I was recently fortunate enough to travel to the Czech Republic and into Vienna for a whirlwind vacation that lasted for about a week. While I walked the streets and bridges that had had been built in the fourth century, I found myself transported back in time – to an age without technology.
Now of course, the Czech Republic and Vienna are completely connected digitally – but as an American tourist who didn’t want to spend exorbitant amounts on Internet or connection fees, I, myself, became digitally unconnected. The airplane had no WiFi; our hotel in Prague had WiFi, but only in the room we hardly used; and Internet connection in Vienna was only in their hotel lobby.
At first, I was anxious when I couldn’t sign into my e-mail, or couldn’t check in on FourSquare. “I can’t get online,” I’d whine, frustrated that I couldn’t locate myself via Google Maps. We had purchased a SIM card in Prague that worked as a reach-me-in-case-of-emergency phone number on my cell. But each time I tried to send a text, I would receive a text message back in indecipherable Czech (a language seemingly comprising words made of 23 consonants, two vowels, unknown accent marks over their “k’s” and sounding nothing like the Latin-based languages of which I possess rudimentary skill).
Eventually, I found it a bigger pain to try to get my technology to work (and ensuing frustration) than it was worth, and much to my traveling partner’s relief, I started to pack away the phone rather than keep it within hands’ reach so that I could check for nonexistent Internet connection every five minutes.
What happened next? I stopped worrying about my digital self, and started concentrating on the real self and the surrounding world. I learned about and saw the history of bridges, castles, architecture, wars, and dancing Lipizzaner horses. I got lost and then I got found. And I caught myself so much more aware of what was around me, rather than aware of who was checking in around me. I engaged in long conversations with my traveling partner over plates of dumplings instead of engaging in long e-mail threads over glowing computer screens.
And when I came back to San Francisco, after spending just a short interval of my life predominately tech-free (and about 10 
pounds heavier), I felt ready to reconnect and dive back into the world of fast-paced technology communications, where often two seconds that have passed is three seconds too late. I was ready to really talk to people – a renewed commitment to building relationships and understanding needs. I was ready to focus. Taking a break from constantly tracking news, watching sports, reading updates, and checking e-mail gave me some time to step back and clear my mind.
Now, it may seem counterintuitive for someone who is in an industry based on communications and technology to recommend unplugging every once in awhile. But it turns out I’m not alone in sharing the sentiment that sometimes it’s a good thing to log out every once in awhile.
Cori Shearer of PRowl Public Relations at Temple University writes about her experience attending a weekend-long conference sans phone, which had been stolen earlier. While she wasn’t able to check-in, post, tweet, or blog, she noticed she was active doing one thing that PR professionals are required to do (and should do more of): listen.
“Communication is our craft,” she writes in a blog post. “Half of the art involves listening. If we are so busy ‘connecting’ with others via social channels and nose-deep into our phones, how can we fully be listening?”
A blog post from Cicero & Bernay: “It’s not technology I wanted to keep at bay…. It’s a life where I’m always connected, always interrupted, always distracted and always bombarded with information and requests; a life where we have no time to create, or connect with real people.” The writer, who took a couple-months-long break from social media, writes, “I’m relearning how to connect. By severing my social media dependence for a few months, I removed a hurdle in my face-to-face conversations; I realized that being ‘present’ is what matters most.”
Verge writer, Paul Miller announced that he would be leaving the internet for a whole year beginning May 1. “Yeah, I’m serious. I’m not leaving The Verge, and I’m not becoming a hermit, I just won’t use the internet in my personal or work life, and won’t ask anyone to use it for me. By separating myself from the constant connectivity, I can see which aspects are truly valuable, which are distractions for me, and which parts are corrupting my very soul.”
So, even though technology connections are crucial nowadays to any communications plan (those businesses and organizations who don’t seriously integrate social media as a part of any effective marketing and outreach strategy are doing more detriment than good), there is a paradoxical truth that disconnecting can lead to stronger connections – with work, with friends, with family, and most importantly, with yourself.
Jennifer Kincaid can be reached at jkincaid@sterlingpr.com. Follow her on Twitter@jennlkincaid.
Photo credits: Sipsey Street Irregulars; Active Network