Disconnected: Technology Addiction & The Search for Authenticity in Virtual Life

Bosses: Are you trying to get your employees to stop Facebooking and Twittering, and get back to work? Professors: Are you trying to get your students to understand that there's more to life than social media? This book is one person's attempt to answer an existential question in a lighthearted, fun way: "If I disconnect from my virtual life, will I connect more with my REAL one?" If your life was spinning out of control, would you take the leap and disconnect? Modern technology helps us stay connected to inexhaustible amounts of information and vast networks of personal contacts through the phone, email, text messages, online chat, Twitter, Facebook, iPhones, Droids and other mobile devices. We are busy people who can be interrupted at any time, and we often invite these interruptions to keep us on top of our game at work - and in the know socially! Though the opportunities that these technologies provide are exciting, the complexity of the intertwined real and virtual lives that many of us have fashioned can have a devastating effect, leaving us distracted, irritated, and feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes, it can even contribute to such intense anxiety that a person can exacerbate health problems and end up on the brink of mental collapse. This book describes, day by day, the "rehab" experience of one connectivity addict as she Tweets on paper, disengaging from the trappings of modern connected life - while continuing to live within its environment, constantly reminded of its presence. Along the way, she finds out how to live a more authentic life by integrating lessons from philosophers, psychologists, mystics, technology experts, journalists and friends - and new guidelines for healthy hybrid living. If you have friends, relatives or colleagues who are constantly tethered to their BlackBerry, Droid, or iPhone, and you'd like them to realize in a fun and entertaining way that there MAY be a problem - get this book for them!