Someone passed me this link to “Analog Sunday” which has the following as its manifesto:
- No Email
- No Blog Reading
- No Surfing the Web
- No Internet
- No Typing
- No Computer
- No TV
Instead…
- Read a Book
- Spend the Day Outside with Someone You Love
*Smile*
Thanks Anthony for the push.
Graham Brenna says
Whoa… gonna be hard since I work on Sunday and need to use those things for worship production.
Sometimes when I see this kind of thing (leave your tech at home kind of thing) I get a little confused and frustrated. I sometimes feel like the general population thinks that everybody with a smart phone or a laptop at starbucks is just too plugged in and doesn’t know what is going on in the world right in front of them. I tend to argue the opposite. Let’s stop hating the fact that we are so connected all the time. Yes… I agree that there is such a thing as “buried in twitter/texting” but that doesn’t mean that the majority of us don’t put down the phone, TV, computer and just enjoy those we love and nature and all that jazz.
I would argue that most people have a healthy balance between their tech and their non-tech lives. I think there are a lot of people that do like spending time outdoors or reading a book instead of watching TV. We might pull out our technology to snap a picture of a tree or of a loved one playing in the leaves or what-have-you but I don’t think leaving that stuff in the charging cradle for an entire day is going to make me feel better about the time I’m spending with the people I love. If that were the case… I’ve got some bigger personal issues than just the distractions of my tech.
Travis Fish says
I agree. But I like the idea of on sunday after church just relaxing and reading a book. Not that I have time for that until 7pm at night, but still… haha
Graham Brenna says
I do too. I’m all about relaxing and reading a book on a lazy afternoon. π
Just goes to show that there are those that don’t need to make such a drastic stance and say “I’m gonna go Amish all over this day” in order to enjoy things that don’t need to be plugged in.
Tim Owens says
Came here to say exactly that and you said it better. +1
JayCaruso says
Whoever wrote this is obviously not a football fan. π
Stephen Bateman says
mmmm +1. Maybe the analog should start at 4:30 on sunday π
Trevor Olesiak says
I was thinking exactly the same thing!
Faye says
Funny to read this right after reading http://geekforhim.com/iphone-no-more/…. right after I wrote a post about asking God what I need to let go…. http://www.fayebryant.com/2010/10/14/my-sin/
Yeah.
Geek for Him says
Glad you read the article. I will be following it up with a Video Blog post sometime today if my girls let me!!
Phill Tran says
I’ve been trying to instill the “analog Sunday” routine after church, since I need to be available and monitor the service.
Spending the day at the park with my wife kids rawks.
Andrew says
Actually, I used to do this every Sunday. I got my first smart phone over the summer and that’s made things a bit more difficult, but I still don’t get on my computer or watch TV but for rare occasions.
Chris Huff says
Kind of along the same lines, I was contacted by someone on the phone the other day who found my bio on our church website. My bio lists several ways that a person might “follow” me (twitter, facebook, youtube, etc). Noting that he read that, he asked if i had time for the church. The comment stung at first, but I realized right away that I only use all of these sorts of things in order to connect with lost people and my church family. We don’t have to see technology as being opposed to the ministry of the church, as long as we use it appropriately and for that purpose.
Greg says
I echo some of the others…what do you do if you have to use Tech in your volunteer roles on Sunday (Tech/Media and Teaching)? I use visuals from my laptop while I teach middle school kids. Since they are so technology oriented, this at least guarantees SOME attention.
John Saddington says
great point here.
silentfool says
whoever wrote this was obviously high…as noted by the date. π
Vince Marotte says
Still not sure I understand the practice of making ‘switching off’ an event.
Is it because we think that our relationships online are so fragile that we need to reassure everyone that consumes our content that we’ll be right back so don’t go anywhere?
If you’re going to switch off…then switch off. No need to blog and tweet about it.
Greg says
I don’t believe the point of an “Analog Sunday” is to make it an event, as much as it is about making a conscious effort to unplug. Perhaps it would be courteous, at least initially, to let people know that you are disconnected for a set amount of time so they won’t expect a response during that time. In fact, in my workplace, we are required to have an “out of office” vmail and email responder if that is the case so that people will not expect a response.
I just see the Analog DAY (regardless of which day) as a chance to relax and recharge. Sabbath anyone?? π
Rodlie says
I think you’re catching the point, Greg. I think Anthony’s original page was probably an attempt to allow people to think more about the Sabbath.
Blane Young says
Word!
Antoine RJ Wright says
I wonder how this approach will come across in a generation (or even half a generation), where people not only know how to live with various streams of connectivity, but it will be well understood what constitutes being connected normally, and what amount/types of connectivity are a discernible psychological issue.
Will the Body be able to discern how to teach sabbath, wisdom/understanding of tools, etc. then? Or, will we be preaching this still? I wonder…
Rodlie says
Alright, you guys ready for me to get all Seventh-day Adventist on ya! hehe…..as an Adventist Christian I thought this hit rather close to home so I thought I’d jump in.
I think there is something to be said for a day that is different in nature than others. As Adventist Christians, for those that don’t know, we consider the seventh-day Sabbath to be a holy day. So we normally refrain from certain kinds of things that we’d normally take part in on the other days. We try to treat this as a special day. If someone considers Sunday to be their holy day, I think one can make a biblical case for treating that day different than the others as well.
I suppose the question comes down to what does a day being “holy” mean?
I used to get slightly frustrated by the Chik-fil-a stores being closed on Sunday, but then I realized that it was their companies attempt to keep that day holy and give people an opportunity to worship on that day.
Of course, I think lots of tech needs to be used in church stuff depending on the needs, but I think we need to try to strike a balance between actually using necessary technology, and seeking to unplug for the sake of focusing and spending time meditating on God.
As a Seventh-day Adventist, we keep the Sabbath from Friday Sunset to Saturday Sunset and I love nothing more than unplugging from most things during that time and plugging into God’s presence.
Just a couple thoughts.
Love the discussion taking place here, btw.
David Knapp says
Sounds great to me. π
Blane Young says
I think that this is appealing if you are in a context that is overproduced or the vision for technology isn’t clear. Now, I think that every so often, this is healthy. But to strip away technology for the sake of it, could actually limit the Gospel.
Chris Loach says
no technology at home on sunday would be nice and relaxing. i think everyone could do it but it would be hard for a lot…including myself…
PhillipGibb says
Gosh, that is going to be hard
Stephen Bateman says
My parents instituted no-internet-after-church a few years before I left home. I hated it.
But at the same time, it’s pretty much what I need.
joey says
Still thinking……
Randy Kinnick says
Whether we make Sunday (or Saturday) a “holy” day in our lives or not, balance is key in our tech-saturated lives. For me…I struggle sometimes with unplugging when I’m at home. It isn’t unusual for my wife and I to be sitting in the family room, each on our laptops, not saying anything to one another. We’ve even messaged one another when doing so. That’s funny, but there is a need to realize that technology can rob us of person-to-person interaction in a face-to-face setting.
My take away…be balanced and never let engrossment in “connections” disconnect me from those in my physical presence.