Oct. 2: One Million Unplugging Hours

Pledge to Disconnect on Sunday Oct. 2nd!

Imagine finishing that bestseller you started in June . . . or finally teaching your child to ride a bicycle. How about trying out that new recipe . . . or going for a walk with a friend? Just think of the things you could do with even one extra hour!

Unplug & Reconnect is asking people to pledge part of their day, all day, just a few hours, or even just one hour, on Sunday, Oct. 2, unplugged from technology so that they reconnect with the people and events that are important to them. The goal is to raise 1,000,000 Unplugging hours on that one day.

Registering your hours is easy. Visit our registration page and complete our simple registration form. While you’re at it, ask your family and friends to join you as you unplug from technology.

Unplug and Reconnect has partnered with Ohr Naava, a Brooklyn based Jewish women’s organization and the originator of the ‘Day To Disconnect’ campaign, to create awareness of our current state of digital overload and to find a balance between our technology-laden, multi tasking selves and our creative, emotional and spiritual needs, to benefit from one while sustaining the other.

If you need further inspiration, check out the video below. Produced by Ohr Naava, it holds universal appeal to anyone who has found themselves trapped by technology.

Disconnecting From Social Media in a Few Easy Steps

September 9, 2011 U&R Comments off

The two most popular social networking sites Facebook (750 million users) and Twitter (200 million users) offer you ways to deactivate, hide, or downgrade your accounts. Facebook offers a few ways to distance yourself from it, become less dependent. You can start by turning off the notifications to your email, deleting the application from your smartphone, or even go as far as deactivating your account. Deactivating your account just means that you’re “turning off” until you’re ready to use it again.

Here are five easy steps on how to deactivate your Facebook account.

Click Account on the top left of your page.
Go to Account Settings.
Select the Security tab
On the bottom of the page you’ll find the button to deactivate your account. Click it.

5. Scroll to the bottom of the next page and click confirm.

Don’t be fooled! Facebook will try to lure you into staying with a notice saying “Are you sure your want to deactivate your account?,” accompanied by pictures of loved ones, to convince you to stay active on Facebook. You should probably give your loved ones a call and see them in person instead!

The process to deactivate your Twitter account is similar to Facebook’s. Start by turning off notifications and weaning yourself gradually. If that doesn’t work, deactivate your account.

Four Simple steps to deactivate your Twitter account.

Click on your name in the top right corner
Click Settings
Scroll to the bottom of the page where there is a “Deactivate My Account” button and select it.
On the next page, confirm that you want to deactivate

Social networking is an amazing way to stay in touch with friends and family, close and long distance. The problem arises when it is used as the only means of communicating with people. Allowing social networking sites to monopolize your communication methods is a slippery slope, as it can easily become your default form of communication, to the total exclusion of face-to-face interaction. Don’t let yourself get too attached!