Invariably,
after an airplane has descended, as it’s shuttling across the tarmac to the
gate, you’ll hear the cabin fill with a chorus of beeps and chimes – smart
phones coming back to life after their brief respite in the off position or on
“airplane mode.” This scene plays out all across the globe, hundreds of times a
day, and it’s only one example of the remarkably connected world that we live
in today. It’s great to be able to stay connected with the outside world while
you’re traveling. You have the peace of mind that, were an emergency to come
up, you have an open channel to contact whoever you might need to. You can
access your bank and email accounts, keep up with friends and family, and even
catch up on work without ever having to touch a PC. All of that is fantastic
news for the frequent traveler, but a host of problems can arise as a result of
the constant use of social media, from “tech neck” to
depression.
The
world has become incredibly interconnected. There is internet access and cell
service nearly anywhere you might dream of going. So, unless you plan to travel
only to remote destinations from here on out, you might find yourself succumbing
to the temptation to check your phone every two minutes, perhaps missing out on
the fun of your trip. A vacation should be a time to relax. Think of it as
something of a “reset.” The quickest way to diminish the refreshing effects of
travel is to stay stuck to your smart phone. So how do you walk that thin line
between staying connected and staying over-connected?
The first step is consciously making that distinction and becoming cognizant of
how much time you’re logging on the phone.
Social
media is one quick way to pull your attention away from the sights you should
be seeing. Sure, it’s great to snap a quick picture and post it out for your
friends to see, but you might find yourself 20 minutes in, staring despondently
at your screen as you scroll through status updates and your vacation passes
you by. A good start to stopping the attention drift is to set aside specific
blocks of time to upload pictures and check social media. You can use your
phone to take pictures as you go along, but wait until you’re settled in for
the night to post them all and catch up on how your friends and family have
spent their days.
Work
is another of the cardinal offenders when it comes to vacation distractions.
The nature of the digital age in which we live is that business and commerce
are now conducted globally on a 24/7 schedule. This mean that, often, you’ll
receive emails or calls from coworkers on a trip. “It’ll just take a moment to
respond,” you say to yourself. When you look up next, you’ve spent an hour
reading messages and tying up loose ends. The fix for this issue requires a
little preparation. Before you set out on your travels, let your colleagues
know. Make sure to give anyone who may wish to contact you guidelines. For
instance, ask them to send you an email and warn them that you will be looking
at your email at specific times of the day. If possible, designate another
person in your office to serve as your proxy. Impose the same sanctions on your
work email that you might on your social media accounts and set aside specific
time to catch up on work.
All-in-all,
it doesn’t have to be a huge hassle to find the appropriate balance between
staying connected and getting away from it all. Make sure you set clear
boundaries – both with yourself and your friends and coworkers – about when and
for how long you’ll be reaching out. If you find you have to disable
notifications or set your smart phone to vibrate, then do so and get on with
enjoying your vacation. You might find it such an enjoyable experience that you
carry some of these habits into your everyday life – which may just help us
stave off the societal decline
of the attention span. It’s quite possible to lose yourself in the constant
flow of information that’s now available in the palm of your hand, so make sure
that you make an effort not to give into the temptation to let your mind
wander. You’ll find that you return from your trip refreshed, relaxed, and
ready to connect once more if you make the effort to unplug long enough to
enjoy your vacation.
What
better way to relax than to go on a home
exchange vacation? You can relax on
in a exclusive property with all the amenities of home, while also immersing
yourself in a local culture. Choose from
luxury homes on the beach,
in the mountains, on golf
courses and many more…..
Thank you to travel writer Emma
Sledge.
Nice suggestions, Ms. Sledge--social media can really eat up too much of one's vacation.
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