Category: Disconnecting
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My Social Media Resolutions for 2018
I have always been interested in ideas around digital distractions and finding ways to limit our addictions to technology (it is a constant challenge for me). With the start of the new year, I thought I’d lay out some of my social media resolution for 2018: Going on a Diet: Throughout 2017, I tried to…
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Disconnecting in a Connected World
I recently had the chance to speak at a luncheon hosted by the Intercultural Dialogue Institute about an issue close to my heart: the need to disconnect from technology for part of my week. A recording of the speech is now on Youtube: Organizers also had some kinds words for my speech, which they posted on…
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Talking about unplugging on CBC Radio
This week, I spoke about my 16/6 challenge on several weekend morning programs on CBC radio. In cased you miss it, here I am discussing my efforts with Karen Gordon on Fresh Air on CBC Radio One in Toronto. I also spoke with Giacomo Panico on CBC Ottawa’s In Town and Out.
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Counting down eight hours of nightly rest
Part of my challenge in living my 16/6 lifestyle is making sure I don’t spend more than 16 hours a day with my gadgets. Lately, I’ve begun using a countdown timer on my phone to block off an 8-hour period where I agree to put it down, charge it up, and avoid using it. I…
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My 16/6 Lifestyle Challenge
This summer, I am conducting what I call my 16/6 Lifestyle challenge. We all know what it means to live a 24/7 lifestyle. That’s where we’re always on, always connected to the internet, and never very far from our electronic devices. It is where for twenty-four hours a day, seven-days-a-week, we are just a couple…
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Boxee: You had me, then you lost me
I was excited initially when I learned that Boxee, one of the myriad of companies that make smart-boxes that attach to your television set, was coming out with a new device that would incorporate an Over-The-Air (OTA) digital television receiver and a DVR. The company’s new Boxee TV promised to let you not only get free HDTV…
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Book launch for Nora Young’s “The Virtual Self”
I will be helping my CBC colleague Nora Young with the launch of her first book “The Virtual Self” tonight. If you are in Toronto, please stop by the Dora Keogh Pub on the Danforth starting at 6:30. Nora and I will host a chat about the book, and then she’ll be signing copies (while…
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I survived National Day of Unplugging (and I can’t wait to do it again)
I kept my word. I successfully took part in Sabbath Manifesto’s National Day of Unplugging by going device and internet free on March 24th. Since I worked Friday night, I couldn’t quite start at sundown, but once I got home around midnight, I powered down my computer and devices. When I got to my iPhone,…
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Netflix: For people who love TV, not those who are cutting back
A new study by the Media Technology Monitor (MTM) is challenging some of the early worries many broadcasters had about the arrival of Netflix. When the streaming-TV service was launched, there were predictions from some business analysts that one-third of cable consumers might look to cut their cable television packages. Netflix was seen as an ideal service…
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My technology will go silent March 24th. Will yours?
I have officially signed up for this year’s Sabbath Manifesto National Day of Unplugging. It is based on the biblical idea that “on the seventh day he rested from all his work (Genesis 2:2)”. The idea is simple: try to go an entire day without using, or more importantly, being distracted by your technology. Just what…
Mike Wise 