Here’s something to get ready for, and we’ll give you the reasons for participating. As you can see, Friday marks this year’s National Day of Unplugging. The concept is simple: Friday night, disconnect from e-mail, Facebook, Instagram, your iPhone and BlackBerry, et cetera, and enjoy a 24-hour digital detox. And if you can’t make it 24 hours, try for 12 or 18 or as much as you can. Or if you can do a different 24 (say, Saturday night to Sunday night), do that instead. The goal is to remove our faces from the devices that shield us from enjoying real life and interacting with real people – like friends and family. It’s an enhanced opportunity to unwind, unplug, relax, reflect, get outdoors, and connect with loved ones.
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? An article posted in yesterday’s ScienceDaily quotes professor of emergency medicine and trauma physician Dietrich Jehle, who says distracted walking causes more injuries per mile than distracted driving. Tens of thousand of pedestrians are treated in ERs every year, and Jehle estimates in up to 10 percent of them, smart phones are the culprit. An Ohio State University study found that the number of pedestrian ER visits for cell-phone related injuries tripled between 2004 and 2010, even though the number of pedestrians dropped during the same period. Historically, pedestrian accidents have been the bane of three groups: children, the elderly, and the intoxicated. Now, healthy people in the 16 to 25 age group are taking the lead. So many people have walked into light poles in London, reports ScienceDaily, that padded bumpers have been placed on the poles along certain avenues where multiple accidents have occurred.
That’s just crazy. The antidote just might be this weekend’s digital detox. Read more about this topic in the March 7 Augusta Medical Examiner.