I like reminiscing what making Friday night plans were like before cellphones. You had to actually make plans. If you invariably got stuck in traffic one evening and missed a movie, life would go on. But you would still be inclined to go to the theater to meet your date and apologize in person. Nowadays whenever I make plans to hang out with someone it's never for a specific time. It's always just, "Call me on my cell when you get there."

On a related plane of thought, imagine your day without a computer. What would happen to the world if for just 24 hrs. you shutdown your computer? International Shutdown Day asks you to participate in just such an experiment. And while holding it on a Saturday seems a little weak (most bosses would shoot someone during the week if they missed replying to an email) I applaud their efforts from a purely environmental stance. California's powergrid will breathe a heavy sigh of relief once you actually unplug your appliances from the wall.

The comments on Shutdown Days' site are definitely revealing to the state of international computer users. Most people's first responses are "do video games count?" And if asked what they'll do on the day they say "go outside". As if the outdoors are eliminated from your daily activities when you can stay online all day.

In the words of Le Tigre, encourage all your agoraphobic friends to "Get off the Internet!"
If just for one day.

Labels: environmental, politics