Category: Disconnecting
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The 11 Commandments of Screen Hygiene
In her highly entertaining book “The Winter of Our Disconnect“, author Susan Maushart details the lessons her family of 3 teenagers learned when they lived without technology for six months. At the end of the book, she sums up her lessons: The 11 Commandments of Screen Hygiene Thou shalt not fear boredom Thou shalt not…
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I don’t want to be this kind of dad
I’ve seen myself in this picture: I came across this image when I was reviewing some of my material. It is from a 2007 advertising campaign for the United Church of Canada’s Wondercafe.ca site. It has always stuck with me as a powerful image of the divided loyalties that can come into a family when…
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Giving up my iPod for Lent
When I was growing up, Lent was always a time we were encouraged to give up something we enjoyed eating. I can recall marking the 40 days before Easter by giving up chocolate, potato chips or even Reese Peanut Butter Cups. It had been a number of years since I’d made a sacrifice, so last year…
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Media Sabbath
Sometimes you just need to take a break from all of your technology. In 2010, I was feeling overwhelmed by my digital distractions, RSS feeds, Twitter streams, Facebook updates and never-ending emails. I decided to carve out some sacred space for myself and my family. Sundays became my Media Sabbath* day. Here’s a feature report…
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TV à la carte
I cancelled my cable TV subscription in 2009, and I haven’t looked back since. I credit all of this to Battlestar Galactica. I made my decision to cancel my cable subscription once the science fiction series ended it’s run on TV. I’d been following the show faithfully since the original TV pilot (not to mention…
Mike Wise 