The Internet Effect

I just discovered WIRED Science and the most current article just happened to be Digital Overload is Frying our Brains. I just blogged about how my brain slowed down when I didn't have wireless at home and I've blogged about my "Adult Onset ADHD". I call it the Internet Effect and apparently I may be on to something. The whole concept scares me and I'm not sure what to do about it. Perhaps I need to concentrate on NOT multitasking. How do you do that? Maybe I need to cut back on my screen time.

I think I need to ask advice from my friend Ginny. She's an extremely talented artist and amazing person who values connecting with people and the creative process. We've had many conversations about technology's affect on society, both good and bad. She believes that every person has creativity, they just need to find it. She'll slow me down and get my creative juices flowing in no time.

Technology Woes

We've been without wireless for almost 2 months. I've tried to fix it with 9 other routers. No joke, 9! In the beginning not having wifi really bugged me, but then I got used to it. Without the lure of the Internet, I have more free time. I barely got online during the Chinese New Year vacation, but I cooked with Brenna a lot. It was really nice to just enjoy time with my daughter and the rest of the family. On the other hand, I missed all the birthday wishes sent to my friend Paul on Facebook and then totally forgot to go to his birthday party. Not good. Of course, had I written the party on the calendar in my kitchen, I would have remembered. I shouldn't need wifi to ensure that I attend parties!

I even watched movies. I made it through about 4 movies, which is unprecedented for me. Some of them were even really bad movies, but I stayed awake and focused. Not having wifi seems to slow down my brain to a less frenetic pace. I could focus on a movie without having to multi-task. The "Internet Effect" seems to be reversible for me. I like that!

I still don't have wifi up and running and I kind of know how to solve the problem. Shhh. Don't tell my family! I'm dragging my feet because I enjoy not having the computer compete for my time and attention. But maybe now that I've seen how else I can spend my time, I'll resist the computer. We'll see.