11:59pm

___ 6 Hours – from 3pm – 9pm

___ 2 Hours – from 12pm – 2pm OR from 5pm – 7pm

  • I resolve that for the remainder of July I will spend 7 hours per week Unplugging and

Reconnecting and build to an average of 2 hours a day by the end of the year.

 

Thus, I do, in my own Name, and by my own Authority, solemnly publish and declare, that I have the Right to be Free and Independent of Technology as I wish, and that all tyrannical and addictive connection between myself and Technology, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a Free and Independent Person, I  have full Power to spend my time Unplugging and Reconnecting with my family, friends, co-workers, and the general public.

Click here to download & print your Personal Declaration

Comments or questions are welcome.

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