

‘Pushback’: Resisting the life of constant connectivity - galapago
http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/10/21/pushback-resisting-the-life-of-constant-connectivity/

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qwerta
My Android phone broke down month ago, I am practically offline since than.
Twitter, IM and other stuff was constant source of distraction.

Now I have 'dumb' phone, I only miss GPS and flash light. I still do read
twitter, but only every second day together with RSS and log files. My IM has
constant status 'Do not disturb unless it is on fire'. Only paying customers
have now privilege to interrupt me, we mostly schedule meeting anyway.

60% raise in productivity, I am less tired and I even got time to read a book.

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sliverstorm
_I only miss GPS and flash light_

This is about where I was too. Bought a car GPS which is good enough for me
and has no monthly service fees, and mounted a couple flashlights inside my
car.

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greenyoda
"Pushback" isn't such a great name for this specific phenomenon, since it's
already a general business-jargon term for any kind of opposition to something
that someone is trying to get you to do. As in: "I'm getting pushback from the
customer on delaying the release date."

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martindale
I canceled my mobile contract in March and haven't looked back since. I've
become more familiar with my surroundings, more focused conversations with my
peers, and have overall experienced a better quality of life.

The first few weeks were pretty tough; life without GPS made it an absolutely
requisite to study the route to your destination before departing, and I did
have a constant urge to check a device to see if anyone "needed me" yet. This
feeling became negligible after the first month, to vanishing entirely by
about three months in.

Sometimes, it helps to gain perspective.

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sliverstorm
No cell phone entirely?

 _life without GPS made it an absolutely requisite to study the route to your
destination before departing_

I've found this has helped me learn more about the layout of the towns. When I
follow GPS, I may as well be in a maze with the lights off- I get to my
destination, but I don't know where I am or where anything is.

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MichaelGG
s/pushback/moderation ? People not using technology is not really new, is it?
Perhaps hyper-connectivity is, but people often ditch modern conveniences and
"discover" life or whatever. I've used paper to design every piece of software
I've written in the last few years.

I got my phone stolen a while back and ended up using a simple phone for a few
days. It was amazingly refreshing to not constantly check email or read "news"
when bored. Firing off quick emails all the time isn't any more efficient, and
really detrimental to my mind. Unfortunately, I can't seem to convince other
people to pace themselves.

Get a low-end Android phone and connect it to a separate email account (for
travel documents or whatnot). Maps and Wikipedia will function, but it'll be
generally useless as a time-wasting device.

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dwaltrip
All things require balance. I think we could use a little more 'pushback'.
Online connectivity does not provide the same quality of interaction as real
life connectivity. Although it clearly has its place.

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neur0mancer
Recent but relevant:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8)

