Global Day of Unplugging
The benefits of unplugging!
by Claire Law
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To consider our human need for connection and to reflect upon our feelings about unplugging from technology from time to time.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (Global Day of Unplugging) and the means to display them.
Assembly
- Show Slide 1. Welcome the students to the assembly.
- Ask the question: If you were to be asked to make a list of all the things we need as humans, what would be on your list?
Pause to allow time for reflection.
Ask the question: What are the things that it would be difficult or even impossible to live without?
Pause to allow time for reflection.
It’s probable that everyone has food and water on their list. After all, humans can only live for about 3 days without water. Many of us would probably include shelter on our lists. Maybe we’d also have love, belonging and a sense of meaning and purpose on our lists as well. Without these things, life is difficult. - This idea of human needs is often represented using a pyramid like the one on this slide.
Show Slide 2.
This is referred to as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The psychologist, Abrham Maslow developed this hierarchy in the 1940s. - Since then, the internet has provided various updates to this pyramid. Perhaps this version is more in line with what some of us were thinking when we considered the question: ‘What are the things that it would be difficult or even impossible to live without?’
Show Slide 3.
Raise your hands if you agree ‘wifi’ is a modern essential! - Most of us here tend to live life as if the internet is an essential. The average time spent on mobile devices in the UK is 3 hours and 21 minutes per day. That means, statistically we spend more time on our phones than we do watching TV. Younger generations, particularly those aged 15–24, spend significantly more time on their phones, averaging nearly five hours a day. Digital technology can help us to stay connected with others. However, it can also be a way in which we detach from ourselves and others, as we mindlessly scroll, or get sucked into digital content.
- Research tells us that people who use social media excessively, in a way that’s labelled ‘problematic use’, are more likely to face mental and social well-being challenges. Problematic use can take the form of compulsive or excessive time spent online and decreased time spent with friends or doing other pleasurable activities leading to social isolation. We also know that more passive use of social media can be problematic for wellbeing. Passive use means using social media to monitor other people’s lives without direct engagement. That tends to take the form of scrolling through profiles, pictures, videos, or updates without directly engaging or connecting.
- Having a break from online connection can sometimes be something we want or even need as humans. Perhaps some of us have experimented with a digital detox, taking a temporary step back from phone use for a while, to check in again with ourselves and people around us.
- This idea of taking a break from technology is behind the Global Day of Unplugging, which takes place each year in March.
Show Slide 5. - This year, the Global Day of Unplugging is 6th – 7th March.
The Global Day of Unplugging aims to offer people chance to reconnect in a disconnected world, one unplugged moment at a time. In a noisy, ‘always-on’ culture, the Global Day of Unplugging promotes making space for in person connection and presence. The Global Day of Unplugging is not about giving up technology, rather, the 24- hour period encourages people to take a temporary step back from tech, to develop a more mindful use of technology. The day aims to help people have respite from digital fatigue, and to find ways to connect, in the moment, with the people around them.
Time for reflection
The Global Day of Unplugging is a relatively new thing. It was first established in 2003, the same year as the Nokia 1100 and the Sony Ericsson T610 were launched.
Yet, the idea of taking a break to connect with people around us is not new. The Old Testament, sometimes called the Hebrew Testament, includes the 10 Commandments. One of these Commandments is to, ‘Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy’. For Christians and Jews, it is important to have one day a week that stands in contrast to the busyness and activity of the other 6 days. That day is sometimes called the Sabbath. Keeping the Sabbath holy can involve taking a break from work, or studies, in order to rest and connect with self, with God and with others. Within Orthodox Judaism, keeping the Sabbath holy includes a digital detox, and an unplugging. Observant Jews choose to avoid social media or using any electronic devices on the Sabbath as part of a commitment to avoid activities considered mundane or weekday activities. This digital detox means there is more time and opportunity for people to be present to each other, sharing food, sharing conversation and being mindfully in the moment with self and others.
Let’s take the time to consider how we feel about our relationship with technology and the internet, and what we make of the idea of occasionally unplugging.
There are no right or wrong answers here.
The invitation is to notice how we feel about the idea of taking a break, unplugging and connecting with others in-person.
Let’s consider a series of questions to help us consider our own thoughts and feelings about unplugging.
After each set of questions, we will pause to allow time for thought and reflection.
We’ve heard that the average time people in the UK spend on their phones is 3 hours and 21 minutes per day. How do you feel about this statistic? And how do you feel about the amount of time you spend on your own device each day?
Pause to allow time for silent reflection.
To what extent is unplugging or taking a break from social media, or the internet, easy for you?
Pause to allow time for silent reflection.
How connected do you feel with people in your life? People who you live with, or friends at school. How can you be more present to these people, and find offline ways to connect with them?
Pause to allow time for silent reflection.
Both the Jewish and the Christian faiths promote the idea of taking a break each week. This can include taking a break, albeit temporary, from technology. Is this something you want to build into your life and routine? What might be the benefits for you of unplugging every now and then? And if unplugging is not an option, how can you avoid the negative effects of using social media in passive ways? How can you be more connected and involved if you opt to stay plugged in?
Pause to allow time for silent reflection.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for technology and the benefits we have from it.
We pause to express gratitude for the ways that technology enhances our life.
We also recognise that taking a break from scrolling can benefit our wellbeing.
Please help us to find ways to build in connection with others each week.
Please help us to be mindful about when we choose to use social media, and when we chose to unplug.
Please help us to find creative ways to be present to ourselves and others in our offline lives.
May the Global Day of Unplugging give us opportunity to review our relationship with social media and the internet.
Amen.
